- Apr 9, 2021
Shoppable video goes beyond clickable hot spot technology...
Now, shoppable videos are not just tagged videos you can shop from and make direct purchases via call-to-actions. They can be adapted to suit your customer and your product. This could be by taking your viewer on a journey via branching, hot-spotted product galleries, 360 degree virtual showrooms, livestream shopping and more.
All of the hottest brands are jumping on the shoppable video trend, creating outstanding content that not only wows, but generates conversion. Gradually, marketers have realised the positive impact of passing over the control to the consumer and how this translates into powerful metrics.
According to Net Solutions, merchants using shoppable video see an increase of 30% in conversion rates, and in the first week of Ted Baker’s shoppable video units being live on its site, it tracked $70,000 worth of clothing sales through the video.
Watch Ted Baker's shoppable winter campaign here.
Shoppable video allows the viewer to become an active participant as they click on what interests them.
Allowing the consumer to take control is a trend that has emerged over the past years. With streaming platforms like Netflix bringing out decide your destiny episodes of Black Mirror and Bear Grylls You vs Wild, we have become more accustomed to experiencing video interactivity. These programmes allowed customers to click the screen and make choices to manipulate the outcomes. This provides a bespoke, memorable and personal experience that grips the viewer.
The adaptive, customisable possibilities of digital technology allows brands to target their specific audiences and provide the optimum shopping experience. The metrics produced by these choices allow marketers to adapt their strategies to show even more relevant products and boost conversion rates.
As a result, shoppable video can no longer be defined by a single user experience. Livestream shopping experiences bring brands and consumers together virtually to create a real-time, organic experience. The ability to reach customers in their homes when bricks and mortar stores are closed is a powerful sales tool. The realistic, personal experience livestream shopping provides gives consumers a clear view of products being demonstrated, giving them the confidence to make a purchase. The chat rooms create a community for shoppers as they speak to each other and ask hosts questions. Here, livestream shopping encourages impulse buying in real-time as if the customer was physically in a store.
So what does the future look like for video interactivity?
We live in a rapidly technological advancing world where online consumer habits are evolving constantly. As a result, it would be natural for shoppable video and interactive formats to grow exponentially over time. With formats like virtual reality making their way into trade shows, mobile apps, YouTube ads and more it is likely that this will be one of the most digitally advanced tools for video interactivity. Consumers are fascinated by technology that transports them to a different reality while educating them about a brand product. They might even be able to customise their environment, putting their brand experience in their hands. By giving control to the consumer with interactive video, brands can provide a bespoke experience that generates customer focussed conversions.
For more information on how to create your shoppable video visit Smartzer here.
Your guide to the best interactive video modalities that will make your audience stop, stare and engage.
Video technology has come a long way over the past year with marketers reimagining their strategies to include new, trending formats that support video interactivity. Customers have grown accustomed to top tier content that not only engages, but involves the viewer as an active participant. Interactive video has allowed brands to stand out amongst the crowd and connect with new and existing customers to generate conversions.
So, without further a do, here are the key interactive video formats that people will actually want to watch.
Shoppable Video
This format supports product purchasing straight from the video itself. Shoppable videos have an interactive overlay that is tagged with product information via URL's, images, text, Product API's and Product Feeds. A viewer can click, scroll, drag or spin hotspots to learn about a product and click calls-to-action to add the item to their basket, buy now, sign up to a mailing list or book a test drive.
Check out Brown Thomas's shoppable video with Smartzer's interactive video platform:
Livestream
Livestream shopping or livestream events are a great way to encourage interaction with your brand. Video interactivity is encouraged through a clickable side bar that appears alongside the stream. Here customers can browse pre-uploaded product links as they watch the host in real-time. Livestream events often have chatrooms that run alongside the video where viewers can chat between each other and ask the host questions. Interactive video platforms like Smartzer can help brands take their products live to connect with customers.
Nordstrom have recently trialled livestream shopping events on their ecommerce site, partnering with luxury brands like Burberry, Tom Ford and Georgio Armani:
Branching Videos
Branching videos allow for a customisable, decide your destiny type video format. 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. It’s one of the easiest ways to boost engagement with your viewers and get real-time feedback on their preferences and choices. Via hotspot technology brands input choices for viewers. Time triggers allow brands to set up loops, pause points, skips and more. The viewer can personalise their own experience in the ad, generating a bespoke, one of a kind experience that stays with them.
