In the past,“video” marketing took the form of television – or occasionally cinema – ads. These necessarily had to have a wide reach and couldn’t really be specifically targeted at the precise market a company wanted to corner. There was also no way to directly engage with them and be taken to the point of a sale. However, with the rise of eCommerce, it is easy to see how video marketing has been revolutionized.
For one thing, it is significantly cheaper than television ads ever were! Moreover, the fact that video marketing has become available for even the smallest of eCommerce sites is a testament to just how much of a revolution the internet has been when it comes to business and retail. Online marketing can be done with even the smallest of budgets, and it can potentially reach a much larger market than television ads ever could.
More than even this though, that audience can be specifically targeted according to their interests. Video marketing is therefore one of the most effective lead generation services, as potential customers can click on the attendant links and be led straight to your site.
The Rise of the Smartphone
Azola Creative, experts in all things lead generation, say also that online video marketing has become even easier still on account of a further evolution that has developed more recently. This is the rise of the smartphone or, more specifically, the rise of smartphone videos. The viral video phenomenon, which refers to amateur videos (shot on a camera phone) that spread around the internet is usually those videos that cost nothing to make. Yet they are incredibly popular if entertaining enough.
The result of this has been that the portrait orientation (a video shot by a camera phone held lengthways) has even now become the standard for video marketing. This is because they are increasingly being watched on smartphones, which means this orientation fills the screen more completely. Creating videos like this is a terrific way to make that video go viral.If a video featuring your brand goes viral, then you have a massive profitable marketing campaign on your hands, one that cost you nothing and which generates leads from all over the world.
Tips for Ecommerce Video Marketing
Of course, eCommerce video marketing involves a lot more than just this, and there are many ways you can optimize the process for effective lead generation and to drum up interest in your area of business.
Share Your Story
Ideally, you want customers not only to be attracted by a product that they need or want but by your company and your brand too. How can you go about this? You tell your story; you make videos showing “behind the scenes” content and you essentially educate customers on why your brand is especially good for this particular product. It’s all about fostering identification.
Make Full Use of Social Media
Lead generation can indeed lead individuals to your eCommerce site, but it can also lead them to your Facebook page, where potential customers can follow you, and then to your e-commerce site. Why limit the number of people you can reach?
Educate Customers
Customer education is a big part of video marketing these days, and it involves teaching potential customers about your products and brand. The most well-known examples here are tutorial videos, how-to videos, and product expositions. This will improve the customer experience of your product and lead to greater customer satisfaction.
We have just scratched the surface of online video marketing here. But hopefully, this is enough to see its massive potential and why, as an eCommerce business, you should never neglect it.