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Most eCommerce businesses run on a thin marketing budget. Their priority is the use marketing tools and strategies that maximize their investment. Video content fits the bill perfectly as the ideal choice at every sales funnel stage.
If nothing else, the statistics that 73% of viewers purchase after watching a product video should convince you to use video content if you're not already using it.
Using video content to increase eCommerce conversions is a no-brainer. Video content is already the top content choice for most marketers.
Most marketers struggle to convert even after using video content in online stores. Knowing how to use video content is the secret to boosting conversions.
Here are five tips to effectively use videos to boost eCommerce conversions.
1. Create Awareness About What You Offer
There is a new wave of videos flooding the internet. Not so unique, in our opinion, but quite popular nonetheless.
The 'Top X' videos are the first step of a customer journey. It gives the customer an idea of the products (brands, product models, etc.) that can solve their pain points. The 'Top X' or 'Buying Guide' might come from the eCommerce portal or third-party content creators.
Nowadays, not many people we know buy a product without watching at least one buying guide. The buying guide videos also help prospects understand the product description better.
A separate buying guide video will significantly help online store visitors narrow down their choices if you're offering several products from the same category or similar products.
The demand for videos from customers shouldn't deter online stores. Video content is a great tool to boost conversion. With essential video production tools like Premiere Pro Presets, transitions, special effects, some high-quality product photos, and essential video editing tools, you can create many videos in no time.
2. Keep the Visitors Engaged and Entertained
While video content is the medium of choice for most consumers, it's not infallible. Predominantly, the problem is the length of the video. Online stores often try to include a lot of information in a single product video.
We're seeing a constant shrinking of the attention span of consumers. Hence, for maximum effectiveness, keep the product videos short. In the marketing plan, you could include more than one type of product video.
Visitors' engagement impacts the conversion rate. You could keep them engaged, entertained, and interested in a product by including short product tour videos. This video type introduces the product to the prospect and generates curiosity about its features and functioning.
Product tour videos rely on high-quality images and camera angles to introduce the product to the visitors. The product tour video is the closest an online shopper can get to holding the product and examining it from all angles.
You can maintain interest in the product by putting forward the most critical information at the beginning of the video.
3. Communicate the Product Features Effectively
Product videos that explain the features and functions of your eCommerce offerings are the real deal. Around two-thirds of customers purchase a product after watching a product video.
Bear in mind that the current trend where 60% of prospects prefer to watch the video first before reading the description on the product page.
An explainer video is one of the best weapons in the arsenal of an eCommerce business. Why?
- Firstly, it stimulates the visual and auditory senses of the customers. This is better than writing a 2000-word guide on the product's features.
- Secondly, explainer videos explain the technical and complex features of the products and understandably.
- Thirdly, personality and emotion – the two characteristics of explainer videos- will profoundly impact the viewers.
Explainer videos take a unique approach to convince the audience. In most cases, these videos first mention the customer pain points and then list the best product features and how the product can help solve the pain points.
Online stores even use videos to explain the buying process or salient features of their eCommerce brand. Ideally, an animated explainer video provides a better reach and more significant impact than other video forms.
4. Effectively Deal with Customer Queries and Concerns
Online store visitors are seriously considering buying from you at this stage of the sales funnel. There still reside some questions or concerns that block their path to purchase in their minds.
Their questions might be about the product, the eCommerce portal, buying process, shipping, payment, warranty, etc.
Your eCommerce marketing plan can effectively address all their queries and concerns by including how-to videos, FAQ videos, and customer support videos.
Marketers have realized that it's easier to convince the audience and touch their emotional chord with FAQ videos.
Customer support videos also make your Shopify store look professional. Furthermore, by answering the common questions that all visitors have, the video content also makes a personal connection with the prospects.
To make it easier for the customers to navigate the FAQ video, you can include topic timestamps. Alternatively, you could use several short and precise videos to engage the audience effectively.
Videos are effectively used by customer support staff to address queries and concerns of the customers before and after-sale.
After-sale, installation videos, how-to videos, and other customer support videos help delight customers. These videos also help lay the foundation for future sales to the same customers.
5. Win People's Hearts and Trust
Sometimes I look for products at one eCommerce portal only to buy the same at another online store.
Buying a product or from an online store is a matter of trust and credibility. I'm one of the 81% of consumers who are skeptical of buying from an eCommerce business they don't know.
Online stores can't hope for higher conversions if they don't take measures to boost credibility and trust.
While you try to build trust with every video, from the start of the sales funnel to the end, two video types stand out – Cultural Videos and Testimonial Videos.
Nowadays, most people prefer shopping from the comfort of their homes. Many still feel online stores are responsible for the gradual fading away of brick and mortar stores.
Cultural videos help humanize the eCommerce brand. These videos can showcase how eCommerce brands are helping the community, creating more jobs, improving the accessibility of products that are not usually available locally, etc. There are several ways eCommerce brands can win hearts and trust with cultural videos.
Testimonial videos are an essential part of eCommerce websites. In this video, your customers share their positive experiences using your product or brand with prospects. For the testimonial videos to create the desired impact, keep your inputs to the minimum. You can direct the video format but never the content or message.
Let genuine customers narrate their story, the pain points they faced, how your product solved their problem, etc.
Conclusion
Are you convinced that video is a powerful tool for eCommerce? If so, it's time to start putting together your own strategy! The tips we've shared in this post should give you a good starting point. But remember, the most important thing is to experiment and find what works best for you and your customers.
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Author bio:
Cristian Stanciu is a freelance video editor, owner and post-production coordinator of Veedyou Media – a company offering video editing services to videographers, marketing agencies, video production studios or brands all over the globe. I can catch up with him on his blog or on LinkedIn
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