We’re pleased to announce the launch of CommerceVideos.com, a new blog dedicated to profiling the video shopping experiences of leading online retailers.  The blog launched without much fanfare on May 27, 2009.  As opposed to the Video Commerce Consortium blog here at www.video-commerce.org, which is dedicated to video commerce thought leadership, inquiry, and video commerce best practices, or VideoRetailer.org, which is concerned primarily with video commerce industry developments and insights, CommerceVideos.com is concerned only with reviewing and critiquing how different online retailers are implementing video.  Already, three different online retailers have been profiled: JC Penney, B&H Photo/Video and Cabela’s.

It’s designed to be a “fair and balanced” kind of blog (and no, not in a FOX News sort of way) - meaning - we invite disagreement with any of our assessments of how retailers are implementing video commerce.  Additionally, it is designed to be a blog…

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When I joined FansEdge in late 2007, I knew I had a steep learning curve ahead of me. Sure, I knew my way around video production and had plenty of experience, but the professional world was a spooky place full of cubicles, new lingo, and, *gulp* -  ties! What I quickly found out was that video production was just as new and spooky to my new partners because it was an unknown. So, since my first day, a very important part of my job has been to educate those around me in the video production process with an emphasis on my capabilities as well as the capabilities of the equipment I have at my disposal. It also has been incumbent upon me to learn more about my company and how it works.

Definition: Videographer

There are several definitions out there, but I believe a practical one…

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There’s been a lot of buzz recently in the blogosphere surrounding the use of interactive elements to drive up the performance of video, so it begs the question - how should video interactivity be applied to e-commerce video?  The answer, I believe, is that interactive techniques should be applied to video when shoppers are both highly motivated to engage in a behavior we as marketers are trying to drive (usually, but not always, this is a purchase), and when those same shoppers simultaneously have a high ability to complete the behavior.

If the idea sounds just a bit academic, that’s because it is based on the work of Stanford Professor BJ Fogg, who just wrapped up his inaugural Persuasive Video Course.   BJ invited me to deliver a lecture in his class last month on the topic of video commerce, and one of the things I took away from my…

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I normally don’t post such short posts, but wanted to share this tweet from eBags co-founder Peter Cobb that just popped up on my feed:

Happy Selling!

In my previous post regarding Product Video ROI I spoke to the need for video to be accompanied by a plan to drive traffic to that video - page views by far have the strongest impact on positive video ROI. We often speak of the ‘conversion lift’ video provides, but let’s not forget we’re talking about converting visitors to customers. ‘Visitors’ are the foundation of that equation. Video may lift your average conversion an astounding 200%, but 200% of nothing is nothing.  In order to have your video contribute to the bottom line, you need eyeballs on that video.

The good news is that of all the factors that contribute to video ROI, page views are the easiest for retailers to influence. There are two primary ways to achieve this.

First, put the video in the path of your customer. Just as brick and mortar retailers like Blockbuster or Best…

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In a report finding that I didn’t find too surprising, David Daniels from Forrester Research unveiled a stat every email marketer will want to take note of: incorporating video into email marketing campaigns can increase clickthrough as much as 2X - 3X. Not since the advent of HTML email support can I recall a single innovation able to drive campaign response so broadly in email, aside from list segmentation and message personalization, which of course remain key drivers in overall email marketing success.

This February, I delivered a presentation on video in email along with Peter Horan, CEO of Goodmail Systems at the EEC conference in Scottsdale, AZ. We also did our first ever VCC TV vlog piece highlighting the state of video and email marketing here should you wish to see it.

In covering the topic this…

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Last Thursday, I had the great pleasure of interviewing Rob Hughes from Brewster Inc., which operates VacationsCanada.tv among other properties.

Although VacationsCanada.tv isn’t a typical ‘durable goods’ retail site because it exists in the travel vertical, the model Rob and the team at Brewster Inc. have developed around video commerce is not only innovative; it could apply to a wide spectrum of e-commerce business models.  For example, they’ve figured out the following:

- How to maintain a single brand voice across their suppliers and product videos
- How to help fund their video production efforts by working with partners
- How to incorporate SEO techniques into their video presence to drive awareness
- How to incorporate interactivity into the video viewing experience

They’re also a very metrics-driven organization and have demonstrated that ‘video works.’ I found Rob’s opinions and analysis of what makes video commerce tick quite…

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Thanks to Jeff Molander, CEO of Molander & Associates for publishing this video interview earlier today with Gordon Magee, Internet Marketing & Analysis Manager at Drs. Foster & Smith.  The section regarding Drs. Foster & Smith’s use of video is 10 minutes, 45 seconds into the video, so you might want to fast forward to view the video commerce section.  Also, thanks to Kristi Treder, Affiliate Marketing Specialist at 4imprint.com for pointing out this video to us.

Happy Selling!

How many times have you heard someone say “The internet is not like television” or, conversely, “Television is not like the internet”? The line between the two is starting to blur, but I think it is much too soon to really know what the final fusion will be like. In the meantime, we have to decide how to stylize our ecommerce videos for use on the internet using what we know from producing for television.

We all grew up watching television and are therefore used to seeing commercials. We all have also seen, at some time or another, an infomercial or longer-format video sales piece (such as on QVC or the Home Shopping Network). To us, these are the models which we begin to base our internet videos on. But if the internet isn’t like television, are we doing the right thing by imitating what we see on television?…

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Last Friday, Alan Talanoa, Director of Web Operations for GolfDiscount.com sat down with us for the second interview in the ongoing VCC Radio Interview series.  Among the topics we discussed:

- The role of the product page in the company’s video commerce strategy

- The blend of manufacturer v. self-produced video used at GolfDiscount.com

- The biggest opportunities for video syndication and growth from the product page

- The amount of investment needed to create video content

- How GolfDiscount.com’s customers have reacted to the video on the site

I hope you enjoy listening to the interview as much as I enjoyed conducting it.

Happy Selling!