Video marketing is praised as one of, if not the singular most effective type of marketing for your content. There are a variety of different reasons for this, but effective video marketing takes different forms for different niches. When looking at products, 66% of all customers prefer looking at videos versus reading product descriptions. However, there is a perceived barrier to entry that may ward people off. We’ve reached out to e-commerce experts regarding their preferred path to video marketing in this popular niche.
What Makes Video Content Effective?
Video content is the crown jewel of many content marketing systems, and a lot of this has to do with exactly how it can be effective. Jeff Moriarty, Marketing Director at Moriarty’s Gem Art, believes that the strongest type of video campaign you can find is one that contains educational content. “Not only do we see more people watching these videos for longer, they are the videos that get shared most often.”
However, in some cases, educational content may not necessarily be the ideal way to go. When it comes to this crossroads, take your audience into consideration—what do they want to see? For example, if you ran a repair business, making videos showing how to diagnose your potential mechanical issues and fix them might be a natural fit. However, some companies go the entertainment route. Red Bull is a good example. Their videos/other content puts entertainment before pushing their product. In fact, some consider them to be predominantly a media company that also sells energy drinks.
How To Develop Video Content For E-Commerce
Effective video content development for e-commerce can take a lot of turns. Jeff Neal, operations manager at The Critter Depot, says that it all begins with a topic, similar to other types of content. “What are our customers asking us? What would enhance the information on our product pages? What do customers want to see? These questions help guide us towards the topic for
the video.”
After the topic is created, a script follows. The scriptwriting process generally entails determining what information you need to present, the visuals that would best fit in the video, and the length. All of these essential questions need to come together. How exactly you follow this route can vary. For a variety of different reasons, a lot of people end up relying on third parties for this service.
What’s Holding Companies Back From Video Marketing?
If video marketing seems like such an obvious benefit for a company, why aren’t all companies using it? The main reason, according to John Frigo, Digital Marketing Lead at MySupplementStore.Com, is the challenge of putting together quality content. “A lot of small businesses may not have the equipment, or at least don’t think they have the equipment. In the past, professional equipment was needed, but today, a smartphone will suffice. It’s a lack of confidence that leads to this issue. Video editing can be a larger issue in practice. Thousands of dollars and months of time are key here.”
Outsourcing is one of the preferred methods, however, it’s a bit of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it’s essential to have quality video content to see any sort of return on investment, especially as video content gets more popular. There’s little room for amateur production these days. On the other hand, this represents a sizable expense. See what kind of production you can do on your own and then determine if you need to outsource.
Common Video Marketing Pitfalls
Because the stakes of poor video production are so high in terms of wasted money, it’s important to talk about some of the common mistakes in video marketing for e-commerce. Here are some examples:
Ad-libbing your videos (having no script), which can cause an unfocused feel.
Going for lower-quality outsourcing to save money. This hurts not just your immediate video content, but your brand presence in the long-term.
Being repetitive. Having a long-term video plan is great, but if all the videos are too similar, it will dilute the impact.
Failure to be engaging. Videos have viral potential, but there needs to be a sense of appeal to make that possible.
Lack of backing data or keyword research. These help add layers of authority and value to any video.
Ultimately, whether you go it alone or get outside help, sticking to quality is key with any form of video marketing. Trying a half-hearted attempt will not only keep you from reaping the results, but may also cause backlash toward your brand. Be sure to research what’s out there to guide your decision making.