Video marketing has long been a powerful tool for advertising, from its early days on television to the rise of digital platforms. While static images and social media posts dominated online marketing for a time, video's effectiveness has brought us full circle: 89% of businesses now use online video marketing to drive sales.
Of those that don’t use video for their marketing, 37% say it's because they don’t know where to start. If that’s you, read on — this guide will describe what makes video ads so effective and what types you can use in your online content.
If you’re a retailer looking to increase your sales with videos for ecommerce, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve gathered a few key tips and some cool ecommerce product videos to start you on the right path!
What is video ecommerce? Definition and benefits
Ecommerce videos are an extremely effective way to advertise online products and services. The most common types are customer testimonials, traditional video ads, and product demonstrations. However, with the advent of interactive videos and live video commerce, businesses can engage viewers more organically. A marketing strategy that uses video ecommerce to reach varied audiences can lead to numerous benefits.
Boosted conversion rates
Engaging video content should always end with a compelling call to action that invites viewers to take the next step toward making a purchase. Done correctly, these videos prime consumers to buy and drive them to your storefront, where they can become customers.
By using an interactive video platform, you can include clickable hotspots to direct viewers, develop branching narratives for tailored experiences, and add polls or quizzes to engage and gather information from potential customers. Did you know that you could embed a call-to-action (CTA) or a registration form right in the Vimeo player?
Learn more about adding a CTA to video →
Better storytelling for products
Ecommerce videos help you tell a compelling story about a product, whether through full product demonstrations or simple unboxing videos. A few glowing customer testimonials can elevate your video content, showcasing the true essence of your unique products. You can even invite viewers to interact with your product using shoppable video features, like clickable hotspots.
Expanding audience reach and engagement
You can unleash your video ads anywhere viewers engage, from the bustling feeds of Instagram and TikTok to in-depth explainers on your YouTube or Vimeo channels. No matter where your shoppers roam, rest assured there's a screen waiting to showcase your stellar video content.
To have the greatest impact, match the video format and style to the platform. For example, short vertical explainer videos do well on TikTok, but longer, more detailed ecommerce product videos fit well on your Vimeo and YouTube channels, and your own ecommerce or Shopify websites.
Upload an ecommerce video →
Video ecommerce: Types and examples that elevate the customer experience
There are several types of ecommerce videos, and a good video marketing strategy will use a mixture of them to reach audiences. You can distill them into two main categories:
- Live videos are streamed directly to viewers, giving them a sense of urgency and often inviting them to participate with comments and polls. For example, a small business owner is hosting a live Q&A session about their new product line, or a fashion influencer showcasing a "try-on haul" and answer questions from viewers in real-time.
- Pre-recorded videos are edited to capture a specific message you can place on any video channel and reuse for years. Product demo videos, testimonials, and shoppable videos are common types of recorded videos.
Now that we’ve explored these two essential categories, let's dive into five powerful video ecommerce examples that will ignite your imagination and supercharge your sales.
1. Interactive videos
This interactive product demo showcases how the service works with a real demonstration. As you watch the video, you can select a path through its dynamic storytelling. Rather than creating separate videos for different audience segments, an interactive video gives everyone a place to watch video content that resonates with their unique use case. You can even use this feature to create a video shopping experience that lets users buy products directly within the video.
2. Live streaming for product launches
One Delisle is a new architectural project in Toronto, announced in a live stream video in 2022. The video highlights the architect, the new skyscraper’s unique location, and the design philosophy behind the building.
Since live stream video content is generally longer, you have more time to unpack high-level concepts and showcase all the talented people involved in your project or product. It’s a great way to humanize your video marketing and invite viewers to get in on the ground floor of your next idea.
3. User-generated content (UGC) integration
Showcasing your customers’ work is a great way to demonstrate what your product can do in the hands of talented people. This product demo for Google Design conveys the platform’s incredible potential with a montage of visuals developed by someform Studio. Focusing on a single user like this gives the video a sense of purpose that can impress consumers, but you can also feature user-generated content from a wide range of users to demonstrate your product's versatility.
4. Behind-the-scenes content
Alchemist is a fashion brand specializing in sustainable, elegant styles. This behind-the-scenes video ad gives an exclusive peek behind the curtain of their latest product photoshoot. Its vertical aspect ratio makes it compatible with TikTok and Instagram, two platforms where this candid style works well.
Behind-the-scenes videos are a clever strategy because they extract more value from the expensive process of capturing video content, by getting two (or more) videos at the same time instead of just one! Most videos you make present an opportunity for behind-the-scenes footage, from unboxing videos and tutorials to product demos, so get creative!
5. Product tutorials and how-tos
Traditional explainer videos like this Samsung how-to are still central to any company’s ecommerce video marketing strategy. They instruct existing customers how to best utilize their products and invite potential buyers to learn about the features of a product they’re considering. You can use them in help articles, landing pages, and even email communications to showcase new or updated tips.
With an online commerce solution like Shopify, you can insert any of these types of ecommerce videos into product listings and landing pages. When combined with a video solution like Vimeo, Shopify simplifies the process of publishing and organizing video content like ads, tutorials, and unboxing videos. Vimeo also integrates with several other ecommerce solutions, so you aren’t short of options.
Video in ecommerce: Best practices to elevate your digital storefront
Now that you know the kinds of video ads you can make, it’s time to consider how you should make them. Here are some tips on how to create ecommerce videos that engage viewers and boost conversions.
Find out where your audience is
The most crucial aspect of advertising your products online is to go to where the viewers are. From social media sites like Instagram and TikTok to live streaming platforms like YouTube and Vimeo, you need to find where potential buyers spend their time. With great video analytics, you can discover your audience's referral sources and their countries of origin.
Choose the right video platform
Whether you’re making traditional ads, live streams, or shoppable videos, you’ll need to pick a shopping platform and a video solution that supports all the features you need. For example, Vimeo and Shopify make a potent combination thanks to several features that are widely compatible with one another, like automated video creation and streamlined publishing.
See all ecommerce integrations →
Optimize for mobile
A lot of online commerce takes place on mobile devices, so optimizing videos for smaller screens is in your best interest. Use automatic resolutions and video content to engage all your viewers, no matter which device they’re on. Automatic resolution adjusts the video quality to suit different screen sizes and internet speeds, ensuring that your videos look sharp on everything from a large monitor to a small smartphone, and that they load quickly and play smoothly without buffering.
Learn more about automatic video resolutions →
Include CTAs
Every video ad should end with a click-worthy end screen and a compelling call-to-action, encouraging viewers to become buyers. For example, in a product demo, let your audience know they’re never more than a few clicks away from buying the product themselves. If you use a video platform like Vimeo, customers can purchase products without even closing the video.
Create shoppable videos →
Track and analyze your content
Always follow up on every video by checking its engagement metrics. View time, shares, and comments all give you vital information you can use to refine your video marketing strategies. If a video isn’t getting enough traffic, you might need to adjust its SEO metadata with new keywords or a better alt text description. Likewise, if you need more shares, you should consider adding a CTA to share the video on TikTok or Instagram.
Explore powerful analytics features →
Integrate video ecommerce with Vimeo and create standout shopping experiences
Video ecommerce is a great way to engage viewers and drive conversions with high-quality content. It can unlock potential earnings with a target audience by reaching them on social media and elsewhere.
Whether you’re interested in making unboxing videos, tutorials, or shoppable video experiences, Vimeo has you covered. To begin, just pick the right ecommerce integration for your business and start making compelling video ads with Vimeo.
