Ecommerce Video Marketing: “Everything You Need to Know” Guide for 2024

In 2021, TikTok became the king of the internet and dethroned Google as the most popular domain on a worldwide basis. We share this with you, not to inspire panic, but to illustrate the general power of a video marketing strategy, and its limitless potential for eCommerce businesses.

YouTube is what used to come to mind when marketers and consumers thought about online video content. However, platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, Google, LinkedIn, and even Pinterest have ventured into video.

Established and emerging brands are leveraging the power of video marketing for eCommerce. Harnessing the power of video can increase your customers’ lifetime value, improve conversions, boost SEO, and bring success to your brand.

Let’s break down its benefits and discuss the various video formats that work best for online stores.

Lights, Camera, Conversion: Why Ecommerce Businesses Should Invest in Video Marketing

85% of companies use video marketing as a digital marketing tool. This makes sense considering 69% of consumers claim they prefer learning about new products and services by watching short videos.

Video marketing for ecommerce businesses has become an indispensable tool, offering numerous benefits. Wondering what the benefits of creating videos for your ecommerce business actually are?

  • Convert viewers into paying customers: eCommerce videos are great for conversions because potential customers can access them on a variety of different channels. And on top of that, embedding videos on landing pages can boost conversion rates by over 86%.
  • Bring more organic traffic to your website: The majority of consumers prefer explainer videos over reading long paragraphs; thus, videos increase user engagement, leading to higher search engine results page (SERP) rankings.
  • Attract mobile users: With 98% of 18-34 year-olds using smartphones to watch video content daily, predictably, videos create an immediate impact when brands authentically use mobile devices to connect with their audiences.
  • Complement other content types: Considering writing a blog post on how to use a product? Trust us when we say your audience wants a video to accompany it. Part of what makes video so appealing is that it works well with both organic and paid marketing strategies like content writing.
  • Build a recognizable brand: The intimacy of video marketing is uniquely suited to establishing rapport and building trust. With 92% of brands saying videos are the backbone of their marketing, you get more control of the message, narrative, and emotion you want your audience to feel when engaging with your company.

From vlogs to behind-the-scenes videos, there are numerous options available for you to use in your video marketing for ecommerce strategy.

Types of Video Content an Ecommerce Store Can Use

From traditional ads to explainers, videos perform on social media and receive higher engagement than all other forms of content. Below are the most popular video types utilized in eCommerce video marketing.

Demo Videos

An ecommerce demo video

Demo videos illustrate how products work by demonstrating them in action. Compelling demo videos let viewers know why they should purchase a product and provide a context for them to assess their features. In many ways, today’s product videos are less aggressive than traditional sales videos.

Nespresso provides an excellent example of a high-quality eCommerce video production. If you do create demo videos, then make sure to describe the product and its components, as well as how it provides a solution, i.e., works.

Ecommerce Business Brand Videos

Top ecommerce business brand video

These product videos communicate an eCommerce company’s vision and mission and provide an in-depth exploration of the people and values that steer a company. They’re usually advertisements, miniseries, or mini-documentaries.

For example, Apple’s video about data privacy communicates its stance on increasing public concern while indirectly marketing its brand. The aim here is to monetize on positive association rather than blatant self-promotion.

Ecommerce Advertisements

McDonalds video with BTS crew

An eCommerce video ads work the same way as traditional television commercials, except they’re broadcast online. Your approach can be a hard or soft sell depending on where you’re positioning the advertisements within the buyer’s funnel.

Take note of the high production value and short length of this Macdonald’s commercial.

With Google Ads, you can create remarkable video campaigns with a range of ad formats to engage customers on YouTube and across video partner sites. Even though the video ad content has to be hosted on YouTube, your ad can appear across websites and apps running in Google video partners, which increases brand awareness.

User-Generated Content and Brand Vlogs

An example of brand vlog on Instagram

Sharing content generated by users, especially from influential people, can boost your brand’s credibility. Encourage users to tag you in their posts so that you can easily find these videos. These videos offer an affordable, alternative way to forge a personal connection with your potential customers. Essentially, they fulfill some of the same function as blogs but in video format.

