- Feb 24, 2021
More video content is uploaded online within 30 days than major US TV networks have created in 30 years. This means that brands must create video content that stands out to get noticed.
Firstly, let’s take a look at the two kinds of video formats on offer for brands.
Standard Video
Basic video that viewers are most accustomed to online
Interactions go as far as pressing “play” to start the video, pause, rewind, fast forward and restart
Minimal interaction, just viewing
Interactive Video
Viewers can interact with the content by clicking, hovering, scrolling and dragging “hotspots”
Videos can be shoppable with hotspots displaying product info and options to buy
360 views might give the user the ability to drag the screen and see in all directions
Branches give users different path options allowing them to customise what they see
Data inputs allow users to enter information like name, age etc.
Quizzes combine buttons and branching to deliver an assessment and reveal a personalised result at the end of the video
Customers can shop live through streaming commerce, watching videos and clicking the products shown to buy in real time.
While each form of video is informative, it is beneficial to look at the key differences that set interactive video ahead of standard video.
Engaging Potential Customers
Standard Video
54% of consumers want to see more video content from a brand or business they support. Video is the easiest way for customers to become instantly aware of a product. Static imagery and text can work, but video tends to be far more engaging and lead to more qualified leads to e-commerce sites. Linear video can engage an audience, but may not hold a viewer for the whole duration of the video. Brands need to come up with extremely creative content to grip a potential customers attention.
With 99% of current video marketers continuing to use video in 2021 and 96% planning to increase their spend, brands really need to consider how to optimise their video content beyond flat video.
Interactive Video
Interactive video platforms can help engage a viewer for 44% longer than linear video. The clickable element immerses the viewer, making them less likely to get distracted. By gamifying the experience the viewer actually enjoys and remembers the brand content. Therefore, the viewer is encouraged to visit the brands e-commerce site to learn more or make a purchase.
Informing Potential Customers
Standard Video
Linear (standard) video can be informative through the quality of the content. However, the viewer experiences it on a basic level, being shown and told information about a product. This lack of personalisation may become boring for a viewer and lead to increased drop off. Alternatively, the video may not include enough information. This might require the viewer to visit a brands site and research more details. The disconnect from the advert to the website may cause the viewer to become distracted and abandon their search for information altogether.
Interactive Video
By clicking on areas of the video a viewer can instantly find information about the products being shown without leaving the stream. Interactive video platforms like Smartzer help brands to develop informative, interactive videos. Brands can upload product links to hotspots for viewers to click to show details about the product such as colourways, sizing, prices or an option to buy. This shortens the path to purchase as the consumer is instantly informed about the product early on in the purchase funnel.
By using streaming commerce, viewers can shop live from brand videos in real time. This format of interactive video is highly effective at engaging and informing customers. Before the stream, merchants can use interactive video streaming platforms like Smartzer to add links to products that they want to showcase in their stream. Brands can maintain trust with their customers by demonstrating items for them to shop live. This interactive video format successfully reflects the benefits of in-person shopping online. Customers can shop live as the stream continues, maintaining their attention throughout. As a result, consumers feel connected to brands, turning views into conversions.
Conversions and Measurability
Standard Video
It is difficult to measure conversions through linear video. The only way to track a standard video’s success is through views. This has made it difficult for marketers to prove the value of their video efforts. Being unable to measure linear video means that it can be hard for brands to see where they are going wrong. Flat video banner ads convert at rates of less than 1%.
Interactive Video
Compared to linear video, interactive video is entirely measurable and converts at a rate of more than 11%. In fact, Smartzer’s interactive video platforms prove that by using these formats brands can increase their conversion rates by 4x their linear rates. Interactive video has enabled better measurement of metrics. You can track clicks within the video and analyse different paths taken, data inputted etc. Useful call-to-actions like “add to carts” measure the popularity of products and even purchases completed.
Summary
Video marketing has been and will continue to be successful at attracting potential customers. But, when push comes to shove, interactive video trumps linear in the fight for securing customer conversions.
2020 was a difficult year for every industry and individual. The global pandemic was a challenge for many; even to us at Smartzer. But for the digital services, it was only a hiccup in the way. After everyone was forced to stay safe at home, digital platforms, technologies, shoppable and interactive videos have gained importance. Now, the pressure is on for brands to pay attention to their digital content as the closest form of interaction they will have with their customers. This year, the growth will continue and we will see how technologies emerge to offer customers the most personalised experiences.
