Posted by Jeff Roussel on February 26th, 2010
Invodo just wrapped up two awesome days at eTail West in Palm Desert, and I’m more excited than ever at the value video brings to almost everyone in the e-retail space. Time and again, senior marketing executives conveyed excitement to us as they began to realize the conversion benefits offered by a strategic video implementation. No matter the industry – footwear, apparel, jewelry, electronics, and many more – everyone seemed to understand how video helps customers trust a product and trust the online buying process.
We talked to over 200 retailers in two days, and we were excited by the number who have already dabbled in video to varying degrees of success. If I can give any advice based on the concerns and questions we heard, it’s:
> Know your customers
> Know their buying criteria
> Maximize your video investment across many channels.
> Make sure you’re leveraging the SEO uplift of creating unique video content
Ecommerce video only works if it provides the information that customers want, at the time they most need it, and in a format they can trust. You could literally see the light bulb shine when we challenged executives to really think about the decisions their customers make when viewing product pages online. This insight allows a company like Invodo to help our customers create the right video format with an optimal message. Additionally, executives are starting to understand the power of using video to drive SEO and to improve investments in email marketing, print advertising, and in-store packaging. They expect – rightly – a solution that will help them create a better online customer experience at scale and without the typical headaches (re: expenses) they associate with enriched content creation.
There is no doubt, video is here to stay. If we learned anything from the show, you need to be thinking about your online video strategy now rather than later. The right solution will bring more people to your website through SEO ranking, will keep them on your site longer, and will convert them into buyers at a significantly higher rate – and those are benefits you cannot afford to miss.
Tags: Conversion success, ecommerce video, eTail West, Invodo, SEO benefits of video
Posted in Office Events, Trade Show | No Comments »
Posted by Melissa Reiss on February 22nd, 2010
It’s that time! Invodo is on the way to eTail West 2010 in Palm Desert, CA where we are presenting eCommerce Video: Create, Communicate, Convert. If you are attending, make sure to stop by Site Clinic B (see below) and say hi to Russ Somers, Director of Product Marketing, Gard Mayer, VP of Sales, and Jeff Roussel, Enterprise Sales Rep. at Invodo.
Invodo is a full-service eCommerce video solution that drives conversion for retailers, consideration for manufacturers, and satisfaction for consumers. To learn more how Invodo can help you sell more with online video visit Invodo.com or stop by at eTail West!
eTail West
February 22 – 25, 2010
JW Marriott Desert Springs, Palm Desert, CA
Invodo: Site Clinic B
Tags: ecommerce video, eTail West 2010, Online Conversion
Posted in Trade Show, eCommerce Video News | No Comments »
Posted by Melissa Reiss on February 18th, 2010
“I now pronounce you PROM KING!” At least that’s what I would say if the internet was a high school and online video was a student. Okay…. that might be a bad analogy, but you get the point. Online video is everywhere and continuing to grow in popularity and presence as represented in recent data from comScore.
ComScore’s data highlighted the huge strides online video made in 2009. From he charts below, you can see exactly how rapid video consumption has grown. For example, the total online videos viewed per month more than doubled from Jan ‘09 to Dec ‘09 translating into 33.2 billion online video views in Dec ‘09 alone.
Furthermore, comScore reported that by Dec ‘09, 86.5% of all U.S. Internet users watched online video, up from 76.8% watching in Jan ‘09. Speaking in pure numbers, U.S. online video viewers grew from 147 million to 178 million in 2009.
I’ll say it again, the audience for online video is real and ready. If you are an online retailer or brand, make sure you have the video your customers want. To make video work, you must create effective, conversion driven content AND merchandise it correctly. To learn how to do so, check out our Whitepaper, Watch This! The Online Retailer’s Guide to Video Merchandising Success. Join in the video fun and create, communicate, and convert with Invodo eCommerce video!
Tags: comScore data, ecommerce video, Invodo, online video growth
Posted in eCommerce Video News | No Comments »
Posted by Craig Wax on February 17th, 2010
A common question we hear at Invodo is: now that I’ve invested in online product videos, what do I need to do to maximize my return? To answer this question, Invodo has just released Watch This! The Online Retailer’s Guide to Video Merchandising Success.
This white paper analyzes consumers’ video viewing behavior on 53 of our customers’ websites, with an average of 138 product videos per site. The paper confirms some established hypotheses and dispels others – at least it did for me.
Whether you’re an experienced hand at online product video or just learning, this paper provides new information that will help you get the most out of your online video investment. Download the paper here.
Is this information useful to you? What other research would you like to see? Let us know in the comments.
Tags: eCommerce video merchandising, Invodo white paper, online video merchandising
Posted in Office Events, eCommerce Video News | No Comments »
Posted by Russ Somers on February 13th, 2010
Great post from Ashkan Karbasfrooshan on TechCrunch yesterday analyzing the end of Veoh. To summarize a relevant point, online video startups fall into seven categories: two are focused on content production and editing, the other five on technology. (To know all seven categories, read the post, it’s well worth it).