Vlogs also work really well on Instagram Stories. It’s easy for brands to create their own content and share user-generated content (USG), which acts as social proof that their products and services are worth buying.

Behind-the-Scenes (BTS) Videos

Goorin's behind-the-scene-video

BTS videos add authenticity to eCommerce brands. They showcase a company’s working environments and reveal a bit about their manufacturing process and the people behind the business. As an eCommerce video marketing strategy, they can enhance a brand’s online presence and give them a chance to connect with their customers on a personal level.

For example, the online retail store Zappos created this video about an employee’s determined spirit at work.

Fun fact: BTS videos were originally used by the entertainment industry to give viewers a glimpse into how their favorite movies and TV shows were created. In some instances, the BTS videos were more successful than the shows themselves.

Industry Expert Interviews

Share interviews with industry experts among your target audience

There’s no better way to increase the value of your marketing strategy than by creating interviews with experts. They can highlight your brand’s legitimacy and impart valuable information to your customers.

Nike, for instance, has a series on its YouTube Channel called Come Thru that speaks to issues resonating with its ethos and provides entertainment for its target audience.

There are also so many creative ways to film interviews. You can create them the old-fashioned talk show way, or kill two birds with one stone and film a podcast interview, which provides you with two marketing assets.

How-to and Explainer Videos

An example of a how-to video

How-to videos explain concepts or processes to customers. They work well for eCommerce products and services that aren’t intuitive by bringing consumers up to speed and building trust, but they needn’t only be focused on how products work.

Food and clothing brands, as well as influencers, frequently publish videos on how-to style outfits and recipe recommendations. The reason why an explainer video works so well is that consumers like getting information in the shortest time possible. How-to videos between one and two minutes perform the best.

Ecommerce Webinars

Share ecommerce webinars

Webinars are an excellent way to move customers along the sales funnel, whether through a new product launch, demonstration, or guest talk. Additionally, if you record them, they can be watched afterward by more viewers, expanding your business reach.

This type of eCommerce video gives you the chance to explain your unique selling proposition and build relationships with your customers. Real estate, investing, and B2B businesses with complex products benefit the most from webinars.

Product Reviews

Product review video

92% of consumers read product reviews before buying a product. Product reviews can be published on YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok. They may be user-generated content or paid influencer campaigns.

The more positive your reviews, the greater your brand credibility. Furthermore, new customers looking for certain video testimonials will connect to your brand through SEO searches. Appealing to a wider audience is the biggest advantage of initiating review video campaigns.

Animated Videos

An example of an animated video

Animation is applicable to any of the above eCommerce brand videos. It’s incredibly effective for explaining complex products or processes that are impossible or too resource-intensive to film. Slack’s video, which would have been challenging to pull off as a traditional eCommerce video advertisement, works more effectively as an animation.

While animation may not always be cheaper than live videos, they do take less effort. If you need something explained, you can hire a single person (animator) to create your video. Whereas if you’re getting someone to demonstrate or explain something, you require a location, crew, and have to make sure the people featured in the video are camera-ready.

Get Started with These Top 5 Ecommerce Video Marketing Strategies

Define Your Video Marketing Goals

Before creating any video content, determine the purpose of your videos and what you want to achieve with them. Examples of video marketing goals may include increasing brand awareness, driving traffic to your website, or boosting sales.

Determine the Target Audience of Your Ecommerce Videos

Understanding your target audience is crucial for creating an effective video marketing strategy. Define the demographics and interests of your ideal customer to tailor your video marketing strategy to their preferences.

Make the Most of Your Budget

While video production can be expensive, it doesn’t have to break the bank. Determine a budget for your video marketing strategy and consider ways to optimize your spending, such as using user-generated content or repurposing existing videos.

