Seven Ideas for Creating Marketing Videos for eCommerce

Short and long.

Educational and entertaining.

Live and prerecorded.

The role of videos as a marketing tool is only growing on every touchpoint: online stores, social media, and offline venues. Consumers want to watch more than to read texts, provoking businesses to invest in video creation.

Here we’ll evaluate striking stats regarding brand videos and consider versatile formats for your content plan. We’ll talk about videos for social media as well as for websites.

Bonus Read: The Anatomy of a Successful Brand Video

Note that it’s not a problem nowadays to add more photos, graphics, and videos to your selling platform. By optimizing media files in Magento or another CMS, you’ll save the optimal speed of the site. So, let’s see how to enrich your content in terms of video.

Videos Are a Huge Trend: See the Facts

In its latest annual report, Wyzowl shares curious statistics on the state of video marketing in 2021. Let’s see some significant takeaways:

• 86% of companies utilize videos in marketing in comparison with 61% in 2016;
• 84% of customers admit that a video by a brand convinced them to purchase a product or service;
• 69% of consumers prefer short videos over other content when they want to explore a product/service. Only 18% would read an article rather than watch a video.

Furthermore, the Zenith agency predicts that people will watch about 100 minutes of video content per day in 2021 compared with the average of 67 minutes in 2018.

Note that it’s not a problem nowadays to add more photos, graphics, and videos to your selling platform. By optimizing media files in Magento or another CMS, you’ll save the optimal speed of the site.

Now let’s move on to the genres that are sought-after by both audiences and brands of various segments. You may use such media content to enrich your business’ marketing strategy.

Bonus Read: 9 Amazing Video Marketing Tips for B2B Brands

Product Demos

The basics that we’d recommend to begin with.

Do you want to sell more? If you do, allow prospects to learn about your offerings as much as possible. A description and photos are essential, but video levels up any product page.

Online stores are actively shooting short videos to demonstrate apparel and shoes on models in motion. However, this format applies not only to garments and footwear but also to accessories: watches, bags, headphones, necklaces, wallets, and so forth.

When it comes to cosmetics, you can showcase core features of a product better in action: open, apply, show the result.

Just a few seconds of a video give users much new info:

• The behavior of the item on the body;
• The density (fabric, leather), the texture (makeup);
• The finish of the material (metal, liquid): matte, glossy, nacreous, shiny, etc.;
• An objective scale of things and proportions between a body and an item.

Take a look at the screenshot from Maje. Many product pages in this eCommerce site contain such 5-second videos. They give a deeper comprehension of how clothes look and feel when someone is wearing them.

And, if you operate in the B2B space, you could always use tools such as the StoryXpress screen recorder to quickly create product demo videos.

Bonus Read: How to Make Demo Videos that Convert and Drive Sales

Tutorials

This is a classical instance of edutainment. Such videos can be wholesome for your followers, make them smile, and promote goods simultaneously. Whatever you do as a company, you have much room for maneuver.

Alternate direct how-tos and videos from adjacent spheres that match the interests of your target audience. The list of topics is endless, to be honest. If you represent a beauty brand, you can cover the following subjects:

• Make-up for different occasions, types of skin, and so on;
• Fashion videos: how to dress up in line with trends, how to choose accessories, etc.;
• Hairstyling;
• Skincare: routine, massage techniques;
• Sport, art, meditation, or cooking classes.

Invite bloggers and experts to make videos even more engaging and pithy. In the screenshots below, you can see some examples from Lancôme. The brand experiments with formats to provide users with diverse and useful content that is fascinating to watch.

Behind the Design

Storytelling is always a good idea, especially if you are not only a seller but also a manufacturer of commodities. The production process is mesmerizing. Touching and hilarious legends behind items throughout the manufacturing process are captivating. These components together underline the value of each product in customers’ eyes.

By unfolding the peculiarities of creation, you strengthen the whole content strategy of the business. This type of video requires a great deal of preparation and a seasoned film crew, but it’s worth the effort.

