“A minute of video is worth 1.8 million words” Dr James McQuivey, Forrester Research
Videos are an essential part of the web 2.0 ecosystem. Statistics suggest that mobile users spend more than an hour per day watching videos on their devices. And this kind of number is not surprising at all if we consider the omnipresent nature of videos on world wide web. One can easily find videos on all sorts of websites. However, for e-commerce sites, their importance is much more than it is for any other site. Product videos help the visitors of online shopping sites not only in taking a purchase decision but also in many ways. And here we’re going to look on 7 of those ways in which videos help e-commerce website owners in growing their sales. Let’s get started:
#1. Videos explain better
There’s a common saying about images that you might have heard already: a picture is worth a thousand words! And if a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a hundred thousand words. Several things can be explained better with a video than graphics or words. The functionality of products, views, and reviews of experts about them, and many other things are expressed much better in a video that they can be expressed in any other type of content. You too can find some serious use cases for video content in your e-commerce site.
#2. They give a new promotion platform
Videos also give you a new promotion platform that can be used for driving visitors to your e-commerce portal. This platform is called YouTube – and it needs no introduction. It’s one of the biggest online platforms right now, and if used wisely, then it can drive thousands of new visitors to your e-commerce site every month. It is proved that videos are searched more in the search result and out of the 82% videos were from YouTube.
#3. They make you look professional
High-quality videos also add a professional look and feel to your e-commerce site. They make the whole experience appear much more impressive than it would otherwise be, thus increasing your chances of converting visitors into customers. Of course, there are other ways to make your site look professional, but videos are the best among them because they allow you to achieve the same effect without stuffing a lot of content that would make the whole experience exhausting.
#4. Video builds trust in the brand
Finally, videos build trust in your brand. Just as a RapidSSL certificate installation serves as the sign of security and gives peace of mind to your visitors that they’re dealing with a safe website, a product video gives them to trust that they’re dealing with a professional company. HubSpot’s studies have found that 58% of people think that companies with product videos can be trusted. That is every second visitor coming to your website! As per the Vidyard report, there are 90% of digital marketers are using video as a part of their marketing strategy.
#5. They engage. And therefore, they convert
Several tests and surveys have revealed that videos engage people much more than any other form of content. In this era where thousands of websites compete to get the fickle attention span of visitors, videos can serve as an essential tool in your arsenal to beat the competition. Tests of OOYALA and other independent marketing firms have revealed that 80% of global internet traffic will be from the video along in the near future. One of the reasons behind this high conversion rate is that people decide to view videos only when they’ve partially made up their mind to purchase something. But it’s also equally valid that videos (if made professionally) can help people make up their minds even if they’re not convinced at all about the product before watching them.
#6. They prevent the buyers from showrooming
Showrooms and online shopping have one thing in common – they’ve been called the bane of brick-and-mortar shopping stores. However, both also work against each other. If a person is searching for some product at an e-commerce site, and he doesn’t find any video of the product on that site… there’s a good chance that instead of making the purchase, the visitor will first of all visit a showroom to see the product in action. And once a visitor is in a showroom it’s not too hard to imagine what happens – the trained and pushy salespeople of showroom make him/her purchase the product right there. Having product videos available on your e-commerce site, on the other hand, reduces this risk of visitors showrooming in a huge manner.
#7. Google likes videos
Google operates YouTube. So, it’s also not surprising that Google likes videos. The design of the company’s search pages often includes an exclusive column for videos, and that provides you with another opportunity to rank on the front page. If any of your product pages are not directly ranking on the front page of Google SERPS for any keyword, maybe a YouTube video can rank! And that video can be used to drive visitors to your website.
Conclusion
These seven reasons are more than enough to incorporate videos into the content strategy of your e-commerce website. Not only you’ll stand to benefit by increasing your sales but also, you’ll get much more visitors than before. Of course, it takes time, effort, and money to make professional videos, but the investment is worth it because rewards are lucrative. Give videos a try on some of your web pages, and you’ll understand what we’re saying!