With online shopping becoming the preferred way for the majority of consumers to find and purchase what they’re looking for, eCommerce businesses must step up and provide a more holistic online experience.
While using video on eCommerce sites is not a new phenomenon, many businesses still aren’t making the most of the medium. Studies have shown that around 73% of people who watch a product video will make a purchase afterwards. So, offering your target consumers a product demo video can give you the upper hand, elevate sales and optimise conversion rates. Product demo video production naturally requires more time, resources and budget, but the effort involved will pay off in the revenue generated.
A product demo video can take many forms, whether your products are suited to a simple 360-view, a more dynamic demonstration to highlight certain features or a specific product explainer video that really educates consumers on the workings of your product. In the same light, eCommerce video can be used for a range of purposes. There’s the usual method of placing product demo videos on product pages, however, you can also use video in email or social ad campaigns to generate attention. The type and purpose of your product videos should always be determined by the nature of your business, the audience you are aiming to target.
Firstly, decide whether you will tackle your product demo video production yourself, or use an external service to handle it for you. Of course, this largely comes down to budget and the volume of products on your site. Product videos are proven to make a big difference for conversions, but there’s no good dedicating all your time to video production if it means other aspects of your business’ runnings will fall by the wayside. If you have the budget available, working with a professional product demo video production company will ensure your videos are top-quality & fit the brief completely. If not, all you really need is a decent camera, a tripod and a simple and clean backdrop to film your product demo videos in front of.
The setting and/or environment of your product demo video will depend on what your business is offering. An online fashion brand, for example, would need a simple white background, a model to wear the product, and potentially relevant accessories to show consumers how the item could be worn. Product demos should provide inspiration and aim to paint a picture in the head of consumers about what the product will add to their life. For physical products, you could do this by filming the product being used in its typical environment rather than a studio and for non-physical products, screencast recordings are the way to go.
When considering the ideal setting for your product videos, orientation is an important factor. Whether you decide to film your videos vertical, widescreen, or square, is again dependent on the product. If your consumers tend to use both mobile and desktop to browse your site, opting for a versatile vertical layout means your videos can fit the page layout of either device with no issues. Finding the right video hosting platform plays a big part here as if you opt for a free hosting option you will have far less freedom when it comes to dimensions. The Zidivo platform allows brands to set unique custom dimensions when embedding videos on your site, so you can provide a completely professional and seamless viewing experience with all your product demo videos.
Simplicity is key when it comes to filming a product demo video. If there’s too much going on, you’ll detract attention from the product and consumers may be left confused about their buying decision. A simple, dynamic and to the point video showing a 360-view of your product in use can speak more than a thousand words.
Poor-quality videos can actually do more harm than good. If it looks like your product demo video production has been done on a small budget and half-heartedly, you won’t see the desired effect on your conversion rates. Don’t settle for product videos that are blurry or slow to load as embedding these on your site could damage your conversions and brand reputation.
Knowing how to create product demo videos is one thing, but understanding how best to embed or share these videos is another. The average session duration on sites increases by around 340% when product pages offer demo videos. So, it’s important to embed these videos on your site using a reliable video hosting platform.
Zidivo’s on-demand video hosting features provide brands with complete freedom over where they share product demo videos, the quality of the viewing experience, and the volume of videos they want to embed on site. You can even use the platform to monitor the success of your videos with their real-time statistics and ensure that your eCommerce site speed is not heavily affected with Zidivo’s automatic compression of all video content.
To go even further with product demo video production, there are a number of other ways to use video to boost your conversions.
Though product demo videos lend themselves to being kept short, some products may require a deeper or more extensive explanation to help a consumer in their buying decisions. Explainer videos are more complex than demos and can be used by brands to explain the inner functionality and reasoning behind their product(s). People online shopping are far more likely to watch a quick video than read a lengthy description explaining how a product works.
Explainer videos are commonly produced using animation, to educate viewers about any innovative or unique features your product or service offers and help consumers to understand how a product will add to their life.
Your videos don’t just have to be demonstrations or explanations of your products themselves, they can act as trust signals too. Testimonials are an easy way to provide proof by showing consumers a completely unbiased opinion of your product(s). Simply ask any previous happy customers to film a short clip of them raving about how your product has benefitted them, or invite them to you to make sure it’s filmed in high-quality, then embed it on the relevant pages as a clear sign of authenticity.
While most product demo videos are recorded on-demand for consumers to watch when it suits them, live streaming can play a part too. Why not record your demonstrations live in front of a real-life audience and stream this online to generate attention and show consumers instant reactions and responses to any queries. Live video provides even more of a trust signal as it’s in real-time - there’s no room for editing allowing consumers to see a 100% honest view of your product(s).
If your eCommerce business is looking to start creating and embedding product demo videos across your site, Zidivo offers the ideal solution. You can use the platform for hosting as many or as few on-demand or live videos as required, whether you decide to embed 360-demo videos on each product page or an animated explainer video on your homepage. Our pricing packages are designed to suit a wide range of businesses, depending on the storage and bandwidth they require.
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Just in case you or the decision-makers at your business still aren't convinced about the importance of a strong video marketing strategy for 2020 we've compiled a list of we think is the most compelling video marketing statistics from around the web to help you out.
