WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN AN INTERACTIVE VIDEO PLATFORM

With 96% of marketers planning on increasing their spend on video content marketing, video formats are transforming before our eyes.

We have become so accustomed to experiencing video in an immersive and entertaining way that we probably don't even notice standard videos anymore. You can guarantee that the same thing goes for your consumers.

Consequently, brands are seeking to harness tools that create interaction videos that compel, convince and convert. But with so many options, where do you start?

Here is a quick and straightforward guide on what to look for in interactive video platforms.

1. Consider what kind of format would suit your brand.

Nowadays, most consumers look towards streaming commerce to discover new products. Seeing something in action in a video provides a clear and realistic representation of a product whether this is a car, shoe or lipstick. Generally, these videos are what give customers the confidence to buy online. If a customer can click to explore a product in a fun, interactive way, they will gain even more information from the interaction video. So when considering what interactive video platform to use, you should carefully consider what format will suit your brand and customer. So, here are some popular examples:

• Shoppable video: videos with an interactive overlay that customers can click to find out product information, links to e-commerce and add to cart functionalities. Shoppable videos are monetised content that tracks engagement, CTR and conversions and producing high rates of these KPI's too! Smartzer.com can help you create incredible shoppable videos.

• Branching videos: Branching allows you to add clickable decision points in your video that can jump or loop the viewer to another timestamp in your video, allowing them to craft a viewing experience that’s most relevant to them. Here, the consumer takes control, manipulating the video to suit their preferences in a journey, story telling type video. Cinema8 can help you to create branching, gamified videos.

• 360 degree videos: These videos allow your consumer to be transported into the video. They can swipe, drag, zoom aspects to explore as thought they are inside a virtual reality. These immersive experiences can be a great tool to advertise holidays and destination type offerings. They can also be used with products to give a detailed view. VRCraftworks can help you create 360 degree videos if you have the budget.

• Livestream Video: Brands upload product links prior to the stream on a player. They can then embed the player code on the streaming service they wish to go live on. Streaming commerce can help brands make huge sales in seconds. Customers can connect with brands in real-time, bringing the online, offline and providing a community feel. Smartzer.com can help you create immersive shoppable livestreams.

• Chat bots: Conversational commerce is an up and coming format that provides a human feel to computer driven bots. Customers can gain instant answers to questions without leaving the e-commerce, giving them the confidence to buy. Interactive video platforms like Hero, allow brands to set up one on one calls with customers from the store to their homes, showing them products and answering questions.

• Quizzes and Polls: Quizzes can help your customer learn about the product and can help you learn about your customer. Direct data inputs allow brands to see into the mind of their consumer to provide a bespoke product experience and offer the most relevant products. Vizia can help you create quizzes and polls in a straightforward way.

• Interactive Wholesale: Interaction video can be used within the wholesale industry via digital show rooms. Here, retailers can view products in 360 degree rotations, watch livestreams and chat with brands. Interactive wholesale can combine the above to create a memorable and immersive B2B experience. Le New Black is a great platform for brands looking to sell to retailers.

2. Consider whether you have suitable pre-existing content, or whether you will need to make a brand new video with interactivity in mind.

Streaming commerce can be simple and cheap. Brands could easily reuse suitable pre-existing content and make it shoppable and interactive video platforms like Smartzer can help you to do this. Alternatively, if you wanted to create a video in a branching or 360 degree format, it would definitely be the best idea to create a video with these formats in mind. So, these formats can take more time and be more expensive to create.

3. Consider your budget and the packages the platform offers.

What product offerings do they have and do they offer packages. Some interactive video platforms offer a range of products under one subscription whereas some may only offer specific formats. Spending more money on an interactive video platform will allow you full access to a wide range of tools that will help you to achieve strong ROI and reach a broader range of consumers. Some platforms may be more technologically challenging while others are simpler to use. Consider how you would like to add information to your video, will this be via URL's, images, Product Feeds, Product API's or will this be manually inputted. Also consider where you would like to share your video as some packages may offer social sharing, CRM and e-commerce implementation, while others may restrict you to one or the other. Furthermore, subscriptions may entitle you to use the tool for a certain amount of time so you should consider how many videos you wish to create and how long you want to keep them live for. For those with a small budget platforms like Vyond can let brands create interactive quiz videos for free.

