A product is nothing without a product video. Launching new products is great, but there’s more to achieving products sales than you may think.
The hard work starts long before you list your new products on your e-commerce site. Doing your research and taking care of the technical details are two factors that many businesses neglect. The companies that spend as much time on preparation as they do on product development are the ones that are going to succeed.
The truth is that a product is really not worth much without a product video. Your product does not even have to be that different from other products, but the product video has to stand out.
Video is one of the best ways to connect with your customers. Not only will they see your product, but they will also hear someone explain the functionality of the product to them. That is what useful product videos are all about when it comes down to it.
Do All Products Deserve A Product Video?
Yes, all products deserve a product video. Don’t worry, the video does not have an hour long. Sometimes, customers get bored with watching videos that are too long. It is better to have a video that gives customers concise information as well as show off the product in its best light.
Your video should be flexible enough that you can use it on social media networks. Just like content information, you should come up with catchy titles that make your video stand out.
Product videos are very popular on social media. Log onto your Facebook feed and it will not be long before someone tries to share a video with you. It does not have to be a marketing or product video. The many cute animal videos doing the rounds on social media prove how popular watching a video is compared to static images.
The Details Are In The Planning
Is it as easy as picking up your phone and starting to shoot video?
Well, it depends on what you are doing. But, believe it or not, planning goes into the shortest Tik-Tok videos. If you want to make a success out of your product video, the planning stage is more important than anything else.
What Is The Purpose Of The Video?
The first thing you need to think about before you press record is the purpose of the video. Are you just going to show how beautiful your product looks or are you going to explain how useful it is?
Most of the time, you probably want to do a bit of both. It all depends on what you are selling. If you are a jeweler selling diamond rings online, it goes without saying that you want to show how much they sparkle.
At the same time, you may want to give a few hard facts about that diamond ring. Explain how the diamonds were cut and how much they are going to increase in value in years to come.
Yes, it may be an emotional sale, but a few facts never hurt.
Get To Know Your Target Audience
Selling a diamond ring sounds easy on the surface of it, but is it? Stop and think about it, and you will soon realize that you have several markets that you can sell to.
- You can sell directly to the end-user. Who is that? On this occasion, it’s likely to be a woman with a bit of extra cash to spend.
- What about the guy who is hoping to propose to his girlfriend this weekend? That is your second target audience.
- You may have the more mature guy who wants to buy his wife of 10 years a special birthday present.
Identifying your target audience is not as easy as it seems. Marketing luxury goods is often trickier than selling a household item.
Lifestyle product videos are a smart way of marketing both luxury goods such as watches and other products. You can even use lifestyle videos to market skincare and drink brands.
Know Your Platform
Video marketing is now so popular online that almost all sites are producing videos.
You need to think about what platform you are going to use your video on. Perhaps you are going to use it on Tik-Tok or maybe you are going for a longer YouTube video? You need to decide before you start shooting.
Are you going to feature your video on your own website underneath the hero shot of the product? If so, it is a good idea to make sure that it is a high-quality video.
Find Inspiration
Not only is it important to decide what platform you are going to use for marketing and launching your video. You also need to find inspiration. Checking out competitors’ videos is a good idea, but you should still try to find your own unique angle.
An increasing number of product videos are beginning to appear on Pinterest. It is a great site to check out as you can save your ideas to one particular folder or Pinboard.
Prepping the Shoot
Now it is time to start prepping YOUR shoot.
Professional product photographers often use mood boards to prepare for a photographic session. There is no reason why you shouldn’t follow the lead of the professionals.
The longer you take over prepping, the better the final results are going to be. Mood boards are a great way to ensure that you end up working with the right colors and props for your product.
Doing a trial run is another savvy idea.
What Don’t You Like?
If there are things that you don’t like, make a note of them as well. At the end of the day, this is your creative content.
Go all through all of your ideas and be your own worse critic. Do you really like the pink background and are a bunch of lilies the right flowers to have next to your beautifully designed diamond ring?
That is exactly the sort of thing that you want to make a note of before you start shooting. If it is an engagement ring, showing it off next to a bunch of red roses will look much better.
Most product photographers that are about to shoot a product video sketch out their ideas. There is no need to be an expert artist. A few simple sketches will do the job.
What Props Will I Need?
Yes, you are going to need props. Once again, preparation is the key. Writing a list of all the props is the smartest way to make sure that you don’t forget anything.
A prop list for an engagement ring video shoot would look something like this:
- Flowers
- Champagne glasses
- Bottle of champagne
- Nice table cloth
Should you use a model or models? It is not a bad idea. Remember what we said about lifestyle? Live models have a huge amount of influence on a lifestyle photography shoot.
Make Sure That Everything Looks Great
It goes without saying that your diamond ring needs to look like a million dollars. Make sure that the entire area is clean and dust-free. You be surprised how much dust can show up in a video.
When you are using models, you want to make sure that their hands and fingernails are nice and clean. It may seem obvious, but it is not obvious to everybody.
What If I Don’t Have All Of The Equipment I Need?
This is where a professional product photographer comes in.
Lighting and the complete setup really matter when it comes to shooting high-quality product videos.
If you don’t have equipment such as lightboxes and the right camera lens, it is worthwhile considering contracting a professional video product photographer instead. After all, we are talking about selling diamond rings.
Even if you are selling a lower-value product, contracting a professional product photographer is a great idea. You may find that your product sells better with that professional touch.
Time To shoot
A DSLR camera complete with video capability and lots of storage space is the best bet. The emphasis should always be on high-quality video. That is exactly what you get when you use DSLR cameras.
Phone cameras are better than they used to be, however, they are still not a match for DSLR cameras.
Using the right lens is another important factor to consider. If you don’t have any of these items, perhaps you have a friend who can help you. Running out and investing in specialist lighting and camera equipment for one shoot is not worth it.
Do I need a tripod? No matter if you are using a camera or a phone, the one thing that you are going to need is a tripod.
Don’t forget about the background! It can make the difference between your images appearing professional and amateurish.
Does Post Production Matter?
Yes, it does.
Many product photographers say that much of the magic happens in post-production. Don’t take that for meaning that your video does not have to be of good quality. Not all problems are fixable in post-production. Adobe Suite is one of the best video editing software programs in the world. But, just like anything else, it does not come cheap.
Apple’s iMovie is another option you could check out if you have a Mac. But, like any video editing application, it requires a lot of RAM. So be prepared for your MacBook to become loud while working.
Most importantly, it is important to remember that you use software that makes it easy for you to share your video. That is something you are going to be doing a lot.
The Final Verdict
Shooting professional product videos is not as easy as it seems. Yes, it would be nice to think that we could all do it.
Something that many business owners forget to factor into the equation is time. It really does take a lot of time to organize and set up a video shoot. Perhaps the best thing to do is to live it to the professionals.
While they are busy photographing and shooting videos of your product, you can get on with running your business instead. There is absolutely nothing wrong with contracting in professional services. To some extent, you are probably doing it already without thinking about it.
if you’re looking to increase your online conversion but still feel you are not sure where to start – check out these resources below:
