When Pam and Mack Thorpe were looking for an innovative way to promote their retail store on the Web, they looked around at how other merchants were leveraging the Internet. When the co-owners of The Rusty Bucket in Apex, North Carolina, discovered just how many businesses were successfully using online video to market products and services, they knew they were onto something.
“We’ve found online video to be a very effective for communicating with our customers,” say the Thorpes, who specialize in country home furnishings and accessories. “Over the last couple of years, we’ve used it extensively.”
Web marketing guru Ed Taylor, founder of Ashland, Oregon–based Internet Marketing Group, says the Thorpes are not alone. He’s been advising clients to add video to their websites since 1995, the year MarketingSherpa published a study showing how DiscoveryStore.com had increased its e-commerce conversions by 78 percent by using a “video spokesmodel” on its site.
“The A/B split test [used to determine which elements on a webpage are helping its performance, and which are not] produced compelling evidence showing just how effective online video can be,” says Taylor, who adds that retailers that ignore the “moving pictures” aspect of web marketing are missing the boat. Here are nine ways to get in on the action:
1. Shoot Some Useful Footage
Want to start out slow in the online video world? Your first step should be to simply show off your shop online. The Rusty Bucket’s website features a 30-second spot that was created out of 5½ hours of footage shot on the premises. “That half-a-minute says it all, and really shows site visitors exactly what they can expect when they visit our location in person,” says Pam Thorpe. If your company receives an award or recognition (such as the Country Business Retailer of the Year Award, which the Thorpes won recently), shoot footage of the event and post snippets of video online for your customers to view.
2. Link Videos to Blogs
Blogs are simple to construct and maintain, and serve as a great way to gain exposure for your online video. The Thorpes use a blog that’s updated regularly, and that targets its potential and current customer base. Embedded in the blog are links to the store’s videos. A blog posting that focuses on how to decorate a country home, for example, would include a link to a video of Pam Thorpe “showing” viewers exactly how to decorate their own abodes. She says customer feedback has been positive. “We get a lot of compliments on our videos, either instantly [via e-mail], or the next time the customer comes into the store,” says Thorpe. “We’ve also gotten new customers who came in just because they saw the videos.”
3. Demonstrate Your Products or Services
Give customers a reason to watch and react to your online videos by showing them how to tackle a complex craft project (step-by-step) or how to spot collectible pieces whose value will increase over time. Keep these how-to videos to 3–5 minutes in length, advises Rodger Roeser, president at Cincinnati, Ohio–based public relations consultancy Eisen Management Group, Inc. “Make them any longer,” he says, “and your customers will lose interest and move onto another site.”
4. Use the “Man on the Street” Tactic
Did you recently put up a new display? Add a new product line? Start selling a delicious new type of food? Get out your video camera and recruit a few customers or passers-by to react to the new addition. “Go around and capture their reactions,” says Roeser, who has used the strategy successfully with various restaurant and retail clients. “This is your chance to create entertaining, engaging video content that customers don’t usually get to see.”
5. Utilize Video Effects
Real estate agents and large retailers have already discovered the value of the “walk-on” video effects (that miniature person that pops up and talks to you when you pull up their websites). Now it’s your turn. “The walk-on video effect is a great way to add uniqueness to your site and ‘speak’ to your visitors as they browse,” says Taylor, who also advises retailers to set up their sites to be able to “trigger” individual videos to pop up when a customer clicks on a specific link. “This is a great way to give someone a tour of your product or service via a fast-loading web video demo,” he adds.
6. Use Tech Tools
If the idea of getting in front of the camera doesn’t appeal to you, or if the concept doesn’t fit well with your product line or marketing goals, Taylor says a good alternative is to create videos of a PowerPoint presentation. Use a program like Camtasia Studio to get the job done quickly and affordably. “This software will record everything that happens on your computer screen, from the movements of your mouse to your voice [when connected to a microphone],” says Taylor. “This recording can then be uploaded to your website for quick and easy viewing by anyone who visits your website.”
7. Upload the Video to Popular Sites
YouTube is all the rage these days, so once your video is complete, be sure to upload it to the popular site for increased exposure. Also check out Google and Yahoo’s video sites, both of which are gaining in popularity. “Uploading to these sites gives your product additional, free publicity,” says Taylor. “You can even use those websites to host your video for you, and link to it on your website (thus saving yourself the cost of additional bandwidth).”
8. Give Them a Taste for More
Being able to draw customers to your online video is great, but your higher goal as a retailer is always to get those individuals into your stores to open their wallets. “Online video doesn’t allow customers to see, touch and smell our products,” says Thorpe. “It does, however, give them an introduction and entices them to come by and see everything in person.”
9. Follow the Rules of the Road
To get the most out of your online video, Taylor says retailers should follow these simple steps:
1. Keep it short—less than 3 minutes is ideal.
2. If you use a spokesperson, make sure he or she matches the demographic of your target market.
3. Use auto play; videos that automatically play when the page is loaded tend to be more effective.
4. Limit the number of showings per visitor; you want your video to be informative, not annoying.
5. Highlight both the features and the benefits of products or services.
6. Keep the video active; avoid long pauses.
7. To work, your video must look good, be well lit and build credibility (not decrease it).