Nowadays more and more owners of online stores realize that a beautiful text description and professional product photography on their website aren’t enough to run a successful business.

They need something else to grab the consumers’ attention. In that case, video marketing can help not only attract more customers but also increase the sales. Video content is extremely popular among the Internet users, that’s why the use of video in promoting both products and services has become highly appreciated.

Benefits of video marketing for e-commerce

An average time that we spend on watching videos online is higher than ever before. When we need information we tend to check YouTube first rather than read the articles or blog posts. Same story with videos in e-commerce. It makes visitors buy. Using video content in your online store is an effective way to show the customers the real benefits of your company’s product or service in an easy to understand form.

Here are 5 reasons e-commerce video can help you sell more online:

1. Video marketing helps increase the conversion rate

Video converts better than sites. Using video on your site improves conversions up to 80% and has a positive impact on SEO. People are more likely to watch a video than to read a long text. It’s like making a phone call instead of writing a long message. Statistics say that more than 70% of customers buy a product after watching a video. According to Hubspot almost a half of Internet users watch videos about products or services before they visit the internet store, 53% of users have more positive feelings for the companies that provide instructional video content.

2. Low-cost way to promote your website

Websites promotion is usually quite expensive but using the video in e-commerce you don’t need a SEO specialist and a large amount of time. If you post video spots on your blog or landing page, the average time spent on your site increases, which has a positive effect on your site’s optimization. You just need to make a video, add keywords and description. That kind of content is often promoted independently. Creating a YouTube account doesn’t cost a penny. In fact, everyone can use this tool to interact with the audience and minimize the costs of promotion.

3. Building a customer trust

Video has more impact on people than text information. The senses such as sight and hearing are working all together while watching a video. That’s why it helps create a valuable relationship with your target audience. You can share your knowledge with people, make presentations of your products or provide the online transmission. It’s an easy way to communicate with your audience. Customers feel more convinced to buy goods after watching videos because they know what exactly they will get.

4. Becoming an expert

A successful Internet activity is based on quality content. If people in your videos are competent and well informed about the products you offer and able to give valuable advice, the client will consider your store as one of the most authoritative. Good quality of your company advertising video materials will distinguish your brand from the competitors and make a good impression on customers about your online store. They’ll appreciate your professionalism and might be more prone to click the button buy.

5. Videos are shareable on social media

Another advantage of video is that the Internet users share it more often than the other types of content. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat … It’s difficult to imagine a person who doesn’t use at least one of these platforms. Sharing videos on social media channels helps you increase the range of your store which means that more people can see your video on social networking services. Almost 50% of those who watch it on social media will go to your website to search for more information about your products.

Types of videos that boost the sales

Video marketing can be used by the companies in all spheres. Have you got a beauty salon? Make a video about the new technology of nail extension. Are you an owner of a fashion store? Show your customers how they can match different pieces of clothes. Or do you have a business in the travel industry? Well, tell people about the top destinations where they can go this year.

While creating a strategic plan you should answer some questions:

• • What goals do I want to achieve?
  • What videos should I make?
  • Which audience will watch my videos?
  • How much time and money I can spend on that?

Depending on the nature of your business, you can choose different types of video.

Explainer video

It’s an effective option also for the companies which haven’t got enough money for TV or web promotion. Explainer videos allow you to introduce yourself in a short and creative way.

Brands can engage customers and give them a possibility to learn something new. It’s not surprising that boosting engagement leads to more sales.

Production process

Make a backstage video about your team working on creating the products. People will be interested in the way how things they use every day are made. Show the details of product creation and tell your audience why it’s unique.

Tests

Product testing is also a pretty good idea that can be used in your videos. It is a great tool to tell your audience about the pros and cons of products or packaging. Thanks to these types of video customer will make a decision quicker.

Unboxing

It is one of the most popular types of video on YouTube. When users want to check the products reviews they are interested in usually they watch videos. According to the Google’s article, in the past two years, the time duration of watching unboxing videos has grown over 10X on mobile alone.

Comparison

People are overwhelmed by the variety of things stores offer. Today trying to convince the customers to choose your product is very difficult. Making a comparison between the tested things is a chance to show why your company’s products or services are better than the competitors. There is one good example of a comparison video below.

Entertaining videos

Admittedly, people surf the Internet to satisfy their entertainment and information needs. Undoubtedly, such type of content will engage more people. But making entertaining videos is not a piece of cake. Give your customers an opportunity not only to get some valuable information about your product but also spend a good time watching your video.

Monitoring the results: measures & useful tools

Without measurements and analysis the results of your advertising you won’t know if your video marketing strategy is effective. Some may say it is difficult to monitor its effectiveness but it’s not entirely true. For example, if you use YouTube you can easily track the watchers actions with the help of the YouTube Analytics service. It gives you a large amount of information about users like viewing time, traffic sources, demographic data and so on. You can check if people like your video or not, how much time they spend watching it or how old the audience is.

You can also use platforms like Wistia that help you handle the useful information. It is one of the most modern tools for video analysis. Besides demographic data, it lets you know how many visitors viewed a video and what actions they undertook after watching. Additionally, Wistia gives your an important information how to optimize the results of your video marketing.

Final thoughts:

Using video in your marketing strategy is the best tool to inform customers of about products and to increase sales. The number of companies that start using videos to communicate with the customers is constantly increasing. Visually attractive content is not only a great way to show your professionalism but also to make your company stand out from a crowd of competitors. What kind of video is the most powerful for e-commerce? It depends on your business strategy and needs but we can recommend you to check at least one of them:

• Explainer video
• Comparison
• Unboxing
• Test
• Entertaining video

We hope your online store is video-friendly!

Do you use videos for your business? How does it work? Share it in the comments.