As online shoppers, we’re no strangers to videos on retail sites. With business goals in mind, we may even wonder where the video is coming from, why some brands seem to have a more robust video presence than others on retailer sites, and how those videos influence purchase rates.
Due to visible benefits of increased conversions, enhanced customer experiences and improved SEO, retailers are deploying as much video as they can, but need brand manufacturers to fill the gaps. Brands, or manufacturers, who bring video to their products will be the early winners in a crowded market where the consumer’s voice has so much influence. Here are three ways brands can leverage video content to maximize results:
Brand Videos on Retailer Sites
It’s no secret that retailers want video. Earlier this year the eTailing group reported that 73% of online retailers used video on product pages in 2010. For a major retailer selling thousands of products spanning hundreds of brands, universal coverage is probably not feasible. But, brands can gain an advantage and break through competitive noise by supplying video to their retailer channels.
Video viewers have been shown to purchase at higher rates and greater volumes than site visitors who don’t view video. In fact, according to Comscore, video viewers are 64 percent more likely to purchase and, on average, stay on the site for two minutes longer than other site visitors. Innovative brands that take advantage of this opportunity are a step ahead in terms of customer engagement and brand exposure, which greatly affect shopper behavior.
Brand Videos Link Social Media Channels to Purchase Pages
According to a recent survey by the Content Marketing Institute, 50 percent of manufacturers surveyed had established a YouTube presence for brand-building and connecting directly with consumers.
Click the image to view a video that shows how Crocs leverages video content on their YouTube channel with a clickable overlay button that links directly to the product page. This way, people who view the video can be easily directed to the brand’s site, making a more fluid purchase process.
Brand Videos on Brand Sites
Of course, brands will want to leverage video content on their own site, but that strategy can extend beyond product videos. Brand sites that offer instructional or how-to videos may have a better chance of standing out to the consumer. The brand website is an ideal place for consumers to be directed to when they are researching or looking for help. These types of videos guide shoppers through the purchase process, leading to higher conversions.
Engage Consumers Anywhere they Shop
Placed on the brand’s website, a retailer’s site, social media pages, viewed from a kiosk, or launched on a mobile device from an in-store QR code scan, brand (or manufacturer) video engages consumers, boosts sales and projects the brand voice across all shopping channels.
See more examples of Invodo Video for Brands here.
Congratulations to the online retailers who made this year’s Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide. Based on annual web sales, the list features North America’s top grossing e-retailers who continue to lead the way in eCommerce. With a continued emphasis on rich media and the customer experience, it is exciting to witness the results generated by the new and innovative technologies being employed by these industry leaders.
Special congrats to the Invodo clients who moved up the IR 500 list and continue to lead the online retail space. Given the competitive nature of eCommerce, it is a high honor to be included on this list and an even bigger accomplishment to move closer to the top.
Invodo recently returned from exhibiting at eTail West 2011 where we had the privilege of speaking at the first ever Online Video and Rich Media Summit. Despite storms across the country, top online retailers still made it to Palm Desert to see the latest and greatest eCommerce products and services. From new mobile applications to optimized email marketing platforms, there were many hot topics at eTail. But no topic matched the buzz generated by eCommerce video. Luckily, Invodo was there to answer everyone’s video questions from, “Where do I start with my video strategy?” to “How can I A/B test and measure the conversion impact of video?” In total, eTail was an exciting event for all. Here are some of our teams takeaways.
Chris Uhland, Sales Director
Michael Kennedy, Enterprise Sales Director
Melissa Reiss, Marketing Programs Manager
Special thanks to Nancy Jenkins, Vice President at Swimwear Boutique, and Drew Leakey, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Living Direct, for their great presentations at eTail’s Online Video and Rich Media Summit. The entire Invodo team looks forward to continuing to help online retailers sell more through the power of video.
This is a guest post by Eric Mahlstadt, Online Store Manager for Golfsmith
I just returned from my first trip to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) BIG show in NYC, where I had the opportunity to present Golfsmith’s experience with eCommerce video in a session with Invodo’s Craig Wax. The show – which was staggeringly large, especially for a first-timer – was a fantastic gathering of leaders from all sectors of retail, with key players from eCommerce, bricks-and-mortar and multichannel all in attendance.