For more information about specific formats and interactive video tools read our blog here!

To learn how to use interaction video in your campaigns visit Smartzer.com

KEY INTERACTIVE VIDEO STATS 2021

It's no secret that marketing technology is evolving rapidly, especially when it comes to video content.

Interactive video is the latest trend for marketers to inject life into their streaming commerce.

Brands are raising their game by using interactive video platforms to create clickable user experiences. The consumer has control to select content that is most relevant to them like finding out more info on a product, booking a test drive, doing a quiz or even making a purchase.

Key stats for you to consider about interactive video in 2021

• Interaction videos result in 3x-4x greater viewer engagement and conversion than traditional video content marketing.

• People who use interactive streaming commerce get 66% more qualified leads per year.

• 93% of marketers say they've landed a new customer thanks to video on social media.

• 74% of people say that the pandemic has made them more likely to use video in their marketing campaigns.

• It is estimated by 2022, 82% of global internet traffic will come from streaming commerce and video content.

• The completion rate of interactive videos are 90%.

• 68% of marketers believe interactive video will become a more important tool in the future.

• 62% of marketers are either satisfied or very satisfied with the results of using interactive video platforms, as opposed to 8% of marketers who are dissatisfied.

• Click through rate is 10X higher than passive video.

• Only 12% of video posts on Facebook are live streams. However, they get double the engagement of pre-recorded videos.

• 45% of customers want to see more live videos from brands on their social media.

• Including a video on your landing page can boost your conversion rate by up to 80%.

• Personalised videos are 35% more likely to retain viewers as compared to non-personalised videos.

• 43% of businesses plan on using interactive video in the coming year.

To find more information about using interactive video in your streaming commerce visit Smartzer.com

WHY NOW IS THE TIME TO USE INTERACTIVE VIDEO

The number of businesses using video as a marketing tool has increased by 41% since 2016. This can be attributed to advances in technology, but largely the 2020/2021 global pandemic. With more of us stuck at home and shops closed, brands have been looking for new ways to interact with customers and connect with them virtually. In fact, 74% say the pandemic made them more likely to use video, while 26% say it became less likely.

So why are brands using interactive video platforms?

Interactive video is a type of content that viewers can click to control. Viewers can hover, scroll, drag, tap and more to investigate and explore brand offerings. Product information can be attached to hotspots so viewers can learn about the brand early on in the purchase funnel, this drives them quickly down to the conversion stage which leads to a higher click through rate and higher conversion rate!

Video formats can allow customers to live shop in livestreams, decide their destiny with branching, immerse themselves in a virtual reality with 360 degree views, learn about themselves through quizzes and data inputs and discover their new favourite product with shoppable video. Allowing the customer to interact with your video content marketing provides a bespoke and personalised experience that gives them control. This allows them to feel confident enough to buy a product and encourages impulse purchases.

Interactive video platforms like Smartzer can help you create immersive, memorable and exciting video experiences for your customer out of new or existing content. All you need to do is consider what will work best for your brand and for your target customer. Then, your content will engage at high rates, increase click through rates and conversion rates.

Here's the proof...

Interactive video can increase user engagement by 591%.

There is so much video content online it can be hard to grab the attention of a consumer for long. However, with interactive video you can draw in your consumer with compelling storylines that involve them, holding their interest 44% longer than standard video, reducing user drop off.

Interactive video drives informed traffic to your e-commerce.

Clickable pop-ups not only engage consumers, but educate them about your product. This proves that you have what they are looking for and convinces them to click through to your e-commerce. Interactive video platforms can help you boost click through rates by 15% +

Interactive video connects with customers to convert

By using live shop formats, brands can sell to customers virtually in real-time. This increases impulse buying as product carousels featuring links and add to bag functionalities encourage quick conversions. Using Chinese streaming platform Taobao, Kim Kardashian joined with influencer Viya Huang to sell 15,000 bottles of perfume in minutes, proving that streaming commerce and live shop formats convert at huge rates. However, you don't have to just use livestream to convert, videos that support most forms of interactivity have the capacity to boost your conversion rates by 400%.

Every action that occurs within an interactive video is trackable. As a result, the effectiveness of content can be measured and adapted in response to consumer preferences and movements.

To find out more about interactive video visit Smartzer.com