Even today, people find it hard to trust online shopping. It makes sense, though: you can’t touch, try or test the product with your own hands. Not to mention that, all too often, you don’t get what you thought you would get. And is there anything more frustrating than that?
Luckily, eCommerce marketers found a great solution to bridge the gap, foster trust, and prompt customers into closing a sale: product videos. These are fantastic assets to show prospects what you’re offering in the most authentic and realistic way: features, differentiators, benefits, and quality.
Now, developing a product video that delivers results is not a simple task – something that any experienced video company can attest to! There are, however, certain steps and crucial elements to take into account that will improve your video’s chances.
So, today, we’ll learn what goes into making outstanding product videos that can make your sales up, alongside easy-peasy tips and cool examples!
Types of product videos & examples
Depending on your product, industry, and niche, some product videos will work better than others. To help you choose the perfect type for your situation, let’s take a quick look at the most popular and effective ones.
Product demos
These videos show a product in action while describing its key features and how to use them. Demos’ main purpose is to help online shoppers feel like they are checking the product themselves – showcasing it from different angles to make it look cool, desirable, and valuable.
What’s great about demo videos is they can also help existing customers to understand how to use the product better to get the most out of it.
How-to videos
How-to videos are the darling of the Internet, especially on social media. In a nutshell, these are step-by-step tutorials that quickly instruct people to do something they didn’t know before. They often cover an entire process, from start to finish.
Since they are very educational, how-to videos are always straightforward, informative, and easy to follow. They can be used for all kinds of actions or tasks, for example, how to cook a recipe, assemble a product, or use a piece of software.
Product review
Simply put, a review video showcases a person describing a product’s features, alongside its advantages and disadvantages. Since they revolve around a customer’s personal experience, they are great for fostering trust and building online credibility.
These videos fall into the “user-generated” category – that is, content voluntarily created by actual consumers. However, they can be sponsored by brands through partnerships or giveaways!
Explainer videos
Explainer videos are short, animated pieces that help companies illustrate complex products, services, or ideas in simple, engaging, and compelling ways.
In 2 minutes or less, they combine powerful storytelling with meaningful visual design to explain to potential customers how a product is a perfect solution to a specific pain point.
It’s a very versatile style that adapts to any kind of business, regardless of size, industry, or niche. Some of the most popular types of explainer videos are character animation, 2.5D, motion graphics, and whiteboards.
Developing a great product video (Pre-production tips!)
#1 Understand your product’s key value proposition
Behind every effective product video, there’s a crystal clear value proposition – that is, what you have to offer to make your prospects’ lives easier, simpler, or better.
Understanding your product’s value propositions is going to help you shape your core message and how you should convey it. So, it’s essential to take the time and define from the get-go what aspect of your product you want to highlight.
There are three important factors that you should consider to establish your video’s content:
- Your target audience: The first thing you need to take into account is who you are trying to reach – AKA, your target audience. Your video has to deliver information that appeals and resonates with them. To that end, think about their lifestyles, interests, and, most importantly, their needs.
- Your solution: This goes hand in hand with the previous point – Your product (or service) solves your target audience’s pain points. So that’s going to be your video’s backbone and your message’s main asset. Instead of showing off features, focus on the solutions they provide.
- Your main feature: Your product is probably full of awesome features and, at some point, you’ll need to display them. However, take into account that these videos are simple, concise, and easy to digest. The best strategy is to choose your product’s main feature and use it to demonstrate your value proposition.
#2 Align your script with your prospects’ characteristics
Your script is going to be strictly related to the type of product video you choose to develop. For example, most explainers use solid storytelling, how-to videos follow a logical structure, and demos may not even include a single written or narrated word!
However, a useful tip – that applies to all types of videos – is to keep your script aligned with your target audience’s most important characteristics.
Keep in mind that, for a product video to get results, your prospects need to identify on a personal level with the piece – with your story, scenarios, language, etc. So, when you start the writing process, do it with your audience in mind and focus on talking directly to them.
Also, your script is a fundamental building block that’s going to enable your connection with potential customers. Don’t make it all about your product’s benefits and features. Instead, use the power of emotions – drama, humor, melancholy – to engage them and make them feel understood.
#3 Develop your storyboard early on the process
A storyboard is a visual representation, in chronological order, of the most important scenes in the video. It looks like a strip from a comic book and it’s the tool that’s going to guide you and your teams during production and post-production.
Basically, each frame or sketch shows who or what is in the scene and what’s being said. It also has additional notes such as text or graphic elements included on the screen, camera angle, sound effects, etc.
Storyboards help you visualize your script and identify possible mistakes or inconsistencies in the narrative. So, start working on the draft right after you finish your script to make sure you have enough time to make all the adjustments needed!
#4 Customize your video to enhance your message
Your awesome value proposition and your stellar script won’t work if people can’t recognize or remember what brand it was from.
That being said, make sure to adopt your company’s aesthetic and include all the necessary elements to convey your unique style – music, tone, taglines, color palette, icons, typography, and so on. Doing so is going to improve brand recall and help you get your message through effectively.
Ultimately, remember that one of your product video’s main purposes should be to make your product stand out from your competitors’. So, take every opportunity you have to customize it in a way that represents your brand’s identity.
Promoting your new product video
Where you promote your product video is primarily going to depend on your target audience’s favorite places to consume them. However, the following are excellent alternatives that you should most definitely consider!
- Product page: The most important place where your video needs to be embedded is on your product’s page, especially if it has a checkout process on it. This is where people go to learn more about it, so you probably already have a catalog with photos and product descriptions. Adding a video can help you get your message across more effectively and persuade visitors to take action!
- Advertise on social media: Given that a lot of people turn to platforms like Facebook or Instagram to search (and buy!) products, you should also consider running a paid campaign to reach new prospects. However, make sure to assess first where your target audience likes to browse for new products or brands before making a purchase.
- Email newsletter: This is one of the easiest and most effective ways to promote your new product video, doubly if you send it to subscribers who are already engaging with your brand. Even more so, you can create a purposely designed landing page to boost conversions and insert a video’s thumbnail on your newsletter to redirect them there!
To Sum Up
As we’ve just learned, awesome product videos are incredibly useful to both inform and entertain audiences. Helping businesses of all sizes and industries to showcase their products or services, improve online presence, build consumer trust, and ultimately boost sales.
Now, like everything in marketing, for product videos to deliver said results, it’s very important to take the time to plan ahead, analyze your options, and structure a plan. One that fits your product, industry, and intended audience.
Luckily, now you know what things you should take into account to make your next product video work. We promise you that if you stick to these guidelines, your sales conversions will skyrocket!