These are some of our predictions for the future in 2021, and why it will be an exciting year for Smartzer...
Growth use of video content
Video content has always been a successful form of storytelling, images and text alone don’t seem to cut it anymore. Hubspot reported that 81% of businesses use video as a marketing tool (up from 63% over the last year). Furthermore, Insivia reported that mobile video consumption rises by 100% every year. As a result, brands need to up their game by rethinking their video content marketing strategy in order to stand out and stay relevant.
Smartzers bespoke, interactive video platform allows brands to create immersive and engaging content for their customers. This highly relevant video technology removes many of the issues that marketers face when optimising their video content. The clickable, informative videos are easily measurable for ROI and shorten the viewers path to purchase. This can increase conversion rates by up to 400%. With video content on the rise, it is without a doubt that 2021 will provide many opportunities for brands to capitalise on Smartzer’s innovative technology in order to stand out in a content saturated crowd.
Renewed focus on interactive content due to lack of personal interaction
The Global Pandemic has hugely impacted the way brands can connect with their clientele. With bricks and mortar stores closed, outside of the box thinking is required to recreate the personal element of face-to-face selling online. This has increased the demand for interactive video platforms like Smartzer to bridge the gap between the online and the offline.
In fact, 24% of video marketers plan to include interactive video in their 2021 video marketing strategy. This was up 3% from last year.
This renewed focus on interactivity sets Smartzer in good stead for the year having previously worked with retailers like Brown Thomas to deliver shoppable video tutorials and beauty masterclasses. Here, interactive video successfully brought the beauty counter to customers' living rooms.
Livestream Shopping
China has been ahead of the game when it comes to livestream shopping experiences. In 2020 a report by Qin An mentions that 265 million Chinese internet users buy goods via streams. This figure amounts to 47% of the total stream viewing audience. These stats suggest that the rest of the world should follow suit in order to keep up with marketing giants.
In 2021, Smartzer offers brands the chance to raise the bar with interactive and shoppable video streaming formats. The platform allows brands to build a shoppable carousel of products by importing directly from a product catalogue or manually. Brands can connect the platform to their stream using the RTMP ID and a Stream Key to go live.
As a result of the pandemic, there has been a growth in demand for interactive livestream events. Online luxury retailer, My Theresa, previously worked with Smartzer to deliver Burberry’s shoppable runway. Viewers could virtually sit front row at the highly anticipated fashion week show. Consumers could shop the products modelled directly after the show instead of waiting 6 months for release. This shoppable video stream excited fans through the instantaneous “see now, buy now” philosophy. The shoppability of the show introduced a sense of urgency to the viewer that encouraged them to make a purchase. This interactive front row experience brings customers and brands closely together in socially distanced times and suggests that the future of live shopping is bright for 2021 and beyond.
Shoppable Ads on Social Media
Right now, more than half the world uses social media. This means that brands must optimise their advertising online to engage as many potential customers as possible. Especially when 53% of consumers engage with a brand after viewing a video on social media.
These facts are encouraging for the popularity of interactive video platforms in 2021. Milka Kramer UK and Ireland Country Manager at Pinterest predicts that “In 2021, the brands and retailers who leverage insights and focus on engaging with customers early in their shopping journey will turn them into customers through visually inspiring ideas that reach them at just the right moment”.
Smartzer’s highly relevant software helps brands to create shoppable video ads that stand out and reflect Kramer’s prediction. The clickable overlay enables brands to tag products to their ads and create an interactive and informative experience for the viewer. Having previously worked with brands like Paco Rabanne, Missoni and Volkswagen, Smartzer’s software has proven to increase engagement by 62%. Customer’s could click on products in the videos or a call-to-action to be educated about the product early on in the purchase funnel. With this content marketing strategy, brands can drive more qualified leads to e-commerce sites, increasing click-through-rate by 27%.
With platforms like Facebook and Instagram’s “IGTV” on a mission to become the next generations TV streaming platform, the continual rise in video content across social media indicates that interactive video platforms like Smartzer are here to stay. The undeniable benefits of shoppable video push platforms like Smartzer to the forefront of content marketing strategy, preventing brands from slipping into extinction for the years to come.
Increased performance of interactive content on e-commerce platforms
While vaccine rollout encourages hope for a degree of normality in 2021, merchants cannot ignore the huge technological developments in marketing strategy that have led to systematic changes in how customers interact with brands. When it comes to online content, we cannot revert to pre-covid ways.
