- Feb 11, 2021
Updated: Jun 8, 2022
Digital marketing experts estimate that the average American is exposed to 4,000 to 10,000 ads a day. Consequently, video ads need to stand out to be remembered.
Interactive video is a rapidly growing technology being used by brands to shake up e-commerce. Brands tag videos with products that can be selected and purchased straight from the ad without leaving the window. But how is this possible?
By using Smartzer’s tool, businesses can make any video shoppable in minutes.
Firstly, you will need to add product information to the video. This will be through imagery, text and URLs via a Product API, via a Product Feed or manually.
Customer’s will be able to find out details about products by clicking “Hotspots” in the interactive video. Brands can add this feature by “tagging” products in an interactive overlay. This can be done manually or via photo recognition software. Once videos are tagged, customers will be able to interact and select products to learn more info or even make a purchase. This may be through a “quick buy” or “add to basket” call to action.
Adding products via Product API
Should you have a Product API available, connecting it to your shoppable video player is the best and easiest way to add real-time product information to your player. Simply search the product you wish to tag by the ID or by name and pull the information directly into the player.
Key Benefits:
Instant import of all fields
Real-time product information direct from product catalogue
Enables quick-buy / add to cart integration
Can pull in from many different markets at once
Manually adding products
The simplest way to add products to your shoppable video player is to add all the fields in manually. Should your video not have too many items to add this is a flexible method that can be worth the effort.
Key benefits:
Provides flexibility towards any particular field
Requires no setup
Upload via Product Feed
Many interfaces allow brands to upload their product information via a product feed or file. This can allow brands to add a lot of information at once saving time, however it can prove quite difficult to manage in the long run as the product information is not served in real-time.
Key benefits:
Easy upload
Feed can be uploaded elsewhere
Missoni X Adidas and Smartzer’s shoppable video tool.
An example of video e-commerce in action is exemplified by Missoni X Adidas using Smartzer’s tool. Missoni used Smartzer's platform to make the Adidas collection film shoppable across their e-commerce website and Instagram. Viewers were able to click on the looks in the video to easily discover additional product details with direct links to shop.
This effective method of video e-commerce reduces the path to conversion by offering the customer all the required information at the click of a tag without leaving the window.
Usually, the customer becomes aware of the brand through ads, discovers and researches the product details on an eCommerce site, considers the product then makes the decision to purchase. Through regular, non-interactive video ads this might require the following links to be re-directed out of the previous window to eventually get to the website in a long-winded process. During the journey from the ad to the e-commerce site, you may be distracted from the original product and lose interest. Interactive videos engage customers through a clickable dimension that provides all the necessary details to make an informed purchase without leaving the video.
Interactive video enables each stage of the purchase funnel to be measured. Tracking the initial views and dwell time on the video at the awareness stage, the clicks on the products at the discovery stage, measure clicks at the consideration stage through a call to action and measure conversions through successful purchases or sign-ups.
Read more about 5 Types of Product Marketing Videos to Start Creating
Using video for e-commerce can boost your business to new heights. Attention grabbing virtual content encourages increased engagement, higher dwell times on sites and a rise in conversion rates.
Interactive Video e-commerce and the Purchase Funnel
Widely known in marketing strategy, the purchase funnel is a consumer focussed model featuring four stages of awareness, discovery, consideration and conversion.
In the awareness stage the customer’s attention is initially grabbed by creative, captivating and clickable video ads. For example, shoppable video or customisable video. They can then enter the discovery phase by clicking the interactive hotspots to learn more about the products shown. The viewer may be shown pricing details, images, descriptions and even a call to action. They might view a carousel alongside the video that shows other items being featured. The viewer indicates consideration of the product by clicking a call to action button such as “Buy Now” or “Learn More” to be taken to the product page. A conversion will occur when the viewer places an order, books an appointment or downloads a document.
Brands now utilise conversational commerce, video e-commerce and live shopping to provide a new and memorable shopping experience for the customer increasing the likelihood of conversion.
3 innovative technologies that are revolutionising ecommerce:
1. Conversational commerce is the practice of using social interaction to sell products or services. Virtual shopping app, Hero, harnesses conversational commerce to connect brands with customers via text, chat and video. This gives a human feel to computer-driven bots as teams can chat, schedule store visits and interact with shoppers via 1 on 1 video calls. When buying online, customers are considerably less likely to make a purchase than they are in physical stores. This is due to the lack of in person assistants to provide the answers and advice that gives customers the confidence to buy. Through virtual consultations, personalised advice and recommendations, the benefits of in person shopping are brought to the customer’s fingertips online. With the chatbot market set to be worth over $1.34 billion by 2024, conversational commerce is the future for developing customer-brand relationships.
2. Smartzer makes videos shoppable for e-commerce sites. Brands can use their quick and easy tagging platform to easily add an interactive overlay to all their content making it shoppable across their e-commerce site, livestream, social media, and video ads in minutes. When watching a video the customer can click items to instantly see more details about the featured product and add it directly to their shopping cart without leaving the video. By using Smartzer’s shoppable video technology, brands saw a 50% increase in engagement rates and were able to quadruple their conversion rates.
3. Live shopping bridges the gap between offline and online. Bambuser offers an add-on that enables brands to embed a code in their ecommerce sites to stream live through the Bambuser app. Using the app, brands upload the URL’s of the products that they plan to showcase in the live stream then go live to broadcast content to potential customers. If a customer sees an item that they want to buy, they can click the image shown in the side-bar and add it to their basket without leaving the stream. Bambuser also offers a one-to-one live shopping experience so customer service agents can interact individually with customers for tailor made experiences with product display, product comparison, add-to-cart and CRM APIs.
These three innovative and shoppable video technologies are transforming e-commerce helping to build customer trust and bring the offline online.
- Feb 11, 2021
The average consumer scrolls through 300 feet of social media content a day. So, if 90 meters of content is being observed daily, brands need to stand out against the masses to turn views into conversions. The answer could lie within shoppable video.
But what is shoppable video?
Shoppable videos are the future for video content marketing. Captivating visuals and overlaying product tags create an immersive, interactive video experience that will direct the consumer straight to the product on their screen without changing windows. Through this content marketing technology, a consumer was four times more likely to purchase the product shown in the ad. This technology is harnessed by Smartzer to get brands noticed and overcome issues faced in an ever changing technological minefield.
What are the online issues faced by brands?
Pressure to provide an advanced digital shopping experience. With sales from retail at an all time low, the main way for most brands to sell is through ecommerce. As a result, it is essential to provide an unforgettable, first class shopping experience for customers.
Distractions and disconnect. When customers see an ad for a product on social media there will be distractions preventing them from committing to the purchase. This might be from unrelated pop-up ads, redirection to another window or a viewer may arrive at the brands website but the product is nowhere to be seen. These standalone video ads are disconnected from the purchasing process and provide no clear analytics to understand the effectiveness of the content.
Complex online navigation. With the Nations screen time through the roof, finding products featured in the various pieces of content can often entail over a dozen clicks, resulting in a huge missed opportunity where most customers will simply never complete this process.
Limited insights into content performance. Video advertising may be one of the most difficult channels to measure. This is largely because ROI is very limited to high level metrics such as views and dwell time on the video. It is nearly impossible to associate revenue with a video on a brand’s e-commerce site.
The solution?
Shoppable video. The interactive aspect provides a memorable experience that educates and engages a customer. The customer is directed straight to the tagged product with no distractions making them more likely to commit to purchase. The clicks and conversions generated through interactive video are easily measured enabling brands to see clear results.