How to Make Ecommerce Product Videos For Your Online Business

Are you looking to increase clicks, sales, and revenues? If you are not using video to highlight your eCommerce products, you are missing out on an opportunity to cut through the clutter and get the attention of potential customers. 96% of customers who make purchases online find videos helpful in making a decision. This makes eCommerce product videos an essential part of your overall marketing strategy. 

Still, many eCommerce businesses do not offer online eCommerce videos. Some business owners fail to see the importance of offering videos. However, many just don’t know how to get started. Video can seem intimidating at first. However, what you will find, once you understand the overall process, and invest a little time, you will be reaping the benefits of product videos in no time.

The Goal of eCommerce Video Marketing

Before shooting your first video clip, it is essential to understand your goals. What, exactly, are you trying to do with the eCommerce videos? That will determine your approach and assist you in creating a video that helps you reach your goals.

There are many reasons to use video marketing, but there are three main areas of focus: education, awareness, and sales. Videos can help to educate potential customers about your product. This is especially important if what you are selling has unique features of benefits not found in other options. It is even more critical if your product is highly technical and needs more explanation.

Video ads are a great way to raise awareness of your product. Especially if you are selling something new or unique, video is a great way to catch the eye of a potential customer. Videos are made for passive consumption. Even someone who isn’t looking for what you have to offer may passively watch a video that may catch their attention.

Ultimately, eCommerce product videos are about sales. You will measure the ROI on your video by the increase in sales they create. Done right, product videos will lead to additional sales. In fact, around three-quarters of consumers are more likely to purchase something online if they can watch a video explaining it first. 

What Type of eCommerce Video Should I Make?

Once you are clear on the goals of your video, it is time to figure out the type of view you want to produce. Sometimes video types blend into each other, but it is helpful to be clear when starting. 

What are the main types of product videos?

1. Product Demo – Show your product in use, demonstrating its features and benefit. Or, if demonstrating its use is impractical, you can simply show the product from multiple angles and include close up.
2. Explainer Video – Demonstrates how to use, set up, or best use the product. This can include installation and setup and even product features and benefits. 
3. Story – Shows the product benefits in the context of someone’s life and work. Stories are powerful ways to help people picture having your product as part of their life.
4. Video Advertisement – Any of the above can actually be an advertisement, but some eCommerce videos may simply be designed to convince people to buy the product.

Produce Your eCommerce Product Videos

Now it is time to get down to work. But you still have some decisions to make. The availability of prosumer video equipment and intuitive editing software makes it entirely possible to create your own eCommerce product videos. However, that will not be the best route for everyone.

Consider Hiring A Production Team

Unless you happen to be a video pro or an amateur with a lot of experience, the simplest way to produce an eCommerce video is to hire someone. You can hire an entire production team to either come to your place or shoot in a studio. This will leave all the technical pieces to someone else while you act as the producer, ensuring that your productions service the purpose intended.

Hire Freelance Help

If you don’t have the budget to hire an entire team or want to be more hands-on, talented freelancers are available to help you out. You can hire freelancers to shoot video, take care of audio, perfect your lightening, help set up shots, and even take care of makeup. The good news is that these professionals often can bring their own equipment, saving you the expense of purchases or rentals.

Do It Yourself eCommerce Videos

Depending on the proficiency of your video skills, the complexity of your project, and your budget, you may decide to complete the project yourself. There are a few things you will need before you get started.

What Video Equipment Do You Need For Product Videos?

Camera

You will need a quality camera that will shoot in high definition. Precisely what kind of camera you will need depends on exactly what and where you are shooting. For close up shots in settings where the light is easily controlled, an iPhone in the right hands can create amazing results. For more complex videos, especially those shot outdoors will likely need a more advanced camera.

Audio Equipment

If your video has an audio component, you will need to be sure that you can capture high-quality sound. This is especially important for testimonials or other “talking-head” videos. Resist the temptation to use the cameras built-in microphone. A separate audio recorder with a professional mic will drastically improve your results.

Lighting

One of the most critical aspects of a high-quality eCommerce product video is the lighting. In most cases, you will need three sources of light: a straight-on or “key” light, a source from the side of your subject or “fill light,” and lighting from above, often called a hair light. In some cases, you can get away with two, and other times there is a natural light source that can be used.

Video Editing Software

The type of software you will need will again depend on the complexity of your project. There are inexpensive and even free options for simple projects. For more elaborate productions, you will want to look into professional tools like Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro.

Talent

If there will be actors in your video, you will need to find people to fill those roles. It is tempting just to find someone you know with a good speaking voice, but results will vary.

Writing a Script and Storyboard

Even the most basic eCommerce product videos should be well thought out. This is when it is essential to remember the purpose of your video. A video that sets out to tell a story will have a very different approach from a product demo or explainer video.

If you are using in-house or professional actors, be sure to review the script with them and make any changes necessary. This will save you a ton of time and trouble when you are recording.

Recording Your eCommerce Product Videos

How you approach your recording sessions will depend upon what you are trying to accomplish. The most challenging type of recording is video and audio of people. If you have a spokesperson, a product demonstrator, or any other actors, you need to deal with more than just the technical side. You, or whoever you hire or assign, also need to ensure that the people are doing and saying everything they are required to.

