Types of Videos E-Commerce Brands Can Use to Connect with Customers

Most e-commerce brands face an unprecedented amount of competition. With the rise of tech giants like Etsy and practically every company establishing an online presence, marketers may wonder how to set their brand apart. Video marketing is a great way to attract more eyes to your product lines and give people a feel for what it’s like to shop with your company. Basically, videos help online shoppers get as close to your products as is possible from behind a screen.

The odds are in your favor here. A study by Lemonlight revealed that a whopping 99% of respondents enjoy watching video content from brands online. And what company doesn’t want to give customers what they want?

In this article, we’ll outline seven different types of video that can help your e-commerce brand reach and convert more customers. Read on to learn more.

1. Customer testimonials establish social proof

Word of mouth is amazing, but take it a step further by asking for testimonials. Your target customers might be hesitant about buying something online without seeing it in person. Customer testimonials instill confidence that your product has worked for someone else with a similar issue — maybe even one of their peers — so it’s not a stretch to think it’ll work for them too.

A strong, effective video testimonial ideally does the following things:

• Features actual customers who represent your target market
• Talks about a specific problem that your product can solve
• Backs up the promise of your product with evidence that
• Has a clear Call to Action (CTA), such as booking a demo or scheduling a call

Take this Wistia video customer testimonial as an example:

Our customer, Impulse Creative, has a large portfolio of video assets spread across the company’s different departments. Using Wistia, they were able to organize in a way that allowed them to easily track the impact and ROI of their videos. We worked with George, an Inbound Evangelist at Impulse Creative, to create a testimonial showing how Wistia is solving problems for our customers.

To create a video testimonial for your own e-commerce brand, start with strategy. Prepare a video testimonial game plan ahead of production so that your videos are effective. Your strategy should include your goals and a plan to meet them. For instance, if you want to use the video testimonials to increase engagement on your social media pages, you could map out when you plan to share the videos and on which channels.

Next, start making a list of customers to ask if they’re willing to collaborate with you for a video testimonial. Ask folks who have benefited from your product the most and are likely to want to promote it. You can find these customers a variety of ways: using your CRM tool, asking your sales team for ideas, or by connecting with brands who openly talk about your product on social media or their blogs, to name a few.

2. Social media videos put you where your audience is

If people are shopping online, they’re probably spending lots of time on other platforms too. Connect with them where they are — and…who isn’t on at least one social media platform?

Posting videos on social media lets you engage with your followers and helps you grow your audience away from your own site. You can easily measure the impact of your videos by looking at insights like comments, reactions, shares, and other engagement metrics. Use these to determine what kind of video content resonates best with your viewers (i.e., the videos that get the most positive engagement), then create more videos people will want to engage with.

Most social media apps now feature (or are exclusively based around) video. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube are four of the most popular social media apps. However, audiences view video on each of these apps differently. While you don’t need to create brand new content for each social media channel, you should format each video to have the best chance of success on any given app. TikTok and Instagram users, for example, tend to scroll more quickly through videos, which means you want to lead with your most compelling video snippet Additionally, videos on those apps are all presented in 9:16 ratio — the ratio and orientation of your mobile phone — so you’ll have to format accordingly.

“While you don’t need to create brand new content for each social media channel, you should format each video to have the best chance of success on any given app.”

You should also keep the (sometimes dreaded, we know) algorithm in mind. Each social media platform has a different algorithm that dictates who your videos are shown to. For example, Instagram’s algorithm means you’ll need to think about when users are the most active, what content has worked well in the past, and other factors. The app also favors videos that take advantage of the in-app features.

Wayfair, an e-commerce home goods brand, uses Instagram Reels to showcase its products while giving tips to viewers. In this video, they’re showing viewers some tips to organize their laundry rooms. They’ve sped up the process with Instagram’s speed editing feature and also added music, text, and GIFs to point out their products in a fun, interactive way. The video was seen by more than 115,000 users — one of the company’s highest viewed Reels to date. By using Instagram’s built-in features, Wayfair was able to reach a wider audience.

3. Product hype videos create an audience excited for your newest product launch

Intrigue your audience by promoting your product with a hype video to show off its best features and benefits. Product hype videos can work especially well to generate buzz leading up to your next product release or launch. For e-commerce brands, featuring people using or talking about your product before it comes out can even drive your audience to make an early purchase.

Look to tech giant Apple as an example. Apple uses hype videos for most new product releases to get its loyal customers excited about its next product. We all know how fast some of Apple’s products sell out even on pre-order, and product hype videos are a contributor to the products’ widespread demand.

In a teaser video for the iPhone 13, Apple shows us the amazing new camera features with a fictional, action-filled scene with wild visuals, all filmed on — you guessed it — the new iPhone. This promotion earned more than 22 million views on YouTube and galvanized a wide market to buy this release.

