How to Use Video to Build Consumer Trust in your E-commerce Company
In the ephemeral online world, trust is too much of a precious thing.
It’s not uncommon to see news about identity theft, online scams, phishing, and whatnot; people don’t usually associate shopping online with security, and who can blame them? This is why you need to make sure your audience feels like your brand can be trusted.
If people don’t trust you, then your chances of selling your product or service are slim to none. By the same token, when the opposite is true, your job is almost done!
The thing is, trust can be an elusive trait to pursue in itself. It is not an entirely emotional response, nor a logical thought process either – rather, it’s a mixture of both.
Ask any skilled video company about it and they’ll all tell you the same: eliciting consumers’ trust with your content on a consistent basis can be tricky if you don’t understand it yourself!
There are three significant characteristics we often associate with trustworthy people: they are competent, knowledgeable, and empathetic.
In this article, we’ll go over several types of marketing videos and how they can help your brand project those same attributes to get the same results.
Why Video?
When shopping online, it’s important to remember that people are buying with their eyes more than anything else. They only trust what they can see – Meaning that a good video can make all the difference in the world.
A carefully designed, professional-level marketing video lets you talk directly to your target audience in a more compelling and effective way than any other medium. It allows you to make your brand stand out, and do so in just a few seconds.
Nowadays, with social being such a huge part of marketing online and most platforms like Instagram and Facebook doubling down on video content, you can’t just depend on pictures and text descriptions to do the job right.
According to research, video boosts the conversion rate by 157%. You are 53x more likely to show up first on Google if you have a video embedded on your website.
Not when videos can give you the best of both worlds!
Displaying Competence: Video Quality and a Professional Finish
Big or Small Budget, It’s All About How You Use It
We live in a time where everybody with a smartphone thinks pulling off a professional-looking video is extremely simple. However, high video production quality can quickly show the difference between an established, reliable company and an amateur affair.
And it’s really not just a matter of budget! What matters most is how you choose to use the money you have.
A smart, creative team can go a long way to craft an awesome piece even on limited funds. Maybe more importantly, spending more doesn’t guarantee results! How many videos have you seen that looked expensive and out of place?
The right budget can work for the right video, so make sure your ambitions can match your production quality and the team you chose for it.
Quality and Tone
Once you’ve made a decision on your budget, you should define the overall look and finish you need from your piece. You want a video that can cleanly and quickly convey what your company is all about, and that starts with the early planning stages by defining the tone and quality you are going for.
Are you looking for a serious and clean look? Or a comfy and warm feel? What fits your brand’s overall tone best? Do you want a seemingly informal, social-media-ready piece, or a high-end, two-minute-long marketing video?
Be sure to know the answer to these questions before moving forward with your production! The answers will influence all aspects of your piece, and preparing them clearly from the get-go can save you a lot of headaches.
Editing Is the Unsung Hero
Quality and tone are key, but one could argue that the most critical part of a video is actually invisible! Editing and post-production are essential ingredients of a professional marketing video, even though most viewers won’t notice them.
Good editing is seamless; it’s the magical process that organizes your rough footage into a simple, enjoyable, cohesive, and effective piece. There’s almost nothing that can’t be fixed in post-production, so, if you take only one thing from this piece, let it be this: editing makes everything perfect, so find some skilled hands to take care of it!
Showcasing Expertise: Explainer Videos and Complex Topics
Balance Expertise, Engagement, and Promotion
Explainer videos are a must if you need to showcase expertise by tackling more complex products or services’ explanations in a simple and engaging way.
These kinds of videos are like having one-on-one ted-talks with your audience. A great Explainer doesn’t ever feel like an ad – even though they do help advance potential customers down your funnel.
Instead, they are there first and foremost to provide valuable information you want your audience to have while showing your expertise in your niche.
Keep It Simple!
As far as marketing pieces go, Explainers’ main draw is the formula’s capacity for simplicity – even when tackling intricate subject matters. If your viewer finishes the video feeling that they have learned something – and that it was all thanks to your brand – then that’s all you can really ask for.
If you have any doubts about the way you’re explaining your product, put yourself in the shoes of someone who hasn’t the slightest idea of what it is about. Would they understand it?
Explainer videos work best when they don’t take knowledge for granted – you never know who is going to watch your video! Useful Explainer videos are also short: if you need more than 2 minutes to explain your product, then you’re not doing it right.
In fact, statistics show that our average attention span works best with 90 second videos, so keep your videos simple, and you’ll be on the right track.
Take Advantage of the Medium
But how can you cram your message into just 90 seconds? In most cases, it’ll sound impossible… until you start taking advantage of the medium itself.
Video marketing gives you the opportunity to leverage on-screen assets to keep your video delivering information every second without sacrificing engagement. The user doesn’t get to feel like they are reading from a manual, or that they are being tutored. On the contrary, great explainers are almost invariably fun, or at least entertaining!
Simple and straight animations are what works best, so keep in mind to structure your video’s scripts with an effective mix between information and narrative, then support it all with visually appealing graphics!
Humanize Your Brand with Company Story Videos and Testimonials.
The Power of Storytelling
People trust people, and people communicate through stories.
It doesn’t matter where you come from or what language you speak; there’s no denying the power of a good story! People are just drawn to storytelling. It’s the oldest art form. This is why company story videos and testimonials are an amazing asset when it comes to humanizing your brand.
If your customers can associate your brand with a face they recognize, then you’re not just a faceless company: you are a friend they can relate to and trust.
Take Your Time Finding the Right Person
This is probably the most subjective part of the whole process for these types of videos, but that’s also why it’s so important. Be sure to choose a team that projects the values you want your audience to associate your brand with.
You want someone who is relatable, someone that can talk in a transparent and honest way, without feeling encumbered by the recording equipment. It can be somewhat laborious to find but believe me, it’s more than worth it!
People like that they feel trustworthy, they convey the sense of being themselves, and in turn, feel more relatable to the audience. They think, “well, that could be me!” And that sense of empathy puts your testimonials or company stories on the right track.
Make a Connection
The core principle for these videos is to let your potential customers know that you are more than just a company.
You have people working hard behind the scenes to create the products or provide the services your potential customers could enjoy. There are plenty of people out there who have already tried them and are very satisfied with the results or benefits they got from them.
In short, you want to make a piece that can emotionally connect with your audience. If your video can get just a little smile or a laugh from your viewer, then chances are they will remember your brand and associate it with a good memory.
Wrapping Up
To successfully do business online, trust is a key variable you shouldn’t ignore.
Engendering it on your audience should be pretty high up there on your list, as the better you are at it, the better other areas of your eCommerce strategies will flow. And while not the end-all-be-all, the types of videos we’ve talked about today should give you a solid enough place to start.
Create some content entirely focused on making it easier for people to trust you, then implement it organically into your content strategy.
You’ll be delighted with the results!
About the Author:
Victor Blasco Is an audiovisual designer, video marketing expert, and founder/CEO of the Explainer Video Company, Yum Yum Videos. Besides running the business, he’s a lifelong student of Chinese philosophy and a passionate geek for all things sci-fi.
