Got an eCommerce store but feeling as though conversions aren’t as good as they could be? Perhaps traffic is down too. Sucks.
There’s one great solution to all this: Video marketing.
Video marketing is certainly effective for online merchants, with 52% of marketers saying that video has a better ROI than any other type of content. Video is a great way to engage with your shoppers before educating them about your products and turning them into actual paying customers.
If you’re totally new to the video marketing game and aren’t quite sure how to get started, we’ve got you covered. Let’s take a look at how to create and measure an effective eCommerce video marketing strategy.
Make sure the video fits the platform
When it comes to any kind of content, you have to optimize it so that it fits the platform.
Knowing what kind of content works best on each platform will help you build a more effective video marketing strategy.
For example, the optimal length for an Instagram video is just 26 seconds.
Meanwhile, over on Facebook 56% of all videos published in the last year lasted less than two minutes.
On YouTube, you have more freedom to create longer videos. At the same time, you again don’t want to overdo things by creating an epic. People’s attention spans are short, which is why you need to meet user expectations on each platform you post to. For example, on YouTube, you can create more detailed and in-depth videos, while on Instagram you can use the social media platform to catch peoples attention or quickly promote your products.
Naturally, a 26-second video doesn’t give you much to work with. If your video is sure to exceed 26 seconds, consider breaking it up into a series of 3 or 4 videos with a carousel ad.
Add videos to product pages
4x as many customers prefer to watch videos about your products than read about them. A video on your product page educates a customer about your product, showing them how it looks, or even showing them how it works. This helps to establish more trust and can nudge them closer to a sale.
While you might not have time to create a product video for every single product, definitely consider creating them for your bestsellers. Then, make sure that the option for playing a video about the product is clearly visible to the customer.
As mentioned, types of videos you could create include “how to” videos, or you could simply show the customer how the product looks in real life like Training Mask did.
To create the best videos, reach out to existing customers to find out what they like most about a product, as well as how they use it. Then, you can focus on these things in your video.
Combine video marketing with email marketing
Looking to boost email open rates? Adding the word “video” to your email subject lines can boost open rates by 19%.
If you then want to encourage more click-throughs, don’t use a standard static shot as your video image but experiment with animated GIFs instead. They’re good at piquing curiosity.
Email marketing, of course, is popular with eCommerce stores. It’s a great way to build relationships with your customers while raising awareness for your latest deals. Tying it in with your video marketing means you’re double down and giving your customers an extra incentive to open your emails.
There are all kinds of videos you can email to your customers, from educational “how to” videos to fun seasonal “thank you” videos, like Dollar Shave Club does:
The Dollar Shave Club used video to help their customers get into the festive spirit.
Then there are “behind the scenes” videos that bring you closer to your customers, as well as videos that tell the story of your brand.
Don’t forget to personalize your videos and segment your list so that the right videos end up in targeted inboxes bringing you closer to success. For example, you can send product videos out to specific customers who have already shown an interest in a particular product.
Don’t forget video SEO
I know, I know – SEO isn’t something anyone got involved in eCommerce for, but it’s absolutely imperative if you’re to achieve more visibility on Google.
And it’s a really important part of your video marketing strategy.
YouTube is the second most popular search engine in the world, and Google uses videos as ranking factors. To make your videos are more discoverable, you need to cover the SEO basics. This means adding keywords to your titles, tags, and descriptions, as well as your video filenames. Do this for every single video you upload.
If you do decide to post your videos on YouTube, make sure to add a link back to your store in the first line of text in your description, and make sure to include other relevant links, just like ASOS does:
Measure your video marketing campaign
Lastly, you need to continually measure your campaign so that you know how effective it is.
There are a few key metrics you need to measure, starting with the view count. Of course, each platform counts views a little differently. On Facebook, a video has been viewed if the user has engaged with it for 3 seconds. On YouTube, a view is only counted if the user has engaged for longer than 30 seconds.
View count tells you how strong your intro is. If view count is down, you need to get better at hooking people in. Remember, the first few seconds count. Make sure that you outline the benefits of watching your video as soon as possible, and do what you can to grab peoples’ attention.
Watch rate is another key metric because it shows you for how long someone engaged with your video. If the watch rate is down, it means that your content just plain isn’t good enough to keep someone watching until the end. A good rule of thumb here is to keep your videos short, as longer videos can be the prime reason watch rate tails off.
A third key metric is click-through rate, which is how we measure how effective your call to action is at convincing people to visit another page. Naturally, click through rate doesn’t count if it’s a video on your product page. But if your video is on social media or sent via email, it’s a key metric you need to keep a close eye on. If your click-through rate is down, you might want to double check your CTA and look for ways to improve it.
Finally, the king of all video marketing metrics is conversions. The higher your conversion rate is, the more sales you’ve got.
The conversion rate can be tricky to measure. To find more about it, consider performing split tests to see which types of videos work best at nudging shoppers towards a sale.
Conclusion
Creating a video marketing strategy that works for online stores means making the most of what you’ve got. Explore the different social media platforms and craft videos that suit the specific user experience. Add videos to your product pages, double down with email marketing and then measure everything so that you can make the necessary adjustments. Even if you’re new to video marketing, it shouldn’t be long before you’re well into the swing of things.
Guest author: Aljaz Fajmut is an internet entrepreneur and founder of Nightwatch – a search visibility tool of the next generation. Follow him on Twitter: @aljazfajmut