We’ve sold A LOT through video. The bulk of our experience comes from producing over 2000 product reviews and getting over 13m views for Australia’s largest appliance online retailer. And we’ve learned a lot from this. Here’s just a few nuggets of knowledge.
Start with a good thumbnail. People are attracted to people. So if you are using a presenter to showcase your product, then it’s a good idea to have a thumbnail of the presenter smiling with the product as a thumbnail. Our click through rates increased when we did this.
Keep it short. Our data showed us (and this is consistent with Wistia’s general data on online video consumption) that the sweet spot for our reviews in terms of length was 2 to 2 and a half minutes long. That kept our engagement levels at an average of 76%, which for a review of a toaster or dishwasher is not bad at all! People start switching off once you go past the three minute mark.
Talk in terms of value you are bringing to customers
Don’t talk about the product! Talk about the VALUE that the product brings to your customers. Always relate it back to them, and how it could be fixing a problem they constantly encounter. It’s very easy to get lost in talking about how great your product is, but if you can’t communicate its value in terms of how it’s going to benefit someone, then it will have no legs.
Cutaways. People love seeing the details.
Cutaways and Close Ups of your product are key. Not only does it break up the video slightly and make it more engaging, but we found a lot of people who watched our reviews would go on to rewind to parts of the video where we were close in on a product. Be it buttons, controls panels, handles etc. Humans are good to connect with your audience, Close ups are good to showcase the actual product. Powerful combination when done right – I’d say keep the balance at roughly 50/50
Show the product in action
People want to see the product in action! So plug it in, and get it doing what it does! That’s what people are really after so don’t fall in the trap of just showcasing it without actually using it!
Keep it honest
If you’re honest, you’ll build a lot of trust, and down the line that will enable you to sell more to your customers! So if something isn’t great, there’s a million ways to phrase it to get that message across without necessarily being detrimental to your product. “Entry level” for example was a term we used a lot to imply that it wasn’t the greatest but it would do the job for someone with a low budget. People are not stupid, they’ll realise there’s a money/quality trade off with most products.