4. Product demos teach customers how to successfully use your product

Another way to pique people’s interest in your e-commerce brand is to give them a sense of what it would be like if they were to become a customer — and there’s no better way to do this than to actually demonstrate using your product on video. Product demos can also answer commonly asked questions that existing or potential users have about your product.

For a product demo, you’ll need somebody with some sweet on-camera skills and product know-how. That could be you! Or it could be someone on your team or even someone you hire to represent your brand.

“For a product demo, you’ll need somebody with some sweet on-camera skills and product know-how.”

No matter who you go with, the goal here is for the person on screen to show off exactly how easy — and even fun — it is to use your product. It usually works best to write out a script ahead of time so that your presenter knows exactly which features and benefits to highlight in your demo, and to schedule a walkthrough so you can get the kinks worked out before you go for your final take.

The Lip Bar is an e-commerce beauty brand that carries a fully vegan makeup line. Its YouTube channel has lots of great tutorials and demos for its products — like this one illustrating a quick, five-minute makeup routine:

In the tutorial, The Lip Bar’s brand representative introduces each product before she uses it. Then, as she applies each product, she explains how she’s doing it. This makes it really easy for the viewer to follow along at home, whether they’re just learning what to do for later or practicing in real time with the speaker.

5. Product page videos show a full view of your product

Unlike static images, video can give your audience a 360-degree view of your product. This is especially important in e-commerce, where customers aren’t able to physically examine products.

Look to Nike as an example. The company includes product page videos for all of its products that highlight someone actually wearing the apparel, giving customers a top-to-bottom picture. In the video, we see a woman trying on shoes, and she bounces around in them to get a feel for how they fit.

When customers can actually see someone trying on the shoes, it’s easier for them to envision themselves wearing them and how that will feel. It’s really simple to do what Nike has done here. Have someone try on or use your product on camera and film it from all angles. Then, add the video to its corresponding product page. For these videos, make sure the background of your video is simple and doesn’t distract from the product, which should always be the primary focus.

6. Unboxing videos can attract a wider audience

People love a big reveal, which explains why unboxing videos are so popular. More than 90,000 people search “unboxing” on YouTube every month! These videos are easy to consume, entertaining, and allow viewers to see products up close.

A lot of brands use social media influencers to promote and unbox their products. When you partner with influencers, you’re able to get your product in front of their entire audience. Big brands like Nike and Samsung use unboxing videos in their video marketing strategies, but any company can do it.

When you hire an influencer or brand representative, make sure you create guidelines for them so that the videos are executed in line with your brand standards. Guidelines should include specific things you want them to talk about and how they can set up their camera or phone on a tripod so that it clearly shows the product.

“When you hire an influencer or brand representative, make sure you create guidelines for them so that the videos are executed in line with your brand standards.”

The actual unboxing part is simple: The person simply opens the product on camera. It’s best if they’re sitting at a table with the camera or phone on a tripod above the product, so viewers can easily see your product’s features and how to use it.

Marques Brownlee, a YouTuber and tech influencer, recently promoted the new Google smartphones, Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, on his YouTube channel. Google provided him with these phones so that he could unbox them on camera and show them off to his 15.2 million subscribers.

In the video, Marques has the two phones front and center on camera so his viewers can see the products as he takes them out and showcases their different features. This video alone had over four million views and 185,000 likes, proving this is a solid tactic to get more eyes on a particular product.

7. Post-purchase videos allow you to nurture existing customers

Don’t forget about your existing customer base! Speak to — and engage with — people after they’ve purchased from you with a post-purchase video. These videos can give buyers helpful tips to get the most out of the products they purchased. It’s also an opportunity to highlight other products that may be valuable to those customers.

Make sure the products you’re promoting post-purchase are relevant to your customer. For example, previous customers may be interested in products they can use alongside what they’ve already purchased. If you sold a customer measuring cups, maybe they’re also in the market for a mixer, blender, or specialty cookbook.

You can use post-purchase videos on social media by setting up paid campaigns to target people who have bought from you. You could also send them out via email, or even place a video within the “Account” or “Order Status” pages for your customers. The hope here is that you’ll turn potential one-time customers into repeat, loyal customers who will keep coming back for more!

You don’t need a ton of tools to get started with video marketing

As you can see, there are lots of videos you can make to highlight your e-commerce product line. If you’re new to the video marketing game, start with customer testimonials, product videos, product demos, and product page videos. These are the easiest to produce with gear that you probably already have on hand.

And while you don’t have to spend a ton of money, especially if you’re just starting out, having a few key tools can really help you up your game. For instance, a video editing tool could be really beneficial for making adjustments after you’ve already filmed. Or, if you need something to steady your phone or camera while filming, a tripod can be a game-changer.