Social commerce meets video commerce: how customers become fans!

Videos are in fashion –  whether on YouTube, Instagram or LinkedIn. But how do videos boost revenue, generate leads or prompt customers to share our videos? The magic formula brings together a story (customer benefit), setting, series-like format, personal approach and a call to action.

Social commerce meets video commerce: how customers become fans!

Video is now an absolute necessity! That’s true no matter whether you are talking about YouTube, Instagram or LinkedIn. But how do videos boost revenue, generate leads or go viral? The magic formula brings together a story (customer benefit), setting, series-like format, personal approach, distribution, a call to action and a network.

The cornerstone of social commerce

So what is social commerce anyway? The term usually refers to a mix of e-commerce and social media in which the focus is on active participation by customers/users and personal relationships and communication amongst customers. (See ‘Social commerce: selling without selling’ blog post)

In social commerce, individuals and their own networks are crucial. The holy grail is reached when customers talk about their purchase on social media, or when they inspire others in their network to purchase your product or service too.

This is where video comes into play. Many people find it easy to share a video, because they don’t need to explain anything or write something extra. In particular, videos that are available only to a certain group (scarcity/exclusiveness) or which have been tailor-made for recipients (personalized videos) can boost value and thus convey a level of personal recognition on both senders and recipients.

Video commerce: surprising impact!

There is an ever increasing focus on the benefits of video during the purchase process. The following figures from various sources in English-speaking countries clearly demonstrate how effective product videos are.

Videos have a 16.85 % conversion rate compared to standard banner formats (2.14 %) and mobile ads (1.62 %). (eMarketer)

• 58 % of consumers tend to trust brands more when they use videos (Retail touch point)
• 59 % of consumers watch videos that form part of a website’s content. (Reach engine)
• 96 % of customers rely on product videos when making a purchasing decision. (Animoto)
• 92.6 % of customers rely on visual representations when making purchasing decisions. (VoucherCloud)

These numbers are not surprising. After all, the Internet itself is not something that is tangible. Authentic product videos are best suited to making up for the inability to try out products physically. Videos can help customers understand quickly and intuitively how a product can be used or what its features are. A simple video is often all we need to understand operating instructions or possible uses. After all, we humans learn quickly! The only requirement is that we are motivated enough.

Conclusion: videos boost online revenue

Selling works differently these days. People are online, often using a smartphone. The purchasing process begins with an online search. Videos are often suggested in the search results, or users will even search for them directly. Their great advantages are their versatility and their ability to generate a feeling of proximity. Products and services become tangible and in the best case scenario, customers will recognize themselves in the video story. The various statistics show that the sales process can be directly supported through video. My personal conclusion: videos create trust! That’s true both for online shops and social media platforms.

Video commerce: how customers become fans

What customers want:

Unfortunately, Connecta cannot be held as planned. Prof. Martina Dalla Vecchia, FHNW and Christian Mossner, Canon (Switzerland) Ltd would have been among the 80 speakers. An alternative programme is available through Connecta TV, Doc and Talk – find out more at: www.swisspost.ch/connecta.