Invodo Issues “Eight Rules of Consumer Engagement With Video”

Based on new research studying consumer behavior with video, rules intended to bust myths

AUSTIN, Texas – Invodo, the business video experts, has recently issued the “Eight Rules of Consumer Engagement With Video.”

This is a new set of rules for video marketing for retailers and brands, based on a just-released study, “How Consumers Shop With Video,” done in partnership with the e-tailing group. The rules are as follows:

• Rule #1: Give consumers what they want: More product videos.
  • 67% of consumers engage with videos regularly, which is a 34% increase over last year (50%).
  • 45% of consumers have watched at least five product videos over the past three months, significantly above last year’s 36%.

• Rule #2: Don’t prematurely bury the PC.
  • Mobile video usage is growing fast, but the PC remains the most common device for watching videos.
    • In the Invodo-e-tailing group survey, consumers were asked on which devices they have watched a product video over the past three months. Surprisingly, 81% said the PC, while smartphones (43%) and tablets (35%) have made gains.
• Rule #3: It’s an omnichannel world. Think about the consumer first, the platform second.
  • Retailers and brands need to treat PC, smartphone, tablet and in-store users as the same shopper, at different points of the purchase cycle, and deliver video across every platform.
    • 62% of consumers surveyed said they can gather enough information after watching a product video on a tablet to make a purchase, compared to 49% of smartphone owners.
    • 57% of consumers said they watch a video on their smartphone while in a store for research before making a purchase.
    • This shows that PC users often watch product videos when they are in a “ready to buy” mode, while smartphone users are more likely to watch product videos when they need more information on-the-go, such as when they’re in a store.

• Rule #4: Focus on video for the product page first, before the homepage or brand page.
  • Consumers watch videos on the product page more often than any other location, and they watch these videos in search of information that helps them decide whether to purchase.
    • 55% of respondents in Invodo’s survey watched at least one product video on a product page over the past three months, beating the home page (42%), brand page (34%), category page (20%), video gallery (14%) or banner advertising with video (13%).
    • Brand videos and “explainer” and how-to videos on the homepage or in a buying guide are where your marketing team may want to go first, but those are nice-to-haves for a retailer. Product page video is the must-have, according to consumers.
• Rule #5: Give consumers video across all product categories.
  • It doesn’t matter how complex the product, or how much explanation is needed, consumers are still looking for videos.
    • Asked which categories they’ve watched at least one product video over the past three months, respondents cited consumer electronics (40%), computer hardware and software (26%), automotive (25%), music/DVDs/videos (25%), clothing and accessories (24%), food and wine (20%), toys and video games (19%) and health and beauty items (19%). They also cited less complex items, like pet supplies (12%) and jewelry and watches (12%).
    • Your marketing team may prefer to add highly detailed videos to only a few product categories. They would deliver higher ROI by broadening the video catalog coverage.

• Rule #6: Focus on delivering key product information, and don’t worry about arbitrary time limits.
  • Debunking the “30 second sweet spot” myth, Invodo’s 2012 study found that 37% of consumers will watch a video longer than three minutes if it’s educational.
  • Consumers spend an average of 2.77 minutes watching product videos that include demonstrations, compared to 2.40 minutes for videos supporting a brand’s value proposition.
• Rule #7: Create videos that will help consumers feel more confident in a purchase.
  • In the new Invodo-e-tailing group study, 57% of consumers said they were more confident in a potential purchase and less likely to return an item after watching a product video. This was an increase from 52% a year earlier.

• Rule #8: Make professional-quality videos.
  • More than half of consumers (54%) said they preferred more “polished,” professional-looking videos, according to the 2012 Invodo-e-tailing group study.
  • Just 30% of consumers said they were inclined to buy a product after watching user-generated videos from peers.

“It’s clear that despite increasing adoption of online video by retailers and brands, many myths about video continue,” said Craig Wax, CEO of Invodo. “Based on two consumer research studies and our own expertise, these rules will empower retailers and brands to maximize their video investment. They will also put to rest a lot of the misconceptions out there that can stand in the way of success.”

These rules build upon the 2012 study “Captivating Consumers through Cross-Channel Video”, also conducted with the e-tailing group. Invodo has found that some of the myths dispelled in the first study persist in the marketplace and is addressing those myths with the “Eight Rules.”

How Consumers Shop With Video is based on a survey of 1,073 U.S. consumers, who completed an online questionnaire in December 2012.

For more information and to download the Invodo research, visit the Invodo website.

About Invodo

Invodo offers the expertise, production capabilities, and technology businesses need to develop and implement a scalable, high-impact video strategy. Invodo’s closed-loop video platform is proven to enlighten customers and influence behavior, leading to higher sales conversion rates, reduced returns and increased site traffic. The Invodo platform improves production workflow, enhances SEO and collects integrated analytics to optimize ongoing video strategy. For more information, please visit www.invodo.com.