Using Video: A Waste of Time, a Fad or Mandatory Feature for Successful Online Shopping?

YouTube certainly has hit on the next “in thing” when it comes to going online and having some fun.  The fact that any computer can stream video pretty darn quick also makes it hard to ignore using video in some way to enhance the fun, functionality and creativity of your website, regardless what your website’s purpose might be.  And there are so many uses of video: fun, advertainment, fund raising, educational message, product demo, and many others.

For online merchants, the use of video may not be top of mind, as many of you are just trying to make your website functional and pleasant to look at, but don’t wait too long. 

The use of video may just be the best way to engage your customers, keep their attention, and help you eventually sell them your products better than any other method you are trying to implement.

The key thing to remember about video is that it is far more engaging than most forms of advertising -- except maybe for a lovely female or model walking down a runaway with your product in hand or on their body.

Text and static images are old school.  People today expect to see something sexy and fun to grab their attention. 

Yes, the quality of your product is always important, as is price, and excellent customer follow up is key.  Also, making your website easy to navigate is essential, but if you want to attract consumers to your website or portal, jump on the visual trend.

Why? Because visual components, in combination with doing the other things mentioned above well, generate more interest, leads, stickiness on your website, branding, and eventual sales.

The Online Publishers Association (OPA) published "Frames of Reference: Online Video Advertising, Content, and Consumer Behavior" in June of 2007 cited the following:

"Of 80% of viewers who had watched an online video ad, just over half had taken some sort of action. Nearly a third had checked out a website, while 22 percent had searched for more information, 15 percent had gone into a store and 12 percent had actually made a purchase."

Hello?!?! If those statistics don’t stir your marketing manager’s creative juices, you might want to hire a new marketing director.

It is hard to know where to start but let’s take some simple steps to deciding how and when to use video to enhance your customer’s online shopping experience.

Here are some questions to ask:

1. What message am I trying to convey?
a. How to use product?
b. Display product?
c. Educational?
d. Fun and gimmicky?
e. General sales and marketing message?

2. Do I have a product line that merits selling via video?
a. Cars = great and obvious yes!
b. Clothing = could be cool, works for Victoria’s Secret
c. Toys = fun to film some cute kid playing with you products
d. Food and Beverage Related = of course, don’t we all make purchases based on association, for instance, eating a hot dog at a baseball game, an ice cold beer after a day in the hot sun
e. Jewelry = yes, makes much more of an impression seeing a piece of jewelry on a beautiful hand and or model in a smashing outfit!
f. Furniture = why not, 360 views are important
g. Stationary Supplies = probably not
h. You get the point!

3. Do I have the budget to embark on this venture?
a. I would ask: Can you risk, with the way technology is today and the cost effective methods that are available to experiment, not doing video at some level?
b. Start small and once you have mastered your first onsite video marketing campaign I am sure you will fall in love with it and become very, very creative.

And when you finally decide to try video as part of you online marketing efforts, make sure that you create wonderful digital images, experiment with streaming video links on various strategic places on your site, and create a strategic 6 month plan to making your entire site a visual shopping experience using video strategically and logically along with wonderful pictures and colors.

HELPFUL TIPS FOR THE DAY:

1. Using video to enhance the fun, interest, and interactivity on your online storefront is here to stay = learn how to use it!

2. You don't have to completely change what you are doing on your website to see the benefits of using online video.  Start small with a simple product demonstration and then let your creative juices flow.

3. Creating video for your website is not as hard as you might think and we recommend doing it yourself so that you can control how you really want your message to be look, feel, and sound.

4. If you still think you can't do it, visit your local Radio Shack or computer store and have them walk you through it and once you master it you will be far ahead of your competition.