Have a look at the example below. Recently an accessories brand Kendra Scott has shared a couple of videos called “Behind the Design”. There are stories about two little elements of summer collections. And that’s enough to immerse followers in the mysterious world of jewelry crafting. Here’s what a potential customer can learn in just a couple of minutes:

• What is the concept of the collection;
• How creators ideated these beautiful elements;
• Which stages are needed to create an item;
• How accessories looked initially, in the sketches and 3D models;
• Who are the team, and where do they work.

These pieces are truly inspirational. They make people want to own your product. As you see, there is no need to shoot super detailed giant movies about collections. It’s all about the atmosphere and the creators’ passion. After all, don’t forget that on Instagram, you can add shoppable tags to every video.

Explainers

How does it work? Due to what? Answering these questions is vital for every company that offers innovative goods. Not only electronics, by the way. Cosmetics, footwear, tableware, or sanitary ware retailers should also boast, demonstrate, and clearly explain their cutting-edge technologies.

For instance, the famous Dyson hairdryers and vacuum cleaners have a bunch of distinctive features from the tech perspective. But what's are their advantages for users? To address this question, the brand prepared a special series called “Dyson engineering, explained”. Here the team shows principles of operation, gives comments, and tests devices to clarify why Dyson must be one’s choice.

One more idea worth borrowing is “My Dyson. Help and support for your machine”. Their engineers explain how to use products and fix some common problems at home.

Simplicity, conciseness, and usefulness must be the main features of explanatory videos. Don’t just brag. Instead, highlight the added value for people.

Bonus Read: How to Create Explainer Videos

Live Events

Streaming has been spreading across brands since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak. Live videos helped businesses and customers save connections and feel united amid the pandemic. This global case unfolded a great overall potential of live videos.

For instance, Facebook launched Live Shopping Fridays, where for the first time for Western eCommerce, people can make purchases during streams without leaving the app. Besides this, companies continue to make live videos on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Let’s outline some popular ideas for live events:

• Yoga, workout, and other sports classes;
• Art, gardening, DIY, and cooking classes;
• Music sessions;
• Q & A sessions.

I adore how Mango leverages the possibility to go live on Instagram (see the screenshots below). The imagination of this team is impressive. Videos about fashion and style are basically prerecorded while unusual occasions like ballet lessons, phycological sessions, or art classes are broadcasted in real-time.

“Unbrushed” Image Promos

The most significant tendency in video marketing now is unpolished and lively vibes that evoke warm emotions and the feel of belonging.

Glossy and luxurious ads with celebrities remain in place, undoubtedly. But nowadays, sincerity, naturalness, tolerance, family relationships, tenderness, and genuine joy touch far more than glamour.

In the screenshots below from Zara Home Instagram, you can see how the brand conveys these values in image videos. For instance, the series called “At home with…” shows the everyday life of people in different countries.

They sleep, cook, work, and communicate in their lovely houses, where much stuff is from Zara Home. But every piece is integrated very naturally. So a viewer can’t understand whether these items are part of these homes initially or these are just props.

Bear in mind that if you can tell a story, be sure to do so. For instance, Zara Home showcased a collection for pets through stories of dog owners. It was the cutest video I saw that day! So, promote commodities with the help of true feelings.

Funny & Trendy Videos

Finally, why so serious? Don’t be scared to try the hottest trends on social media. For example, Guess got used to doing cute, spectacular, and a bit bizarre videos on Tik Tok (see the screenshots below).

Of course, this recommendation is relevant mostly for brands with a young audience. Anyway, draw your attention to the following ideas. Some of them can be applied to every content plan and refresh your social media feed:

• Behind the scenes;
• User-generated content (UGC);
• Trending formats from Tik Tok and Instagram.

Do You Still Cast a Doubt?

You’ve probably already thought: oh, these are excellent ideas, but it’s so tough to film something! Indeed, videos demand more resources than photos, images, and text, but scroll up and see the stats again. Your audience wants more videos.

Social media provide live broadcasting functionality for free.

In addition to that, you could always explore end-to-end video platforms such as StoryXpress to access handy solutions for video creation and management. At last, don’t limit the use of such content to the site and social platforms: consider videos as a helpful addition to your email campaigns as well.

Cheers!