by Gary Hennerberg
Today we examine how video
has likely had an influence in holiday online purchases, suggesting immense
opportunity for marketer’s use of video. Watch this video for the complete
message.
(If the video isn’t just
above this line, click here to view it)
Early holiday shopping
sales broke records, and one reason is a movement in online shopping and the
use of video. Every marketer should pay close attention to this trend.
Online shopping is
migrating to mobile. The biggest users are the owners of the Apple iPad. This
trend is significant.
The early shopping numbers
clearly show that mobile users preferred the iPad for making online purchases.
In fact, in cyber-Monday, it was by a ratio of 9-to-1 over all over tablets.
And more than that: iPad market share
use more than doubled over last year’s holiday shopping season, while use of
Android devices was flat.
Do I have your attention
yet?
Here’s another way to
state the imbalance: 52% of tablet owners have an iPad. Those 52% accounted for
88% of online shopping traffic.
Android device users
account for 48% of market share, but only 12% of online shopping traffic.
Tablets—specifically the
iPad—are fast becoming the leading digital transaction and consumption device
of choice.
Why?
Two things to remember:
1. Videos are more easily
consumed on iPads than on other devices
2. Online video is being
credited with closing more sales and getting higher conversions.
The confluence of online
video and iPad use is new an opportunity that will only increase as the
popularity of iPads continues to grow.
There are three reasons
why consumers may prefer iPads over Android devices:
1. Screen sizes on mobile
devices vary from around 4 inches for a smartphone, to the standard size iPad tablet
at about 10 inches. The size of the screen affects the ability to deliver
effective advertising or promotional material.
2. The level of engagement
differs.Video works on all sizes of mobile devices, and video works best on
tablets.
But here is an important
thread in this story: videos increase conversion rates, and conversion from
video is even higher on mobile devices.
·
Those who view a
video are 144% more likely to place that item in a shopping cart (Internet
Retailer).
·
52% say that
watching a video makes them more confident about their purchasing decisions
(Invodo).
·
E-commerce
visitors who watch a video are 64% more likely to make a purchase than those
who don’t watch a video (ComScore).
iPad use and influence in
the market will continue to grow. And videos will continue to be a significant
factor in online direct marketing success.
So what should you do?
Here are three action items:
1. Conduct a competitive
analysis of what your competition is doing with online video. If they’re
already there, it’s costing you business. Look at competitor websites for
video, search on YouTube and social media. Check the length, and examine their
format.
2. You have an opportunity
to be your category’s leader by a repositioning your marketing strategy to
include online video. If you haven’t already, create a video now and test it by
sending an email alert to your customer list. Be sure to include the word
“video” in your subject line. When you do, open rates rise by 7% to 13% (Experian
2012 Digital Marketer Benchmark and Trend Report).
3. Test your current
approach with video. Test video formats, length, offers, and call-to-actions.
If you think it’s too late
to do something this season, challenge yourself and your team to think again.
Test online video next week so you can read the results and be ready for 2013.
Gary Hennerberg has helped to turnaround marketing performance
of businesses of all sizes for over 20 years. After a foundation of working in
direct response marketing, he has broadened his reach and navigates between
traditional direct mail marketing, email marketing, video marketing, SEO, and
other online marketing initiatives.
