The Ultimate Guide to Kickstarting Your E-Commerce Sales with Video Marketing

If a picture is worth 1000 words, a video...well a video brings those words to life. Even though studies show that consumers are 64% more likely to complete a purchase after watching a product video, it remains one of the most underutilized marketing channels of e-commerce businesses. Learn how to get ahead of the game and set your sales into motion.

Why Video Marketing Helps You Take Out The Competition

Captivating videos give you a competitive edge over other businesses in your market, make your customer interactions more engaging, and boost the effectiveness of your marketing strategy. Check out this infographic and let the numbers speak for themselves.

Video marketing gives your customers the best feel of your product

While photos provide great visuals, videos are the most effective way of demonstrating the value and benefits of your products. By demonstrating your products in real or simulated situations, your audience can better understand what it is they can get from your products. Videos also minimise text explanations and capture audiences that otherwise would dismiss product descriptions -- leading to higher sales conversion rates.

Your exposure can increase exponentially through video marketing

You want your business to be found. Videos propel your visibility in two ways. First, Google loves videos giving you priority when it comes to ranking. Second, videos are more click- and shareable. People are more likely to watch and share your content if it includes a short video. As this takes little effort and engages the audience on a different level, you’re more likely to tap into the speed of social media networking.

Videos add a personal touch to your brand

The complete package of motion, picture, spoken word and music creates an emotional connection. Forging a bond with your target audience is essential in converting customers into fans, and window-shoppers into regulars. As purchases from returning customers make up a substantial chunk of sales, and word of mouth is one of the most effective marketing strategies, brand loyalty needs to be the focus of your efforts. Videos can help you do exactly that.

How To Kick Off Your Video Production

Making your first video can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be hard. Good quality cameras are affordable nowadays, and a steady tripod can work wonders. Video-making tools are freely available on most laptops, and instructional videos for applications like iMovie turn even the least tech-savvy people into geeks. If you are more serious, an investment into a good camera and professional videographer is well worth it.

Decide the purpose of your videos and get started

Videos can serve multiple purposes. Be clear on what the objective of your video is and bring it straight to the point. Short and effective is the goal. Studies show that YouTube videos shorter than 2 minutes get almost 50% of all views.

Show off your product’s capabilities

Reading about what the newest technology can do is boring. Seeing it in action is not. Videos are a powerful medium to showcase your products’ capabilities, and why they are better than any other technology in your market. For example, Samsung’s Galaxy S3 Ad a few years back, uses a humorous comparison to the iPhone to highlight their own innovations.

Help customers with their purchasing decision

We all know how hard it is to shop online, especially for clothing. A video can help to simplify the decision. People Tree UK not only showcases some of their products in their video, but provides visuals and information that help fashionistas pick their favourites. Showing a product in a day-to-day setting, reviewing your favourite items, or comparing different styles are just a few examples of how you can support viewers with their purchase.

Provide value to the viewer

Videos don’t just have to show off your products. In fact, you can engage your audience by providing value above and beyond offering a great product. Make-up tutorials, skill sharing, user instructions - if you provide additional and free value to people, they will come to you not just for your products but your trusted advice. Luxy Hair took this approach to the next level, building a 7 figure business, and becoming the go-to expert for hair tutorials.

Tell a story to connect with your viewer

Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools of any marketing strategy. Telling your brand’s story, your story, or your customer's’ story makes your business more relatable, and builds a deeper connection with your audience. Without saying a single word, Shwood tells the story of how their products are handcrafted. Integrating a short video into the flow of their online store immediately gives visitors an insight into the making process, and creates transparency and trust.

How to transform a video into a marketing campaign

Embed your video in your Shopify store, host it on YouTube or let it be found on Vimeo

There are multiple channels to reach your target audience through video. Embed a video into your Shopify store to turn “I’m just having a look” into a sale. Apps like Shopideo are handy tools to easily upgrade your store with videos. Is one video not enough to tell the whole story? It is time to go big and create a channel. If you want to improve your online ranking, YouTube (owned by Google) is the way to go. If you want to bypass the YouTube branding and are looking for a hosting site for large videos, Vimeo Pro account is your best bet.

Sync your videos with other social media channels

Your videos are an additional way for your customers to discover your brand. Think about the places where your target audience would be spending their time online. Are they scrolling through their Facebook feed during their lunch break? Ensure to post your videos on your page. Connecting your social media accounts and propagating your videos through all available channels not only result in customer engagement but also improves Google ranking.

Invest in advertising to reach your audience

Thrive off YouTubes’ addictiveness. Placing paid ads on YouTube is simply a matter of using AdWords for Video. Your ad can be displayed before a video starts, on a banner in the browser, or as a promoted video when people search for similar content.

Optimise your video publishing

Keep the content coming

Once you figured out the social media rules for one channel, you will find they work for most of them. Just like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, consistency is key. Don’t be discouraged if your video doesn’t go viral. You are creating a story about your product and brand. As per usual, engagement is more important than the number of views.  Posting new content on a regular basis establishes a loyal and engaged customer base.

Be more recognisable through branding

Set up your channel using branded images that your audience can recognise. Make sure to choose a professional name rather than a personal account to post your videos. An intro and outro gives your videos a finishing touch and additional exposure of your logo and brand. Don’t make people scroll through your entire video history, but simplify navigation by organising videos into themed playlists and series.

Keywords, Keywords, Keywords

The same way keywords are Instagram essentials, your videos are best found through #hashtags. Find the right words for your target audience and add them to your video title, description and tags.

Engage viewers through annotations

Annotations are text and links you can put on top of your video while it plays. You can use them to give viewers a link to buy or subscribe, or even to add humourous commentary and add engagement.

Understand analytics to meet your goals

Most hosting sites provide you with plenty of data to understand what works and what doesn’t. You can usually track views over time, find out where your traffic is coming from and what the demographic of your followers is. Look at your analytics regularly and tweak your strategy according to data-driven results.

Make the latest trends work for you

Use videos to test new products and services

Did you ever wonder how Dropbox became so popular? Take a guess. Exactly, through video. A simple 4 minute instructional video combined with an incentive to share it with friends, families and colleagues transformed it into one of the most-used file sharing services. Capturing a new product or innovation in a video can give you an indication of whether your idea will be successful. This is one of the key reasons all Kickstarters include videos. Use customer feedback to refine your offering, and encourage them to share within their networks.

Connect with influencers in your market to get exposure

You might not have the time to regularly produce video content, but there are plenty of people who do. Full-time YouTubers live off product placements and provide access to large audiences. Find a vlogger that resonates with your brand values and strike a deal. GymShark has grown from a regular fish in the pond to a major shark in the fitness apparel industry. The secret? Their main marketing strategy concentrated on getting famous fitness YouTubers on board. They managed to combine product review with storytelling and fitness advice all in one place with product placement.

Facebook Live streaming, SnapChat Stories and Instagram

Everyone is curious about what goes on behind the scenes from their favourite brands. Show the real you and demonstrate your brand values with real-time video streaming options of your social networks. You can incentivise your audience to follow you by giving exclusive insights into your product range, revealing sneak-peeks of new collections, or providing special promo codes.

Are you interested in setting up your Shopify Store and taking it to the next level with video marketing? For help and support contact us today or get started with Shopify Setup through Elkfox.