It’s no secret we’re all constantly glued to screens of all sizes. The fact that you’re reading this blog is evidence enough. From our smartphones to our laptops and tablets and televisions, we are constantly bombarded with information from the screens that surround us. Anything we could ever want to know is easily within reach.
And it’s great for business. According to a 2014 report by Forrester Research Inc., a projected 60% of all sales made in 2017 will involve the Internet in some way, either as the purchase site or as part of researching products online.
With increased Internet involvement in our purchasing decisions, marketers would be wise to invest in better solutions to help their products and services stand out in the online marketplace. That’s where product videos come in. According to a Liveclicker survey of online retail sales from Best Buy, Newegg, OnlineShoes, and Under Armour, there was an increase in average order value (AOV) of at least 50% for customers that watch videos on a product page.
At G/L, we’ve seen the impact product videos can have on sales first-hand. One of our clients, who sells tools to small contractors via home improvement retailers like Home Depot and Lowe’s, cited a significant bump in sales as the result of online digital assets on retailer websites, including product videos and 360° spin videos.
Consumers of all types are looking more and more to online resources for their purchasing decisions, and research shows they’re much more likely to make a purchase if you’re promoting it with a product video. This is a trend worth jumping on. Here are some tips to get you started:
- Keep It Focused: People watch online videos for one of two reasons: to learn or to be entertained. In the case of product videos, you want to focus on providing as much valuable information about the product in question as you can in a limited fashion. Leave larger branding messages to other videos.
- Keep It Relatively Simple: For optimal retention with your target audience, plan the length of your product videos carefully. Consumers are willing to spend more time researching a product and learning about it through videos if it’s going to be a high involvement (expensive or otherwise risky) purchase. For lower involvement purchases, less information is required. Optimal customer attention spans for videos range from 60-90 seconds. From there, customer retention begins to drop.
- Grab Their Attention: According to Vidyard, a significant portion of drop-off in all videos happens within the first 10% of the video. Grab your audience’s attention fast to ensure they stick around to the end by addressing areas of greatest strength for your product or concern for the market. And, like we said before, keep it short enough that they won’t be tempted to click away.
- Use Product Videos on Your Landing Page: Many published studies state that landing pages with video can increase conversion by 80%. Adding a quality Call to Action (CTA) at the end of your video can help increase response from your audience.
- Consider Using an Online Video Platform: OVPs, like Adobe or Vidyard, allow you to push content to your social networks and pull in actionable analytics, allowing you to target your audience more carefully than a traditional TV or web buy. It’s relatively inexpensive too!
- Make The Most of Social Media Platforms: Facebook allows for Video Autoplay of your videos so create a version of your current ads or product videos that takes advantage of the medium. And make sure to include subtitles or other graphics that highlight the features of your product and entice consumers to continue watching, with or without sound.
Product videos are already proving an integral piece of the sales puzzle. If you’re not using them, you’re missing out on scores of potential sales. It’s time to take that next step and connect your consumers with the information they crave, in a format they’re most comfortable with.
Still not sure where to start? We can help with that. Give us a call today at 314-727-5850. We’ll help you figure out an effective plan for your foray into product videos.