In spending time at various sessions and speaking with other retailers, it was obvious that social media marketing, mobile initiatives, and video and rich media content were all important elements of everyone’s 2011 roadmap. As expected, leading retailers were talking about new and expanded initiatives while others were quickly trying to catch up. Not to brag, but it’s always interesting to benchmark your own operations at events like this and I came away with reassurance that Golfsmith is an innovator in all of these key areas. We’re already leveraging and even combining social, mobile and video initiatives in new ways, such as a joint partnership with Invodo and mobile developers Digby to bring mobile video content to our customers. And there’s certainly more to come.
The buzz around these still-developing aspects of retail is energizing, as is being in the company of so many of my motivated peers in the industry. It was definitely time well spent and I came away with some great information and ideas. I’m already looking forward to next year.
- Eric Mahlstadt, Golfsmith
Craig blogged yesterday about his impressions of the Shop.org Annual Summit for 2010. To get a little more detail, I asked the rest of the team who attended for their impressions as well.
Brandon Sockwell, SME Sales Director: One of my favorite parts of the show was speaking to other vendors who were really interested in partnering because they had been asked by their clients for a video solution. Kind of cool.
Also loved seeing all the different give-a-ways and tactics used to draw people in. Ours worked great, others included giving away iPads and ATG’s Smart Car promotion. And I only wish I’d had time to get my picture taken with the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.
Steve Reid, Enterprise Sales Director: The coolest thing about the Summit was the payoff from the work we put into getting attendees to the booth. Our invited traffic created a sustained energy that caused even more people to stop by – everyone wants to see what the buzz is about. To prove the point take five friends with you, stand on a busy downtown street corner and point up towards the top of a tall building. You’ll attract a crowd. Our diligence and effort before the event ensured our success.
Joe Holland, Enterprise Sales Director: The coolest thing for me is simply that it was my first tradeshow with the company. I’ve done many tradeshows in my career, but the Summit is one of the most amazingly energetic ones I’ve seen.
Melissa Reiss, Marketing Program Manager: My two things:
Justin Crandall, VP Sales: My favorite moments of 2010 are:
Our favorite moments of 2011 should be even more amazing!
Craig Wax, CEO: Asking everyone what’s hot and hearing mobile, social and video! It was fantastic to see that people are seeking Invodo out.
Lenovo and Magellan’s plan eCommerce video implementations to improve customer experience and increase sales
September 9, 2010
AUSTIN, Texas – Invodo®, the only full-service eCommerce video partner for online retailers, today announced two new customers. Lenovo and Magellan’s are working with Invodo for eCommerce video initiatives going into the Holiday season.
Invodo, a full service eCommerce video solution provider, creates high-quality content at scale and develops leading technology to implement and deliver online product video on retail sites and other points of consumer influence. Both Lenovo, a leading PC maker, and Magellan’s, a retailer of unique and useful travel products, chose Invodo because of its full service capabilities.
“Invodo impressed us with their scalable production and full-service approach,” said Lynn Staneff, Director of Marketing at Magellan’s. “It took less than a month to go from shooting our products to having video live on the site. Invodo’s SEO-enabled player automatically generates the video sitemaps needed to drive site traffic based on the video content, and the customer experience is proven to help shoppers. We are excited that our customers will have this additional feature as they shop for their loved ones during the holidays.”
Invodo recently launched the latest version of its eCommerce video player, the InPlayer, which both companies are implementing as part of their video initiatives. The InPlayer is the lightest player in the industry. Faster page loads, especially during the high traffic shopping season, will keep customers from straying away from the site. According to Google’s latest ranking considerations, faster page loads also protect the SEO benefit retailers receive from having unique video content.
“Consumers who view product videos are 85 percent more likely to buy than those who do not, so retailers adding eCommerce video to their site stand to gain a huge advantage during the shopping season,” said Craig Wax, CEO of Invodo. “Lenovo and Magellan’s are set to make the most of that advantage.”
Other Invodo customers with video ready for the holidays include Internet Retail 500 companies like Verizon Wireless, MooseJaw, Land of Nod, Stacks and Stacks and Living Direct.
About Invodo
Invodo helps online retailers sell more through the power of video. A full-service eCommerce video solution, Invodo creates high-quality product video at scale and develops retail-focused technology to influence consumers where it matters most. Invodo videos increase sales conversion rates, reduce returns and drive site traffic for customers, including Internet 500 retailers and major brands.
Contact:
Jen Cadmus
jcadmus
invodo
com
512-934-8350
When you think about eCommerce video, what do you think of?
