By Tal Rubenczyk, CEO, Treepodia
It will come as no surprise to you when I say that retailers everywhere are incorporating product videos on their e-commerce sites to boost sales and conversions. Research shows that when product videos are featured, visitors are 85% more likely to convert. That’s a pretty compelling argument.
But did you also know that there are ways to enhance your videos to boost their conversion value even more? Things like adding appropriate background music, voice-overs, and text can all generate more clicks to purchase among visitors to your web site. The key to knowing what’s appropriate and what enhancements perform the best is to A/B test.
For example, you can create two different versions of the same product video and have them rotate on your site so they’re viewed in random fashion by your customers. One version might be just the video itself with no enhancements – the other version can include the addition of background music and text. After just a couple of days, you can see which version gets clicked on the most and the conversions they each generate, to determine which will be most impactful.
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A/B Testing Removes Guesswork
We perform A/B testing for all of our customers so we’re able to help them determine what works best on their sites. As a result, we’ve discovered some compelling facts about people’s viewing and click-through behavior, such as:
- Adding voice-overs often results in higher conversions (take a look at this example to see how adding a voice-over increased the conversion rate from 3% to 4.5% – resulting in 50% more sales).
- With female fashion, a male voice-over might actually REDUCE sales, while a female voice-over can double sales.
- A call to action at the end of the video can increase purchasing activity by more than 20%.
- Adding text almost always increases conversions. Color of the text is significant as well, and we have found that red works better for some products.
- When adding text, a larger font size will usually have greater impact than a small font.
- The size of the video player is important – if it’s too small, people may not see it and it can reduce the impact.
Additionally, including background music is another option that can have a positive impact, as long as it’s the right type. For example, our tests show that videos for high-end luxury products do well with relaxing music, whereas sports product videos perform well when high-energy or rock music is added. How do you determine the right type of music for your products? Through testing of different variations, you can discover if classical, country, rock or even no music performs best.
It’s also important to test placement of your video player. For instance, some retailers put the video player underneath the product description on the product page. Others might simply put a small video icon above or beneath the product image. Still others will include a video icon on other pages, like site search results pages or navigation pages. Whatever approach you choose, you should conduct tests to make sure your visitors respond positively, by showing random customers a different placement lay-out so you can determine which method generates the highest conversions.
One thing to note is that while it’s possible to reach conclusions about the impact of adding text or the type of music that fits different categories, there are always going to be exceptions. It’s not necessary that you understand why this may occur; what’s important is that you try different versions, and see what the outcomes are. Sometimes you’ll discover that even within the same category, a different kind of music will work better.
A/B Testing Made Easy
One of the biggest obstacles retailers face with creating product videos is that with an inventory made up of hundreds or thousands of products, the time and costs can be daunting. Add to that the need to create multiple versions of the same video, and you can see why so many retailers choose to skip the testing process.
So how can retailers conduct A/B testing in a quick and simple way?
One way is to leverage video automation technology, where the product videos are automatically created from your product feed. This type of technology can also create alternate versions of the same video so you can see how well each version performs.
Another approach works if you already have existing product videos, in which case you can edit them by adding enhancements like text and/or music, and then and measure the results of the different versions.
Whatever approach you choose, the benefits of A/B testing cannot be overstated. By knowing – and delivering – what appeals most to your customers, you gain their confidence and provide a more satisfying experience on your site. Additionally, your customers are more likely to watch the videos, which means they’re much more likely to purchase – and return to your site. When you A/B test your bottom line will grow, and the investment you’ve made in product videos should be returned many times over.
Tal is the CEO of Treepodia. Prior to establishing Treepodia, Tal was the co-founder of Celebros, where he headed the marketing division for more than seven years. Tal brings his e-commerce knowledge, international marketing experience and networking connections to Treepodia.
