As our shopping style has evolved to making more purchases online, we’re seeing ecommerce stores competing to be more immersive in an effort to attract customers to their products.
Although the ecommerce world is chock full of convenient options, we miss our fingertips grazing that wool sweater that we have our eye on, and we long for a taste of that deliciously decadent dark chocolate that’s being sold on your favorite online shop.
You see, although our shopping methods have changed, our basic instincts still grasp for that hands-on experience. This is where video comes in and saves the day! Although we still don’t have Smell-O-Vision (we’re looking at you, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk!), a flawlessly executed video gives sellers an opportunity to present a visual feast to their shoppers. Video satiates the need for an interactive, hands-on experience by telling potential customers all about your product or service through the wonders of dynamic content.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then it can be said that a product video is worth a thousand sales. While eye-catching and informative images are a helpful way to convey the lifestyle or intended use of a product, static content lacks the thrill and interactive nature that video offers.
Dynamic content instantly captures a buyer’s attention in a way that static imagery simply cannot. Video is also a great tool to help familiarize customers with your product, brand, and mission, and can even help push an indecisive customer to click the “Add to Cart” button.
Unsurprisingly, around 90% of customers state that videos help influence their buying decisions, and landing page conversion rates increase by 80% when videos are present on the page.
If you are still not convinced of the power of video, here are a few numbers to consider:
- 74% of marketers see a better ROI with video compared to static imagery (Video Marketing Survey, Biteable)
- 72% of customers would rather learn about a product or service via video (HubSpot)
- Cisco predicts online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic by 2022, online shoppers included.
- 80% of all internet traffic will be done using video by 2021 based on current estimates (GetVoIP)
Uploading Video To Your Amazon Marketplace
Now that we’ve discussed the benefits of including video in your ecommerce strategy, let’s dig into the details of uploading videos to your Amazon seller account.
First, let’s discuss the price differences between uploading videos to Amazon Seller Central versus Amazon Vendor Central. If you are a brand registered seller, then you will be able to upload your videos to a product listing or Amazon Brand Store in Seller Central for free.
If you are going the Vendor Central route, adding video is considered a premium feature and will cost you a pretty penny. Typically, adding a video to a Vendor Central account runs about $1500 per page. This usually includes one ASIN variation family.
Please note that you will not be able to add videos to your product page if you are a marketplace seller without brand registry.
How To Add Amazon Product Videos in Seller Central
Adding video to a product listing only takes a few minutes! Here are the steps that you need to follow if you have a Seller Central account:
- Log into your Seller Central account
- Click on the Inventory tab
- From the dropdown, select Upload & Manage Videos
- Click the Upload Video button and select your video file
- Enter a title and the ASINs that are related to the video. You can either go to the product listing on Amazon and copy the letters and numbers on the URL after the second slash ( / ) until the question mark ( ? ).
- Select a thumbnail (also known as a preview image) for the video
- Click the submit button to send the video to Amazon for approval
After you submit the video, you should see a callout on top of the page informing you that the video has been submitted and Amazon needs to review it for compliance. Amazon’s video review process usually takes up to a week, but it can take longer so don’t be alarmed if it takes two weeks. You can always open a Seller Support case to inquire about the progress of the video approval process if you feel that it is taking an unusually long time.
Once the video has been approved by the Amazon team, then the video status will change to “live” and will populate on the associated product detail pages for the related ASINs within two days.
Exploring the Different Types of Amazon Videos
Educational
Educational videos are intended to show how your product works. This is ideal for products that require in depth explanations on use and function.
Product Showcase
The product showcase video is a good source of additional information that builds off of your product detail page. Try to show your product from different angles, and add in text that calls out key features.
Brand Story
A lot of customers want to hear all about who is behind their favorite brands, or if the brand that they frequently shop with gives back to the community. Add a human touch to your Amazon business, and highlight your brand story, mission, values, and any other fun facts that can help make a deeper connection with your customers.
Customer Testimonials and Reviews
If you are a brand with happy, loyal customers and a ton of positive customer reviews, then video testimonials are priceless and are the best advertising there is!
Promo
An effective promo video is all about the execution, and it gives you a chance to showcase your product and your brand much like a quick television commercial.
The Do’s and Don’ts of Amazon Videos
Amazon has very specific guidelines to stick to when it comes to the technical aspects of product videos, as well as a few additional tips for success:
- DO export the file directly from your video editing software at the highest available quality for the best result.
- DO make sure that the video file is in one of the accepted formats. These include: 3GP, AAC, AVI, FLV, MOV, MP4, and MPEG-2. Avoid Apple ProRes file format.
- DO use JPEG or PNG file formats when choosing a thumbnail image. These should be in a 16:9 aspect ratio and a minimum of 1280 x 720 pixels (1920 x 1080 is preferred).
- DO educate yourself on Amazon’s content policy. All sellers are required to adhere to this policy and your uploaded videos are also subject to Amazon’s Community Guidelines.
- DON’T use inappropriate language, nudity, or graphic visuals when creating your video – these will most likely automatically get your video flagged.
- DON’T mention any phone numbers or websites that will redirect traffic off of Amazon. Doing so can result in immediate action taken by Amazon, and it can affect your standing as a seller with Amazon.
- DO get creative with your Amazon videos, but remember, your Amazon listing video isn’t the time for creating a short novel.
- DO use your videos to address common customer pain points and present your product as a solution to alleviate a problem in their daily lives.
Needless to say, adding video to your Amazon product listing pages and Brand Store is a huge opportunity to boost your brand’s visibility all across the board. Not only do videos help set your product apart from your competitor’s, but with more than 60,000+ registered brands and over more than 2 million sellers on Amazon, taking advantage of this tactic is a sure way to stay relevant with customers.
To be successful on the ever-changing platform, you have to continue to grow and change with Amazon. If you don’t, then you and your Amazon business can be quickly overshadowed by more proactive and discerning sellers who are going the extra mile in terms of content and customer service. Don’t let that be you!
