In the CommerceNext hosted webinar, “Storytelling with Video for Deeper Customer Engagement,” Priya Shah, Co-Founder at Oracle Sauce Video, presented on recent trends and best practices for video creation. Then, a panel joined for a discussion about video in ecommerce with speakers from Walmart and RevZilla.
Read the recap here or watch the replay.
Sauce Video
Priya Shah knows that using video in marketing for ecommerce brands can “really help to entice, engage and inspire” customers. And, when used effectively, it can also increase the ever-important brand trust.
Any marketing or brand video should include the communities that consumers recognize, including customers, employees and fans. This will make the videos less staged and “salesy.” After years of advertisements, people are tired of getting sold to, so the videos should appear more relatable and genuine. According to Shah, the three pillars of storytelling through video in ecommerce are:
- Keep it authentic
- Keep it relevant
- Keep it short
Recent trends in ecommerce all require more content and video, so the need for video is growing. These growing needs include:
- Online shopping
- Influencer marketing
- SEO
- Social media marketing
- Content marketing
- Shoppable videos
Panel Discussion
RevZilla discovered their target customers are extremely passionate about motorcycling and like to engage in content about it, beyond the first purchase. They find experts in the community to represent them on their video platforms and see great results from their series based content, buying guides and reviews as long form videos. Their long form video has success, because their target audience is passionate enough about the subject to still want to engage regardless of video length. Their short form video content, in which they push people to the more immersive content, can be found on their social media pages.
Walmart found that leaning into individual social media platforms and mirroring the content in the most popular videos on the platform is a great way to have success.They tap into the “why” behind consumers’ visits to the social media sites, such as Youtube or Tiktok, so they know what they are looking for on the platform. Within the video production itself, they focus on getting the main message out early in each video to immediately capture audience attention. Influencers are also often used in video creation to offer an authentic and relatable voice. For example, in one video, they featured a “busy mom” influencer to talk about how she saves time using curbside delivery. Additionally, the influencers know their audience best, so it is important to let the influencers take the lead so the message best resonates with their followers.
Videos are easier to create now more than ever before. With applications such as Sauce Video, the barriers have been eliminated, so that anyone can create videos at scale. The process is simpler and modernized so professionals aren’t the only people who can make them. The accessibility is “leveling the playing field for big and small businesses.”
Introducing videos into the marketing of ecommerce businesses is a great way to increase customers engagement and get a message across both quickly and effectively. For more tips on creating a video strategy, managing their creation and ensuring they are optimized for maximum engagement, come to CommerceNext IRL and keep up with our regular weekly webinars.