Choose Your Video Marketing Channels

There are many channels available for sharing your ecommerce videos, including social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Here are some channels available to you:

  • Your own website and online marketplaces: Embed your videos directly onto your website or online shop to showcase your products, explain their features, and provide helpful tutorials to your customers.
  • Email campaigns: Use video in your email campaigns to make your messages more engaging and memorable. Including a video in your email can increase click-through rates and conversions.
  • Video hosting sites: Platforms like Vimeo and Wistia allow you to host and share your videos with a wider audience, and offer more advanced analytics and customization options than social media platforms.
  • TikTok: TikTok is a video-centric social media platform that has exploded in popularity in recent years, particularly among younger audiences. The platform offers powerful tools for creating short-form videos that can be used to showcase your products, provide helpful tutorials, or simply entertain your audience. TikTok also offers robust discovery and sharing features, making it easy to reach a wide audience with your videos.
  • YouTube: As the world’s largest video-sharing platform, YouTube offers unparalleled reach and engagement potential. In addition to traditional video content, YouTube also offers a range of other features like YouTube Shorts, a vertical video format designed for mobile users, and YouTube Stories, a feature that allows you to share short, ephemeral videos with your subscribers.
  • Instagram: Instagram offers several ways to share video content, including Instagram Stories, Instagram Reels, and IGTV. Instagram Stories are short videos that disappear after 24 hours, while Instagram Reels are short-form videos designed to be shared in the app’s feed. IGTV is a long-form video platform that allows you to share longer videos with your followers.

Collaborate to Amplify Your Video Marketing Efforts

Partnering with influencers or other brands can help increase the reach and impact of your video content. Consider collaborating on a video campaign or using influencer marketing to promote your videos to their audiences.

How to Make Appealing Ecommerce Videos

As a professional digital marketing agency, we have to be honest with you; good video marketing for eCommerce requires some know-how and planning. Yes, anyone can film something on their smartphones, and glitchy, lo-fi aesthetics are fashionable, although this only works for specific brands, or when there’s intended irony.

If you want to produce high-quality videos, be sure to follow these tips:

  • Use good lighting. Either invest in basic studio lights or film yourself facing a window to take advantage of natural light.
  • Film with a clean background. Unless you can change the focal depth of your camera or phone lens (Blur the background.), you should choose a background free from clutter and distraction.
  • Record crisp audio. If you can, invest in a lapel microphone to record good audio. As the old axiom goes, “Video is 50% sound.”
  • Get a tripod. Shaky footage looks unprofessional, and tripods are relatively inexpensive. The amateur hack is to use a pile of books. However, a tripod is far less hassle.
  • Understand basic filming techniques. Composition and framing matter. Familiarize yourself with the Rule of Thirds, interview lighting techniques, and different types of shots.
  • Invest in decent editing software. There are numerous editing apps to make editing easier. The best are usually paid, but given their plug-and-play functionality, it’s definitely worth it.

Plan in advance. Every video you make should serve a purpose in your ecommerce video marketing strategy. From product videos to paid advertising commercials, always make sure you’re creating something that adds value for new and existing customers.

Get ahead of the game. Optimize your digital marketing strategy for maximum revenue growth
Get ahead of the game. Optimize your digital marketing strategy for maximum revenue growth

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Get ahead of the game. Optimize your digital marketing strategy for maximum revenue growth

Seeing Is Believing: How Ecommerce Video Marketing Can Build Trust and Loyalty

Comrade Digital Marketing is a full-service agency specializing in developing and executing effective ecommerce marketing strategies to help businesses achieve their online goals. Our team is dedicated to helping your business increase brand awareness and drive sales through targeted video content marketing efforts.

With the rise of video as a powerful marketing tool in the ecommerce industry, our agency can help you leverage this medium to engage with your prospective buyers and differentiate your brand from the competition.

Let our company be your partner in achieving your ecommerce marketing objectives. Contact us today to learn how we can help you take your business to the next level with a strategic ecommerce marketing strategy to boost your revenue.

About the Author
Stan co-founded Comrade Digital Marketing and serves as its marketing strategist and IT expert recruiter.
More Stan's articles
Stan Bogdashin

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