Products are easier. They tend to cooperate. However, getting them to look great in a video may be more challenging. Sometimes looking for the right lighting and angles can take some experimentation. Other times, you might just need to record audio with images, screenshots, or animations. In this case, you will need to ensure you have a high-quality space for recording. Background noise and room echo can quickly make your video sound unprofessional and poorly produced.

Editing the eCommerce Product Videos for Online Distribution

When the cameras stop rolling, you are just getting started. Even if you shot the entire video by yourself, it is not too late to get help. Some freelancers specialize in editing and producing a video that is already shot.

Here are some tips for making sure your video looks and sounds great:

Know your time limits

Different platforms have different limits for video. For instance, Instagram limits videos to one minute, whereas Twitter allows them to run up to two minutes and 20 seconds.

Normalize your audio

Don’t require viewers to turn their volume way up or way down when your video comes on. Pay attention to industry-standard loudness practices. 

Use intentional edits

Editing is a critical part of the production process of your eCommerce video. It is not just about trimming out the things you don’t want. It is about finding the exact right shots so that every image and transition help tell the story of your product and draw attention to its features and benefits.

Consider using transcripts

Especially if you are editing long explanations, interviews, or testimonials, it can save a lot of time if you have the videos professionally transcribed. We can help you with high-quality transcription services.

Promote Your Ecommerce Videos

Where will you distribute your eCommerce product videos?

The most obvious place to distribute your eCommerce videos is on your website. They can be used on landing pages to draw a deeper interest in the product. Or, they can be featured on the product pages to help customers finalize their decision. If you sell on a marketplace like Amazon, you can feature your videos in the product listings.

To push your message out, you can also include your eCommerce videos in messages you send to your email list. Featured videos can link directly to a special landing page to funnel potential customers directly to a place where they can make a purchase.

eCommerce videos are also perfect for your social media promotional efforts. Videos can be posted on all your social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat.

For even more impact, a little bit of investment in paid online advertising can go a long way. Online video ads are available for purchase on Google Display Network, the Google Marketing Platform, Google Ad Manager, YouTube, Bing, and even streaming services like Hulu.

It requires a much higher investment but paid television ads can give you even more exposure.

Optimize Your Videos For Reaching Audiences

If you really want to reach the most potential customers, be sure that everyone can get your messages. Adding closed captions to your videos can make it easier to find them by boosting your SEO. We can create your closed captions for you to make your videos more accessible, easier to share, and viewable for people who may surf the web with the sound off.

We can also help you add foreign subtitles to your videos allowing you to reach a wider audience.

If you are really looking to expand your social media audience, consider adding open captions. Burning-in captions on your social media videos, your text will always be featured whenever someone watches. If you want your videos to go viral, you won’t want to skip this step.

Increase the Viralability of Your eCommerce Product Videos

It is nearly impossible to “make” a video go viral. However, there are ways to ensure your videos are sharable and have the most potential to make a big splash. Here are some tips:

Find a hook

Give your video something that will grab viewers’ attention and convince them to keep watching. It could be something funny, shocking, or simply unusual.

Write a great script

Consider using humor and interesting dialogue to engage viewers.

Make it real

Use real customers or other characters to make the videos relatable.

Add star power

Involve influencers and celebrities to add some authority to your eCommerce video.

Make it look good

Add eye-catching visuals, graphics, and special effects to make it exciting and engaging.

Measure Performance of Your Product Videos

Use Call-To-Actions in Your Videos

If you are going to invest time and resources into creating eCommerce videos, you want to ensure that you are getting the result you expect. You will need a way to measure the impact of your videos. One of the best ways to do this is to use Calls to Action (CTAs) in your video. These CTAs can be linked to a custom domain name or unique landing page URL so that you can track each click.

Apps like Wistia can help you embed clickable CTAs directly into your videos. You should also consider using tools like UTMS (Urchin Traffic Monitors) to track the source, medium, campaign, term, and content of each click. This can be done using Google’s Campaign URL builder. 

Tracking the Performance Data

Once you have set your CTAs and linked everything correctly, it is time to start measuring. Google Analytics is the perfect tool to use to track traffic. Analytics is a powerful tool that will allow you to track all the traffic to your site, including your landing pages. You can see where traffic is originating and then follow it. You will be able to see what users are doing once they arrive at your website and how many visitors are eventually purchasing your product. 

If you are selling on a marketplace such as Amazon, use their built-in tools to measure product views, video views, and sales.

Making Ecommerce Product Videos Grows Your Marketing Potential

There are endless possibilities when it comes to eCommerce product videos. And, it is easier than ever to get started. With the potential power of video, now is the time to get started. If you aren’t ready for an elaborate production with scripts and actors, some simple product videos with voiceover dialogue can get you started on your way.

Just don’t forget to add the power of captioning. Our tools make it easy, fast, and inexpensive to exponentially improve the impact of your videos by adding captions, subtitles, and even foreign subtitles. This will enhance the chances of your eCommerce product videos being seen, shared, and eventually leading to more sales.

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