- Apr 14, 2021
Updated: Sep 10, 2021
95% of marketers plan to increase or maintain their spend on video. This means that as consumers, we will be seeing much more video content from now on. Even with the pandemic, we have become accustomed to having brands at our finger tips via the internet with 69% of people watching video on the go.
Moving forward, interactive video is going to be the next big thing for video ecommerce. Brands can use interactive video platforms to tag videos with product info for customers to discover. The clickable, immersive elements successfully engage customers, reducing user drop off rates. Interactive videos can be made shoppable by incorporating group popups with add-to-cart functionalities. This monetises content and converts at a rapid rate. With focus on video increasing, this format is a key tool for marketers to stay ahead of the game. Applying this format carefully to the shopping funnel can boost brand awareness and generate more qualified leads.
What is the shopping funnel?
A shopping funnel guides your consumer from awareness to purchase. It is designed to attract, inform, convince and convert buyers.
Take a look at the diagram below to see how video ecommerce works within the shopping funnel.
KPI's are attached to each stage. So, if your goal is to attract new customers you will need to focus on the top of the funnel. Identifying problems in the awareness stage and adapting them accordingly will help you to attract the attention of new customers. Your main KPI could be to create an interactive video that is dynamic, eye catching, reflecting the key values of your brand and the customer you want to attract. So, you should consider views, click-through-rates and the effectiveness of your call-to-actions. These engagement metrics will help you to figure out your consumers desires and preferences within your tag videos.
Breaking down the shopping funnel...
1. Top of the funnel:
This is where content will target your consumer and pull buyers in. The content will grab the attention of people looking for products like yours, they will then look for more information to see if you are selling what they are looking for. The more views and engagement your videos receive the more likely they will dig deeper into your brand and make a purchase.
2. Middle of the funnel:
Here, your customer is educated about your product. In interactive videos this could be measured through clicks on product links to display information. The customer becomes more understanding of your product and even more interested. Watch time will also indicate whether your customer is sticking around long enough to gain a clear insight into your product offerings.
3. Bottom of the funnel:
Bottom of the funnel content is designed to convert, selling your product to committed, educated audiences. Adding calls-to-actions in interactive videos will drive your consumer quickly down to this stage in a matter of seconds. Using 'add to basket', 'sign up', 'buy now' and 'book now' type functionalities will turn viewers into customers. Key metrics to consider will be sign ups, transactions, leads and sales generated.
Summary
Using interactive video platforms to tag videos with clickable information engages and informs your customer early on in the purchase funnel. By including call-to-actions that encourage conversions, viewers are driven down the funnel quickly and turned into customers through transactions. Combining video and the shopping funnel leads to effective video ecommerce that converts 400% more than standard video!
To find out how to tag videos and make them interactive visit Smartzer.com
- Apr 14, 2021
Updated: Jun 1, 2021
A handy summary of interactive video and how to use it to its full potential
Interactive videos are basically digital formats that support user involvement! The consumer is no longer a passive viewer to video content marketing, but plays a role, controlling aspects of the video by clicking interactive hotspots. This passes over control to the consumer and provides them with a personalised, bespoke experience that not only educates them about your product, but immerses and engages them in your content. New and existing customers will remember this format!
Learning how to make interactive video is not as hard as it sounds! Interactive video platforms can make it super easy to incorporate the format into video content marketing strategies. Smartzer provides brands with a customisable player that helps them to add product tags to pre-existing videos to make them interactive. They add an interactive overlay to the content where information can be added via URL's, Product Feed, Product API's, images, text or manually.
Interactive videos are incredibly popular with consumers with viewers more likely to watch from start to finish. In fact, viewers are 44% more likely to watch a whole interactive video than a standard, flat video. Add-to-cart integrations mean that users can shop directly from video content, reducing the length of the purchase funnel and monetising your content!
So what kinds of interactive video are out there and what are your options?
It is important to consider which format will work for you and your consumer. It is possible to make pre-existing video content interactive to save money. However, often, creating specific videos with interactivity in mind can be the best option for effective video content marketing. So here's a quick guide to different interactive video formats:
1. Branching
Branching videos provide your consumer with a customisable, journey like experience. Users have different path options that gamify the video and immerse the consumer.
2. Shoppable Video
Customers can click on hotspots to find out product info, display group pop ups with options to add to basket, buy now and save for later. These monetised videos are great at generating conversions quickly.
3. 360 Views
Provide users with a virtual reality to explore. 360 views allow the consumer to spin, drag, zoom and see in all directions.
4. Quizzes and Polls
Quizzes and polls combine buttons and branching to deliver an assessment and reveal a personalised result for the viewer. This gives a key insight into the mind of your consumer and provides strong metrics.
5. Livestream Videos
Streaming commerce formats allow your consumer to connect with your brand live, in real-time. Viewers can shop live, adding products demonstrated to their basket and communicating with stream hosts in a chat room.
Every action that a viewer makes in an interactive video is trackable. That means brands can clearly see how their consumer behaves at every stage of the purchase funnel from awareness, discovery, consideration to conversion. Using an interactive video platform to create your content can boost conversion rates by 400%! Additionally, using video in content marketing strategy allows marketers to get 66% more qualified leads per year and can achieve a 54% increase in brand awareness. Sharing to social media and using video interactivity on e-commerce landing pages can hold your consumers attention and boost brand popularity even more.
So, with all these exciting and effective formats, brands should consider taking the plunge into interactive video.
To learn more about how to make interactive video visit smartzer.com
- Apr 13, 2021
Promod teams up with Smartzer to show customers why red and violet are a winning duo with their stunning new shoppable collection video.
Promod has recruited Spanish influencer, Nicole Bernardes to demonstrate the latest colour trends for spring and summer.
If you have been looking for your next colour obsession, look no further! Red and purple are in and expected to be a hit with fashionistas this spring. Via an interactive and shoppable video, Bernardes shows women how to style the refreshing colour combo with Latin vibes.
By clicking on the looks the viewer can explore a variety of clothing products and accessories and add them to their cart. As a result, customers can see garments in a dynamic way that replicates real-life modelling.
The informative, immersive shoppable video provides the viewer with all the information they need to feel confident enough to buy! Fashion forward influencer Nicole Bernardes promotes the collection beautifully and shows customers how to stay on top of trends.
Execution:
Promod revisited Smartzer's interactive video platform to tag their video with product links and make it shoppable!
Using Smartzer's Product Import feature, the brand was able to tag a clickable overlay. Smartzer then helped integrate the interactive video seamlessly onto Promod's campaign landing page, customising it to match the brands onsite style.
Now, site visitors can click on the products tagged in the video to display a group pop-up for the outfit that they can "add to cart" by clicking the call-to-action. The video then pauses and user is then directed to the product page in a separate window to find sizing, colour and general product information. The viewer can then add the product to their cart and make a purchase.
Explore the campaign here!
Results:
The vivid, refreshing and exciting interactive video featured the following to succeed at grabbing customer attention and driving them further down the purchase funnel:
Clickable hotspots on an interactive overlay
Up to date product information tagged via Smartzer's Product Import
Group pop up
Shoppable, browsable side bar
"Add to cart" functionality
Seamless landing page integration
Conclusion:
Promod proves that using an interactive video platform like Smartzer can boost your landing page popularity as well as brand engagement and conversion rates. With help from Nicole Bernardes, customers can feel confident to wear bold new colour trends.