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 that invites criticism from different vantage points.  Therefore, if you have an opinion to share about how an online retailer is implementing video, email me at justin [at ] video [d a s h] commerce [d o t] org so we can talk about the possibility of you joining the site as a guest blogger from time-to-time.

Happy Selling!

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 would be “Someone who has a hands-on knowledge of the video production process.” Yeah, I know that’s somewhat vague and open-ended. There’s no real job description or list of required skills – just ‘hands-on’ experience. None of the job search websites list it as a profession, yet it’s a position with a growing demand.

Another way to phrase the definition could be “Someone who knows just enough about the many facets of video production to put a project together.” This version illustrates the fact that video production encompasses a broad reach of disciplines. If you’ve sat through the credits after a movie, you’ll have noticed the many departments responsible for making the movie: camera, electric (adds light), grips (removes light), wardrobe, makeup, audio recording, editorial – and these are just some of the departments. A videographer is someone who is familiar with all of them and uses that knowledge to put a small production together.

When you set out to hire a videographer, you will no doubt expect the candidate to be able to wear multiple hats. Each person you interview will come with a unique set of skills and experiences and the person you ultimately hire will have a major influence over the scale and scope of videos created. The tools you place in that person’s hands will further set the stage for the type of videos that are created.

The Production Process Demystified

There are three phases to creating video content: pre-production, production, and post-production. Pre-production is primarily concerned with conceptualizing and planning while the other two are focused on execution. It is during the first phase that the entire production is thought out and all issues related to the production are addressed. The goal is to make the execution phases as simple and straight forward as possible (and, as a result, less expensive). During pre-production you will need to work closely with your videographer on the following:

• Brainstorming ideas
• Writing a treatment (synopsis)
• Writing a script
• Developing storyboards
• Planning a budget

Depending on your ideas, not all these steps will be necessary, but regardless, your focus should be to outline your business needs while your videographer focuses on how to meet those needs within her abilities and the resources available to her.

During the production phase, I would encourage you to take a step back and let the videographer work. On the day of the shoot, dropping by the set would be a good idea as you’ll get a feel for the amount of work and energy that goes into a production. Linger for a few minutes, meet the talent, but then allow them to work without the feeling of being watched. Depending on the shoot and your work ethics, you could also drop by for the Martini Shot.

Once the editing has gotten underway, you should take a chance to look at draft edits. My personal opinion is that the draft should be presented when all the basic cuts are done and some music and graphics have been roughed in, but before the piece has been fine-tuned. It is while previewing the draft that you go down your list of needs and check off the ones that have been met. You do have the power to make editorial decisions so if you see something that you don’t understand or rubs you the wrong way, now is the time to point it out.

Disclaimer

Just as every videographer brings a different set of skills and experience to a company, every video project will bring different challenges and opportunities. The success or failure of a video is something that is shared by everyone involved from marketing to IT to the production team. Taking the time to get to know more about the process – and giving your videographer the chance to learn more about the rest of the organization – will go a long way toward streamlining the process that brings video to your site.

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 experience at Stanford was just how much I still had to learn about persuasion in video - specifically regarding when and how to apply interactive techniques.  I’ve spent a good deal of time since then studying his models and theories, and have since begun adapting them specifically for e-commerce video to provide the community with a model for creating persuasive video experiences.

Last week, I chose to focus on the topic of persuasive video and interactivity in the opening keynote of my company’s annual Video Commerce Summit.  If you’re interested in downloading the slides, you can find them here. Without rehashing the entire presentation in a blog post, the general idea behind successful interactive video is to make viewers aware they can access and interact with video content through triggers that appear contextually or in-video at the right moments.

I knew the whole idea of video triggers was brilliant when I realized the concept was both obvious yet easily overlooked, and often poorly executed by marketers.  So - how do you create successful triggers with your video content?  BJ Fogg teaches us there are three characteristics of successful triggers:

1.  The trigger has to be noticeable. If your trigger is not noticeable, then no one is going to interact with it because their attention is focused elsewhere and they won’t realize interactivity is possible.  The idea of noticeable triggers flies in the face of the ‘intuitive lean-in video content theory’ which basically states that marketers should seek to create interactive video experiences simply because consumers expect it.  If you think consumers intuitively expect interactive video experiences in e-commerce, I’d have to disagree with you.  Consumers today are used to passively consuming video content, not interacting with it, so in order for hotspotting to work with video content, a prompt of some kind must let the customer know interaction is possible - and the interaction must be noticeable without the consumer taking an action such as hovering their mouse over the video or clicking on objects in-video.

