Video marketing was once considered “a nice feature to have” as far as advertising goes. But that’s no longer the case.
86% of businesses have switched to using marketing videos in their campaigns. Why? Because 68% of consumers prefer watching videos over reading articles when they’re interested in learning more about a product, service, or business.
Many successful eCommerce companies are leveraging the power of video for everything from announcing new products to performing Q&A sessions, live streaming events, creating step-by-step tutorials, and the latest trend—sharing personalized testimonials filmed directly by customers.
When consumers see and hear real stories from real people, they feel more at ease making an online purchasing decision. And that’s the real power of video—increasing conversions through trust and customer loyalty.
Read on to learn why authentic video is so prevalent in eCommerce these days, the connection between video and customer loyalty, the best ways to use video to create customer loyalty, and how video can build brand awareness, increase brand recall, and positively impact brand association.
Why Are Videos So Popular in Ecommerce These Days?
The average person spends 2.5 hours watching online video content every.single.day. But the thing is, that’s still not enough! Studies also show that 54% of consumers wish to see more video content from their favourite brands and businesses. This might have something to do with the fact that the number of people who watch online videos has doubled since 2018. Google says that 6 out of every 10 people prefer streaming online video content over watching live TV.
What’s the reason for this significant change? Marketing videos establish a better personal connection with consumers, and according to the stats, customers react best to videos. But that wasn’t always the case. In 2015, a survey from Smart Insights showed how video marketing equated to positive ROIs. A mere 33% stated they saw a positive return on investment. Push ahead to 2020, when that same survey repeated—the number jumped to a whopping 88%. It’s clear consumer sentiment has dramatically changed toward video marketing in such a short period.
So, why are people so drawn to video these days? Humans are naturally visual creatures. Consumers prefer video content over any other medium because it’s engaging, entertaining, easy to digest, and memorable. People want simplicity. And when it comes to businesses and brands, consumers trust the opinions of other people. This makes user-generated content a necessity in marketing. The trends don’t lie—if you’re looking to increase customer loyalty, personalized videos are where it’s at.
The Connection Between Online Video & Brand Loyalty
Brand loyalty makes all the difference when it comes to the success of a business. Hence why most companies try to secure as much loyalty as possible. But building that kind of loyalty has been an ongoing challenge for many companies. Perception is everything when it comes to brand loyalty these days, and it takes more than just doing a great job by offering unique products or services.
Enter—online video content.
Online videos are an easy way to build brand loyalty—if you’re using the right kinds of videos. Marketing videos are increasing in popularity because they come in so many formats:
- Ads
- Vlogs
- Live streams
- Interviews
- Explainers
- Demos
- Webinars
- Tutorials
- Presentations
- Product reviews
- User-generated testimonials
Video content can help you reach your marketing goals, from improving engagement and boosting sales to educating followers, increasing brand awareness, and, most importantly—inspiring customer loyalty. This loyalty is a choice consumers make when supporting a particular brand over its competitors. Consumers choose to be loyal when they see a product or service as superior quality and trustworthy.
When loyal customers choose your products and services over your competitors, they’re more likely to speak highly of your business. So what better way to attract new consumers and build trust in the source of your content than to have those testimonials on your website spoken by actual customers in real situations?
The key to connecting with potential customers and earning their trust is…
Appealing to their emotions! StoryTap gives your consumers the confidence to follow through with that “check out now” button.
Tips On Using Video to Build Customer Loyalty
Video consumption increased by 60% globally throughout the pandemic. With the increasing popularity of everyone tuning in to online videos, use the following tips to start building your customer loyalty with videos today.
Tip #1: Leverage Video to Grab the Attention of New Customers
Interactive content is great for acquiring new customers. But in a world where you only have eight seconds to grab and keep someone’s attention, you need the right material for consumers to stop, collaborate, and listen long enough to retain your message—and personalized videos are the perfect medium.
80% of marketers agree that video content enhances sales by establishing a solid relationship with your consumers and brand. Video also attracts new customers by generating more leads. Once you acquire repeat customers, they’ll likely become long-term loyal consumers. And that’s how you build customer loyalty.
Marketing videos engage new and existing customers in a few ways:
- Show why/how your products or services are ideal for the consumer
- Customers’ have an easier time visualizing how your brand can solve their problems
- Shows consumers your commitment, mission statement, and values
- Establishes trust and customer loyalty
Tip #2: Onboard New Customers With Videos
Your video messages shouldn’t stop after acquiring new customers—they’ve only just begun. The next step is welcoming new clientele to your business and showing them how to make the most of your products or services; by doing so, you’ll eliminate any doubt about choosing you over your competitors.
