Using Video on Your Storefront to Sell Products

Okay, this is getting scary.  In less than a week, I wrote on the use of video in marketing and what I thought the good applications and bad applications of video were in the marketplace today, and lo and behold a reader sent me a link to a site that is using video on their storefront.

I was very skeptical on the use of video on an e-commerce storefront because I could not get my hands around how a site would use video in an interesting and smart way without turning consumers off.  I mean how many times does one look at a video and say does: “what were they thinking?”  If your videos lead to this thought then you hurt your brand and risk the consumer never coming back to your storefront.  The pleasant news is that one site, Vat19, surprised me and I actually really liked how they used video on their site to educate, engage, and sell.

Vat19 shows how their products are used in every day life.  This was done I assume without much production cost, because if you look at the video they are straight forward and the production quality is not high.  And that is okay! 

The main reason it works well for Vat19 is because of the type of products they are selling, mostly fun gift items and other products where you actually want to see how they are used.  Most important, is that they did not waste time creating videos for their candle products or products that did not need a video to sell them, like tennis or golf balls. They were smart as to when and where to use video and their videos were not more than 30 seconds in length = get in, get out, let them make a purchase.  You get the point.

So if you want to use video on your site to sell products and engage your audience, think before you start spending money and time adding this feature to your storefront shopping experience.  It can be helpful but only if your products and site lay out are geared to using video.

HELPFUL TIPS FOR THE DAY:

1. Video is a new marketing method and is here to stay.

2. Be sure that you know the ups and downs of using video on your storefront.

3. Make sure your product mix and website "look" lend themselves to using video.

4. It is okay not to have "Hollywood" looking video, but make sure they helps the consumer learn about your products and are either fun or practical.

5. Know your message, create it, and make sure it is less than 30 seconds.