Zappos Sales Up 6-30% With Video
photo by Scott Beale / Laughing Squid
I am very excited that Zappos shared this information about their success using video as a way to market their products. Video adds another dimension. Text and images can only go so far.
Adding a video delivers in seconds what you couldn’t do within hours of reading, comparing, etc. Zappos has provided proof that video contains an experience you cannot get within other formats.
As mentioned in the Zappos interview video, they made a wise decision, to use people familiar in the different categories to speak about the products intelligently and with experience.
One of my biggest complaints about some horizontally focused how-to websites - some of them produce content internally using actors (so called experts) to create content across multiple categories. This left the viewer, in my opinion, somewhat less confident in the information. The same goes for product videos, you need enthusiasts and passionate individuals to create the content. Zappos is doing it in house, so they will suffer from being somewhat biased in the resulting video, but it still achieves the desired result, more sales.
I see the demand for video to sell products soaring in 2010, and by creating a network of individuals who are prepared to create this content for niche categories will be in high demand as large sites employ these principles.
Of course, content is not trivial to make, processes must be developed and quality must be maintained. Zappos is creating the content internally, and it makes sense because they have access to the inventory. Other sites which may rely on third parties to fulfill this need as they might have a more difficult time producing the content. They would be inclined to outsource the video content creation, so there will be demand in creating content in vertical categories.
When considering who to outsource the content creation to, it makes sense to find those who are capable of managing the process, finding the talent, controlling the quality and delivering consistently per contract. These providers should have existing relationships with manufacturers, an existing content library, and the means to develop the content on spec so the client can remain focused on the business requirements of the content.
Video specs that may be outlined could include:
1. Length of video in seconds.
2. The call to action to buy: overlay ad / pre-roll / post-roll
3. Product Demo vs. Product Install
4. Comparison of related products
5. Materials used in manufacturing of product
6. Short bio - why you should trust this person
7. Products various applications
8. Where the product is available / not available (specific countries)
9. Who the product was made for, describe the target audience
10. Explanation of Product warranty, exchange, manufacturer url
This is an exciting topic, one I’ve personally invested in substantially, great to see some numbers like that to support the theory.
January 19th, 2010
[...] as Zappos has seen huge rewards from video, more video and content will be used like [...]