In the example above, the hotspot is called out as the video plays as a text link appearing within or alongside the interactive content.

Hotspots remain an interesting application of video interactivity, but marketers are applying noticeable triggers in other ways - for example, by displaying buttons in-video as JC Penney has here:

2.  The second characteristic of successful interactive triggers is that they must be associated with the target behavior. If you’re creating an interactive video that’s going to drive someone to a brand or category page, then the behavior you’re trying to drive is to get someone to shop. If you’re trying to get someone to go to a product page, then you’re trying to convince them to consider the product.  If you’re showing a video on the product page, then you’re either trying to get someone to develop a preference for the product, or add to cart. If you’re really just trying to share knowledge (be it about a product, skill, or experience) then really you’re trying to get someone to learn.

Think carefully about the way you craft your triggers.  Small changes in words or design can have a big impact on expectations of the viewer when engaging with interactive video.  For example, notice how the trigger in the video below (a simple text overlay) instructs the viewer to SHOP for Breville Espresso Machines.  When clicking through the link, the shopper is taken to a page featuring several Breville espresso machines. That’s a good trigger.  But what about the “Buy Now” button?  When I click on it, I’m not taken to a cart or a page to buy.  Maybe a better trigger would be “Browse Related Products” or change the button to just link to the product page.

3.  Finally, in order for a trigger to be successful, it must occur when the user is both motivated and able to perform the target behavior. Take a look at the ‘ShamWow’ commercials.  Have you ever watched one?  Regardless of what you might think about the “ShamWow Guy,” this commercial is pretty persuasive.  Direct response marketers have known for years that a winning direct response spot involves a compelling demonstration, repeated benefits of how the product impacts one or more of the core human motivators (increasing pleasure/reducing pain, creating hope/fear, or providing acceptance/avoiding rejection), followed by a compelling offer and finally the call to action: “Call Now - Have Your Credit Card Ready!”

Am I suggesting you start creating your videos in the style of ShamWow?  Absolutely not.  But the commercial does hit home the point of delivering an effective trigger in your video content, and of striking with a trigger at the time the viewer is the most motivated to take action.

With the Internet, we can of course be a lot more subtle and numerous with our triggers, since the interactive nature of the web affords us additional opportunities to drive desired behaviors immediately and with greater ease (clicking a mouse is still easier than picking up the phone).  Still, marketers and merchandisers would be wise to track the engagement of their videos to ensure they are effectively maintaining the viewer’s attention until the point where the trigger is actually presented to the viewer.  Understanding the right place to put your triggers isn’t as complex as it might sound - it really stems from an understanding of why shoppers buy products.  If you don’t really know why a shopper would buy a product, then try to think about how the product addresses one of the core motivators (pleasure/pain, hope/fear, acceptance/rejection) and place your triggers at the places in the video where those product benefits are shown or stated most prominently.  (More on these motivators in a later post).

Finally, in order for a trigger to be effective, shoppers must actually be able to engage the trigger. Note that this is different than ‘noticing’ the trigger, as someone who fails to notice the trigger might only be tipping the marketer off to potentially ineffective trigger design and/or poor trigger placement.  On the other hand, someone without the ability to engage with the trigger is unable to perform the action you want.  We’ll get more into how to use video content to communicate how products can save customers time, money, brain cycles, etc. to drive up a shopper’s ability to take action in a later post.  For now, I’ll just leave it at a higher level by stating that if a shopper is unable to find your videos, then they can’t engage in the behavior you’re trying to drive with the trigger. This might seem like an obvious point, but remarkably few marketers realize this.  They bury videos on clandestine, lightly trafficked areas of their web sites, or place videos only on product pages without considering that someone might want to share the video over Facebook, tweet about it on Twitter, or make it available for an affiliate to market with.  Video syndication offers marketers additional opportunities to expand the reach of a video to different channels, and in the process reach a wider audience of potential customers.

In closing, as you consider interactive video or continue refining your existing interactive video efforts, remember the three cardinal rules of effective trigger design:

1.  The trigger must be noticeable.

2.  The trigger must be associated with the targeted behavior.

3.  The trigger must occur when the user is both motivated and able to perform the target behavior.

Next time we’ll talk a little more about the core motivators of human behavior.  Until then,

Happy Selling!