Personally, I like to think of it as pie. Now, I’m an apple pie fan – but with Invodo being based in Texas, you of course have your all-important pecan pie, and of course the classic pumpkin pie. But… why pie?
Think for a moment about your eCommerce properties. You’ve spent a lot of time and money building the sites that you have today:
Thing is, even though you have a pretty good “meal” going, something is missing. The trick to getting consumers to make that buy decision hinges upon them understanding the product you’re offering to them well enough to change their mind the rest of the way, without losing them to a competitor. Besides being comfort food, pie makes a great analogy for eCommerce video because without it, the meal just isn’t complete. Without eCommerce video, consumers will be less likely to convert than without it.
Just as importantly, you have to understand how to make a good pie – the crust, the filling, the whole deal – or you have to find someone who you trust to make a pie you won’t be disappointed in serving to your family. We’re experienced in the full lifecycle of eCommerce video. Whether you have experience producing or releasing video or not, that doesn’t matter. We’ve got success stories under our belt with customers who’ve never produced video, with customers who have, and with customers who’ve even bought other platforms that just required too much work to keep running.
At Invodo, we are skilled at production, editing, and hosting video, and have created easy to integrate API-driven eCommerce video platform. Give us a call, we can help you to ensure your eCommerce experience is all you want it to be, with fully, easily integrated eCommerce video.
Happy Thanksgiving to our customers, readers, family and friends.
‘Flagship Retailer’ Program Gives Retailers More Videos at Lower Cost
November 20, 2009
Invodo, the hub for eCommerce video, announced today the launch of a program designed to help selected online retailers get more product video coverage. The offering is targeted at industry-leading online retailers to help them acquire the customized video content they need while offsetting the costs of their video program.
Participating retailers actively work with Invodo to recruit manufacturers. Invodo creates custom video content for the manufacturers to syndicate to the retailer’s site. The result is more videos for the retailer’s product pages at a lower cost, while the manufacturers get broader exposure across the retailer’s site.
“We’re excited to work with retailers to get more video content in front of consumers at a lower cost,” said Invodo CEO Craig Wax. “Everybody wins here – this program is a gain for retailers, manufacturers and consumers.”
About Invodo
Invodo is the de facto hub for eCommerce video driving conversion for retailers, consideration for manufacturers, and satisfaction for consumers. With a library of over 20,000 product videos from more than 2,000 manufacturers, Invodo syndicates the content consumers look for in making purchase decisions to over 1,000 eCommerce sites. Based in Austin, TX, Invodo is funded by Sevin Rosen and S3 Ventures.
Contact:
Jen Cadmus
jcadmusinvodocom
512-934-8350
Forrester’s recent analysis of six video platforms is an interesting read. On the one hand it seems comprehensive, with 37 criteria applied rigorously. On the other hand, covering only six platforms leaves most of the market uncovered. A bit of an in-depth sampler, as it were. The always-insightful Will Richmond at VideoNuze calls out this contradiction, observing that the report is useful for a “first-cut evaluation of a limited segment of the market”.
Before evaluating platforms, though, I’d ask a simple question: what do we plan to accomplish with it? As a marketer, I plan to use it to sell more products. Very specifically, as an eCommerce marketer, I plan to use it to drive conversions. When evaluating any platform through that purpose-driven lens, two truths emerge.
First, all platforms have a lot in common. The basic use case, in eCommerce at least, is simple: users want to be able to view a video of the product at the point of purchase. Speeds, feeds, and types of encoding don’t matter to the end user, although the quality of the experience matters greatly. Other features and functions should be viewed with healthy skepticism. Always ask this simple question: how does this feature help the consumer’s decision process?
Second, the platform alone doesn’t solve the problem. As a businessperson, which is more important to you: your CRM platform or your customer data? Without that customer data you don’t have a business, just a CRM platform. And without the right video content, a video platform gets you about as far as a car with an empty gas tank.
Every phase of Internet evolution starts with a proliferation of platforms and ends with the realization that content is king. Should we expect it to play out differently in the eCommerce video space?
invodo
com | What We Do | Products & Services | Resources | About Invodo | Contact Us | Social    |
Thanks for your interest in Invodo! Please fill out the short form and we'll contact you. If you're in a hurry, you can call us at 1-800-280-4122.
We hate spam as much as you do. We won't rent, sell, give away, or otherwise abuse your email address and other information
