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

HOW TO CONVERT VIDEO INTO A SHOPPING FUNNEL

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

THE BEGINNERS GUIDE TO INTERACTIVE VIDEO

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