Mystery shopping survey on consumer sentiment towards videos
In our new guide to video marketing we show how video marketing can help support marketing goals using examples from across B2B and B2C sectors. In consumer retail it's recognised that videos can have a dramatic impact in some categories. For example, the well known Zappos video conversion test that saw employee demonstration videos yield a sales impact of +6 to +30%. But how do consumers perceive video marketing and what are they looking for? There are useful insights in this research from Etailing Group and Invodo who carried out a Mystery Shopping Survey to draw out ‘consumers use of sentiment towards video with delivering superior shopping experience via video'.
It probed questions to look into video consumption, what consumers expect from videos, how it affects their purchasing, where they…
YouTube passes 1 billion monthly users showing the opportunity for video marketing
We think video is still an underused marketing tool for companies given its popularity with consumers and the many options for video marketing. As our new 7 Steps guide to video marketing explains, enthusiastic adopters are using it to improve SEO rankings, site engagement and customer conversion. Our guide shows how to create and implement a strategy to make the most of the opportunity from video marketing.
As an example of this opportunity, Paul Roger's recent post on using products to increase conversion rate showed the power of video to persuade consumers about a product. For example, Matt Lawson, Head of Conversion at ao.com explains:
“Video gives us the opportunity to wow our customers and this in turn delivers results. We have tested and proven that when someone watches our video reviews they’re 120.5%…
A summary of mobile video marketing trends
In this article we are going to show how mobile video usage is likely to change in the coming years and offer some tips on how you can ride the wave to benefit your business. Over recent years, we have seen major changes in both online video and in mobile usage. A combination of the two has transformed the way we interact with our mobile phones and the way that we watch online video. Things are set to change even more.
What are the experts saying?
Cisco has recently predicted a 13x increase in mobile data traffic from 0.9 exabytes per month in 2012 to 11.2 exabytes per month in 2017. Their report points to four key factors that are influencing this rate of growth:
1) Increase in mobile users
2) More mobile…
Key issues to consider for the process of using animation to support a marketing campaign
So, your company has decided to introduce animation into your marketing arsenal, but you haven’t got a clue how to start going about the process. Maybe you have an idea for a character, or a sense of the personality you want your brand to share with the public, but how do you get those concepts to become visual, moving, engaging characters, scenes and stories ready to be shared?
With animation, there are many styles to choose from, but only 3 main types. There’s the traditional 2D style (hand drawn on paper or digitally), the ever-popular 3D animation and finally stop motion (or frame-by-frame) animation.
Depending on the actual medium used for each, or combination of mediums, styles and techniques - the possibilities are nearly endless. For our sake, we will focus on 3D animation as the example type/medium…
Ideas for using Google+ Hangouts for business
I said the same thing about mobile phones, fifteen years ago, but I really believe Google Hangouts really are the future. In this article you will learn what a Google Hangout is, how it works, and how you can put it to use. They have been around for a little while but there is something in the zeitgeist at the moment because everyone seems to be talking about them and now through them!
I blame Spielberg for his press stunt when he did a Hangout with an actor from his new film Lincoln in 2012 - it was broadcast on the ABC SuperSign in New Yorks Times Square, as well as online of course.
What is a Google Hangout on air?
So, if you took the time to watch the above video, you will have more of an idea of what a…
New options for reaching your target audience through specialist video network channels
Networks represent a demand from consumers for YouTube to grow from being a collection of random videos to something more organized and therefore accessible and useful to audiences. The better networks such as those I feature in this post show the usefulness of teaming up for greater success. It's an approach that YouTube has identified and will address too in 2013.
There is some controversy around the usefulness of YouTube networks for channels who are making good content and generating interest in their videos independently. However, there are definitely ways to utilise your involvement with a network to improve your video output and general marketing.
What is a YouTube network?
Put simply, it is a collection of YouTube channels. How these networks come about varies. Some companies start a network and ask channels if they would like to be a part of…
5 real-world examples showing the value of rich media in Ecommerce
Ecommerce professionals and conversion rate experts have been lauding the benefits of rich media like video and 360 degree views for retailers more and more over the last couple of years. Yet a huge range of high profile ecommerce businesses are still yet to adopt product video, high resolution imagery or 360’s.
A number of the clients I work with have benefitted a lot from adopting rich media and have seen big increases in engagement and conversion. I’ve been talking about how rich media can add value to your proposition and general user experience for ages (such as here on SEJ and here on my personal blog) but I thought it would be useful to feature some quotes from expert retailers who have reaped the benefits. Thanks to…
Read how and why RevZilla has produced over 1,800 videos clocking up 9 million video views
Video marketing is a rapidly-growing technique for increasing brand recognition and loyalty. In fact, according to this Fast Company article from Kerrin Sheldon, short-form video will become a dominant form of marketing over the next five to ten years.
Sheldon explains that the trend is gaining momentum due to increasing numbers of online video consumers, the growing use of marketing through social media, low barriers to entry, improved production quality, and enhanced distribution options.
Even large corporations are turning to online video marketing – for example, check out "The Single Life," a barely-branded video marketing effort from Dentyne. But small and medium-sized companies without huge advertising budgets can grow their brand through video marketing, too.
Producing online videos provides companies with a more meaningful way to interact with (and grow)…
How to plan, create and market a 'how-to-video'
‘How to’ videos are one of the most popular video types on the net, so should always be considered as part of your content marketing efforts. They are an accessible format that can be applied to marketing many types of businesses. Essentially what you are doing is explaining how to do something that your people in a business are skilled in and knowledgeable about as it relates to your products and services.
All ‘how to’ videos are different, but we have developed a formula that can be applied regardless of the subject. Work through these steps to get the best results with your ‘how to’ video.
1. Planning the video
What do your customers need help with?
There is approximately no point in making a how to video about something that everyone knows how to do. In the planning phase you need to research and define the…
How considering the psychology of your audience can yield more effective creative
I recently read this interesting psychology article about a phenomenon called the 'False Consensus Effect', which is directly applicable to so many situations. In a nutshell, it is about how people believe that most other people behave similarly to themselves, and if they don't, there must be something wrong with them (we all consider ourselves rational). However, in reality it is difficult to accurately predict the behaviour of others, and if they behave differently to us, or how we imagine they will behave, it is simply because they are different (despite usually also being completely rational).
In the article above, the first study of the False Consensus Effect was a theoretical one, and the second a practical one which was…