Blog posts and lengthy guides don’t cut it anymore. Instead, focus on generating an informative video series that cuts right to the chase and tells your new customers exactly what they want and need to know.
A good onboarding process ensures a connection between your customers and brand. Use videos that explain all the pros of your products or services and use personalized testimonial videos to show what you’re offering in action. Real people, real experiences—guaranteed to establish brand trust and loyalty.
Tip #3: Create Engaging Explainer Videos
96% of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service. Keep your customers using and loving your brand by creating videos that reaffirm all the benefits of using your company.
Explainer videos have the power to convince uncertain customers why they should go with your brand over one of your competitors.
How Videos Increase Customer Loyalty
Online videos increase customer loyalty by:
- Attracting consumers’ attention (Brand awareness)
- Being hard to forget (Brand recall)
- Positively affecting customers’ perception of the bran (Brand association)
Building Brand Awareness
Through sounds and moving images, online video catches—and keeps—our attention longer than any other source of medium. When you use video on your website, industry page, and social media platforms, you effectively introduce new prospects to your brand in engaging and inspiring ways that other mediums can’t. According to Forbes, online videos are so captivating that 75% of executives watch them while working.
Brand awareness doesn’t happen overnight. Even if a consumer doesn’t buy your product or service right away, they see your videos pop up on their social media apps and become more familiar with your brand each time. Using video on your website increases the time consumers spend on your site by 88%. Sometimes five to seven touchpoints are all it takes to compel a user to buy from you—just by using video.
Certain types of videos can help you build your brand awareness:
- Promo videos—a short introduction to your brand and your product or service
- Educational videos—bring specific issues about your industry to the forefront and enlighten the viewer
- Product videos or explainer videos—videos showing your product or service in action give your viewer visual proof of the benefits your product or service provides
Increasing Brand Recall
Brand recall is the customer’s ability to recognize a brand by memory—whether by name, slogan, colours, jingle, or logo. For example, most of us know the famous “golden arches” belong to McDonald’s, and that “finger-lickin’ good” means we’re having Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner tonight. These, and many more like them, were drilled into our memories through TV commercials, store-front advertising, and mail ads.
Videos improve memory retention through the combination of audio and visual movement. Forbes magazine says viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it on video, compared to only 10% when reading it in text.
Using video to advertise to your target audience is significantly cheaper than paying for TV commercials. Here are two types of videos that help increase brand recall:
- User-generated testimonials—featuring your customers talking about your product or service. These are very influential for viewers, especially when they come across as genuine and authentic and aren’t pre-scripted
- Day-in-a-life-of videos—showing off your company and brand in action allows the viewers to easily connect and have a deeper understanding of your brand voice
Creating Positive Brand Association
Everyone has an opinion or belief when they hear talk about a company or brand they know. This is brand association. When customers consider a brand cheaply made, overpriced, or not environmentally friendly, they’ll likely negatively associate that brand.
When using video as your primary medium, you have the power to change, improve, and strengthen these associations—your brand loyalty often depends on it. A positive association means healthy word of mouth and repeat business.
Incorporating video throughout your sales funnel allows you to nurture your prospect and instill positive associations along their sales journey.
Ensure Customer Loyalty by Building Positive Experiences
The customer experience is more than just the transaction. It’s the entire sales journey, including after the sale. Using video throughout the journey fuels your customers with enough knowledge to quickly and efficiently address questions and concerns. Establish trust—make the sale.
Share videos that reveal how consumers can get the most from your product or service or inspirational videos that maintain their engagement with your brand.
Use the following video ideas to create the best experiences for customer loyalty:
- Tips and tricks: Customers love receiving exclusive knowledge—share some hacks or simple tips and tricks.
- Thank yous: Thank your customer for their patronage.
- Tutorials or FAQs: Walk your customer through how to use their newly-acquired product and answer any common questions.
- Welcome aboard: Make your customers feel excited to be part of your brand community.
Ready to Build Customer Loyalty Through Authentic Video Content?
The process of creating engaging videos has never been easier, thanks to the increasing demand for video content and the rise of guided experiences.
Take your customer experience to the next level by creating authentic user-generated videos with StoryTap. Our platform drives engagement and increases conversions by distributing videos to all your channels and increasing the time consumers spend on your website.
User-generated stories and testimonials are the most innovative way to empower your customers, build retention, and long-term loyalty. And best of all, YOU guide the stories your customers tell!
Interested in learning more? Unlock the power of video stories with StoryTap today.