However one parses the categories, here’s what jumped out to me: if you’re an online retailer implementing an online video strategy you need a number of elements. First off, you need content. Technology companies seem to assume you’ll have the right content on hand, but that’s rarely the case. Second, you’ll need an online video platform for playing the content at point of purchase. That platform needs to be optimized for eCommerce; other bells and whistles are irrelevant at best and distracting to your customers at worst. Third, you’ll need distribution; both the technology aspect of a CDN and the business relationships to get your content to the right points of purchase and consideration.
The more conversations I have with customers, the more evident this is. Yet the industry continues to require online retailers to piece together content from one vendor with a platform from another to distribute through one more third party. It’s as if the computer industry sold only memory sticks, hard drives, chips and monitors and required customers to assemble their own PC. I’ve built many PCs in my time, but even so I prefer to work with Apple, Dell or HP for the value they provide by assembling it for me and giving me a single vendor to work with.
Am I wrong on this? Is it better to buy the different parts from multiple vendors and assemble your own solution? Or are most vendors focused on providing commodity parts when what customers need is a full solution?
Tags: online video platform, online video strategy, Veoh implosion
Posted in eCommerce Video News | No Comments »
Posted by Invodo on February 12th, 2010
On February 23rd, I’ll join Practical eCommerce senior contributing editor Armando Roggio for a Webinar on ‘Got Video? Six Tips for eCommerce Video Success.’ Register for it here.
We’ll review data-driven insights from the soon-to-be released whitepaper “Watch This! The Online Retailer’s Guide to Video Merchandising.” We’ll also cover eCommerce video content best practices and video SEO tips and tricks. Most importantly we’ll cover a checklist of everything you need to know to get an eCommerce video program off the ground.
I’m looking forward to talking with you and taking your questions!
Tags: eCommerce video merchandising, eCommerce video Webinar
Posted in Office Events, Trade Show, eCommerce Video News | No Comments »
Posted by Invodo on February 12th, 2010
The new Invodo.com is up! And the blog is back open for comments, of course.
Funny how great news always comes around during a freeze. Comscore reports that online video views doubled during 2009, and the average viewer now watches 12.7 hours of online video per month. 86.5% of the US Internet audience watched online video in December 2009.
That’s pretty much everybody watching. How are you positioning your business to take advantage of it?
Tags: Comscore video statistics, ecommerce video, Invodo
Posted in Office Events, eCommerce Video News | No Comments »
Posted by Russ Somers on February 8th, 2010
In theater, ‘noises off’ means noises that originate offstage, such as the sound you hear right now of Dylan writing some tasty html. When hissed at stagehands, I’m told it can also mean “Everybody be quiet!”
That’s the phase we’re in now as we work to bring you a bigger, better invodo.com. For a short time we have to disable comments while we get the new site ready to launch. I promise it’ll be worth the wait.
In the interim, if you’ve got a comment or question you can reach us at 1-800-280-4122, email us support
invodo
com
, or reach me on Twitter as @rsomers.
Posted in Office Events | No Comments »
Posted by Melissa Reiss on February 4th, 2010
Like the adage says, “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” Well, the same goes for eCommerce sites. To achieve higher sales and conversion rates, you have to set the stage and “dress” your site for conversion success.
Many sites implement traditional merchandising methods including product descriptions, reviews, 360 degree views, suggested items, etc. While all are good techniques, the reality is consumers expect them and many don’t pay attention and/or avoid them. So what do consumers want on a product page that increases their likelihood of conversion? Video.
We all know by now that video sells. The presence of product videos on eCommerce sites gives extra appeal and a competitive edge. Increases in conversion are still more likely with video on a product page, even if the consumer doesn’t watch. But just like traditional merchandising techniques, video has to be done right for it to work. Luckily, Invodo knows how to effectively produce and implement eCommerce video without the confusion and hassle often associated with production and site re-designs. No matter what the problem, Invodo has the solution.
A recent predicament Invodo encountered was the lack of space, mainly above the fold, on many retailers’ product pages. Because eCommerce sites spend a lot of time and effort on merchandising, many product pages are already packed full of content. Since many sites don’t have the flexibility to place a video player front and center on a page, we got creative and created Invodo Smart Merchandising to increase video views.
Invodo research shows that a video player above the fold has twice the view-through rate as a video placed below the fold. Even if you don’t have the space, Invodo Smart Merchandising allows the freedom and flexibility to put video anywhere on your site while maintaining visibility, optimizing views and sales, and enhancing the user experience. Using all three elements of Smart Merchandising results in maximum impact. See examples of Invodo Smart Merchandising below.
Smart Merchandising Call-to-Action
Smart Merchandising Image Overlay
Smart Merchandising Customized Player
Learn more about Invodo’s complete video solution.
Tags: ecommerce video, Invodo, Video Merchandising
Posted in Tips and Tricks, eCommerce Video News | No Comments »
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