Like in-feed interactive video ads on social media, interactive video content on e-commerce sites has increased over the past year. Brands have utilised interactive video platforms like Smartzer to replicate the engaging in-store experience online. Whether this has been through conversational commerce, shoppable video or live shopping events, 2020 saw brands re-evaluate their strategies for a time where stores were temporarily closed. 2021 will see brands solidify these strategies as a more permanent practice.
A clear take-away from 2020 is that customers crave easy brand access. On e-commerce sites, conversational commerce has allowed customers to virtually talk to store associates to gain recommendations and advice on products, leading to informed purchases. Shoppable videos on landing pages have instantly engaged shoppers, informing them about products and offering alternative recommendations in collections. Live shopping events have changed the game for customers interacting with e-commerce sites. The real-time streams allow customers to feel as if they are in the same room as the merchant, only they have their online device handy to buy the products displayed without leaving the video. Livestream shopping provides a bespoke and personalised experience for the consumer who can see the product in action and buy with confidence.
These three e-commerce practices transform a technological experience into a human experience. As a result, platforms like Smartzer are likely to be in high demand for the following years.
Social media has become an integral part of our lives. Many head to apps like Instagram and Facebook for product information and inspiration. Consequently, many social media users follow fashion, beauty, food or fitness influencers to stay informed on what’s hot. In an astonishing fact sourced by Google, 4 in 10 Millennials said their favourite influencer understood them better than their friends. This has placed influencers on a powerful pedestal that brands can capitalise to build a bigger, more loyal customer base.
How are brands partnering with influencers?
Brands have been using shoppable video and streaming commerce to connect with customers via influencers. The medium seamlessly integrates direct purchase options with immersive and interactive content. Smartzer’s interactive tag video platform adds a clickable overlay to video content. This might be over an influencers livestream, image or video post. The brand will add the desired links to Smartzer's software either manually, via Product Feed or via Product API. This will enable the viewer to click the products and access details and purchase options as the video continues to play. This tech speeds up the route to purchase for a consumer, increasing the chance of a conversion. By combining trustworthy influencers with instantly informative interactive video brands can win big.
Here are some of the ways brands are implementing this strategy…
NYX Pro Makeup: Livestream Shopping and Tutorials
The digital first brand targeted the social media generation during a time when bricks and mortar beauty counters were closed. By launching their large scale influencer outreach programme they have secured a close relationship with their customers. The livestream makeup tutorials with LGBT influencer Matt Bernstein reached thousands. Fans were able to see the products in action and purchase them directly from the livestream shopping video.
The Sport of Being Hannah Bronfman for Harper’s Bazaar: Shoppable Day in the Life
Famous online retailer, Harper’s Bizarre collaborated with DJ, fitness guru, model and blogger Hannah Bronfman to deliver a clickable and entirely shoppable editorial. Viewers could interact with the video by clicking on the pieces worn by Hannah. The video would then display the products, showing more information and the option to “Buy Now”. The shoppable video received 80K shares on social media.
Trisha Hershberger: Amazon Live Influencers
Amazon has created their own platform for influencers and brands to come together to promote products to the masses. This form of streaming commerce features live reviews that demonstrate how products work. These videos are tagged with the items for the viewer to purchase without leaving the video. Tag videos have the potential to reach huge audiences as demonstrated by gaming influencer, Trisha Hershberger. By partnering with influencers like Trisha to promote their gaming products, brands could reach over 145K potential buyers.
Sofia Schwarzkopf-Tilbury: Brown Thomas X Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Masterclass
Using Smartzer's shoppable livestream video platform, Brown Thomas teamed up with celebrity makeup artist, Sofia Tilbury to deliver an interactive beauty masterclass. Makeup enthusiasts pre-booked tickets for the exclusive event and tuned in for live makeup tips. Demonstrated products would appear in a shoppable side-bar for the viewer to purchase without leaving the stream. After the livestream shopping event, the video was made public on Brown Thomas’s e-commerce website with the aim to turn regular web traffic into qualified traffic. This bespoke, immersive form of streaming commerce can successfully increase engagement by offering a memorable and unique customer experience.
Influencer voices can help brands obtain thousands of new customers through just one video. It is clear that in 2021, influencer marketing is key to maintain customer trust and loyalty when physical stores are closed.