How To Create Content for Your eCommerce Business - Part 1: Video

An eCommerce Science Series

In the world of SEO, social media and online sales, the very first step to marketing your eCommerce store is simple: content creation.

From there, you can employ all the tips and tricks of boosting conversion, ranking higher with Adwords, and all that technical jazz, but it all starts with making authentic and engaging content … which also just so happens to be the most difficult to do.

In this blog series, we’ll cover all the ways your e-commerce business can start creating engaging content that tells your brand story and speaks to your audience. To start, we’ll break down one of the best ways for B2B and DTC brands to build trust and engage with your customer base: video!

In the top 100 search result listings, video appears 70% of the time. Not to mention, viewers of your product video are 64-85% more likely to purchase after watching, depending on its quality. So if you aren’t already using video, you’re not being seen.

In this article, we’ll dive into why video is the most effective tool to be seen and to be understood. Then, we’ll explain the various types of videos you can make. Finally, we’ll give you video recording guidelines to make the best possible content.

Ready? Lights, camera, action!

The Benefits of eCommerce Video

We know you’re here for the how-to tips, so let’s keep this brief. Simply put, leveraging video allows your business to:

• Tell your brand story
• Convert viewers to customers
• Develop engagement and community
• Cater to a mobile audience

The facts:

• Average visitor session duration more than triples on product pages that feature videos.
• Customers who watch product videos are nearly twice as likely to complete their online purchase.
• For every one customer that reads a product description, four customers would rather watch a product video.
• Over half of shoppers say that watching product videos makes them more confident about their purchases.

As for mobile:

• According to YouTube (owned by Google), over 70% of watch time is from mobile users, with an average mobile viewing session of 40 minutes.
• Online retailers see nearly 50% of their traffic coming from mobile devices.

The science is out there, and video is the premier way to tell your brand story, convert customers both on desktop and mobile, and increase overall engagement. So what types of videos should you be using on your e-commerce store?

The Five Types of Video Content

There are five primary types of videos you can leverage on your e-commerce store:

1. Landing Page video
2. Product description videos
3. Demonstration videos (demos)
4. User-generated or UGC
5. Mobile Shopping

Depending on your specific business and audience, try implementing some or all of the below to maximize your engagement.

Landing Page Video

When shoppers land on your website for the first time, whether through a search or ad, they immediately scour the page for what makes your brand unique from all the others. Landing Page videos are the perfect opportunity to tell the story of your brand, allowing you to use strong visuals that are worth a thousand words.

Place the Landing Page video in an easy-to-spot location with an appealing thumbnail. Most companies place the video right next to their icon or slogan for easy clicks.

Product Description Video

Product Description videos are an important tool to convert site visitors to customers. With clear product visuals and well-articulated details, product videos are a great way to grab the attention of your visitors and deliver a complete understanding of what you sell and why.

Place the product videos right underneath product photos, or even consider substituting photos for clickable videos. The primary call-to-action for these videos should be to place items in their online shopping cart.

Product Demonstration Video

If a customer is interested in your product but not completely sold, they will seek out more information. Product Demonstration videos show the customer how your product is used, and how the product can interact with the world around it.

If you have a physical product, show how a customer can interact with or use the product. If it’s a software or digital product, consider screen-recording and walking through real-life use cases.

Product Demonstration videos are typically less “polished” than an advertisement and should feel like an authentic experience. E-commerce brands typically put these on YouTube and include links throughout the shopper journey.

User-Generated Video

Beyond videos produced by your company, some customers still seek a more genuine, authentic opinion. This is where User-Generated Content (UGC) allows your loyal users to share their personal experiences with your product and your brand. You may also know this as Influencer marketing, Ambassadorships, and more social media advertising.

51% of shoppers in the US say they trust UGC more than any other content on a company website, because after watching the videos, they have a better understanding of how the products work in a sincere, real setting.

Modern online retailers add UGC to their webpages to create community, and if you’re an established brand, your users will compete and have pride in appearing on your website (e.g., Nike).

Mobile Shopping Video

Mobile Shopping videos are those optimized videos catered specifically for users watching on a smaller screen, with features built in to click and purchase directly from their mobile device.

With a specific size and aspect ratio for product videos and images, along with predetermined social media channels (e.g., Instagram Shopping), you can provide a holistic mobile-shopping experience.

Wrap It Up

Successful eCommerce retailers are able to reach large audiences with creative, shareable content, and then convert that audience into customers with a well thought out shopper journey.

Video is an important tool in both capturing your audience’s attention and giving them the information they need to make a purchase. With the above information, you are now on your way to telling a better brand story and using powerful visuals to explain your products.

Once you’ve made the sale and the customer has clicked the ‘Order’ button, what comes next? How do you get your product to your customer’s door? And if the customer needs to return your product, how do you handle it? That’s where a 3PL like ShipHero comes in, to help you simplify everything that comes after the ‘Pay Now’ button. Learn more at ShipHero.com.