Check out interactive video platform, Rapt Media's branching partnership with Toyota:
360 degree VR videos
Virtual reality is possibly the most futuristic technology out there at the moment. The interactive video literally digitally immerses the viewer in the video as though they are actually in an alternative reality. These videos don't have to require a headset, VR 360 videos can come as explorable videos on YouTube, Facebook, e-commerce and more. However, it can be used with a headset and now is commonly used at tradeshows by brands to set their customer amongst their products. Take a look below at Immersive Studios partnership with IKEA to put the viewer inside the catalogue. Viewers could customise their experience by selecting colours and products.
Quizzes and Polls
Brands can insert multiple choice quizzes, polls, short answer questions into their videos and then embed them anywhere across blogging platforms, site builders, e-commerce and more. These quizzes are easily measurable and give a clear insight into the mind of the viewer. End of quiz CTA's encourage higher conversion rates. Videos can be easily shared across social media to achieve virality turning passive viewers into active participants.
Vizia helps brands build quizzes and polls into their interactive videos
To learn more about interactive video visit Smartzer's website here.
Updated: Apr 20, 2021
Almost 50% of people state “my products won’t look the same when they arrive” as their biggest concern when shopping online.
Brands are constantly looking for ways to maximise their marketing strategies to solve this online, in-person disconnect. It seems that in 2021, the answer lies within interactive video.
There are so many benefits to using the format in video content marketing. The clickable, immersive content draws in a consumer, informing them early on in the purchase funnel and directing them to purchase a product in a matter of seconds. This boosts click-through-rate and drives conversions. Interactive videos turn passive viewers into active participants and as a result, creates a memorable, thoroughly engaging experience with reduced user drop off. See how interactive video fits into every stage of the purchase funnel in the diagram below:
Using an interactive video platform to create immersive content allows brands to measure every click that occurs in the video. From the awareness stage with views, the discovery stage with clicks on the video, the consideration stage with add to cart and click throughs to e-commerce to the conversion stage with the transaction. This means interactivity is a key tool for analysing the effectiveness of video content marketing strategies. Brands can see clear ROI and KPI's and can adapt their content accordingly.
There are so many benefits to using interactive video, so here's a breakdown of some more key points:
Interactive video has the ability to boost brand value!
By carefully planning video content and the type of interactive video you want to use you can maximise ROI. Effective interactive formats include shoppable video, 360 videos, branching videos, quizzes and polls, conversational commerce and customisable videos. These all provide the viewer with a role to play in the video whether this is clicking to find out product info or swiping to explore a virtual reality destination. By involving the customer in the video they feel more connected to the brand and understand more about the product. This effectively builds trust between the parties and boosts brand value. Careful strategy and planning of videos mean that content can be maximised to be not only engaging but creative enough to drive better customer and prospect relationships. Interactive videos boost customer retention and successfully convert, upselling to new and existing customers. After all, almost 80% of people state that product videos give them more confidence when purchasing a product
Boost you B2B and B2C Brand's social media presence on social media and ROI!
Implementing interactive video into social media marketing is incredibly effective at boosting conversation and ROI. For B2B marketers, LinkedIn is the best platform to advertise your brand. Here, videos share industry related thoughts and hold interactions with customers. A single interactive video can generate solid brand metrics and attract key customers. For B2C brands social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok are gold mines for consumer interaction and virality. On TikTok 60 second videos have the capacity to be viewed by millions of people in minutes. Clickable and shoppable content on these platforms can boost conversion rates by 400%.
Interactive video and search engines = match made in heaven
Placing an interactive video online generates conversation about your brand and encourages traffic to your e-commerce. Posting regular content can boost your presence and visibility online even more. Video content marketing can aid your overall SEO efforts and online traffic just through regular posting and updates. By creating and reposting interactive video, your brand will develop a sturdy online presence and rank higher for your specific key search terms.
Interactive video can lead to greater e-mail marketing impact
Using interactive video in e-mail marketing strategy instantly grabs the attention of your customer and encourages more open rates. Videos are an easier way to take in information than reading lengthy paragraphs so are far more memorable, engaging and informative. More open rates means more click through rates to brand websites leading to higher conversion rates.
It is clear that interactive videos boost conversion rates
In fact, by placing a video on a landing page can boost conversion rates by 80%. By using an interactive video platform, brands can create relevant clickable videos that are seamlessly integrated into the site Demandware API, reflecting the ethos of the brand. When visiting e-commerce landing pages, consumers can be highly influenced by video. Watching a video that clearly displays a variety of products in detail with call-to-actions to add to basket will convince a customer to make the purchase. Hence, video rich marketing plans can boost revenue.
To find out how to make an interactive video, visit Smartzer here!