Many brands rely on product videos for their online shops
What you don’t sell, someone else will (Martin Limbeck).
Competition in online retail is fierce. Unless your product (or service) is the only one of its kind, there are probably a large number of competing products on the market that make selling harder. The question: how do you stand out from the crowd and score with the advantages and benefits of your own product? The answer: the product video.
In this article you will find out how to have the right product video made, which areas of use it is particularly suited to and what costs you can expect.
Is a product video really right for your marketing?
What is a product video?
A product video promotes a product or service with the aim of boosting sales and informs potential customers about its benefits and advantages. Above all, a product video is meant to increase sales figures.
Whether you are launching a new product, perhaps even as a start-up, or want to improve sales of one of your many products: a product video – if made professionally and properly – can be the foundation for successful sales.
A product video has to present how the product works and the resulting benefits for the customer – in an entertaining, understandable and promotional way. A product video can be more explanatory or more “exciting”, i.e. create hype around the product. The goal: FOMO (fear of missing out), meaning the customer should decide quickly and spontaneously to buy the product before they supposedly miss out. Depending on the type of product and your company’s industry, one or the other makes more sense – and a mix of both is also possible.
A potential customer is more likely to choose the product with a product video, because they understand its functions better and, in their eyes, the risk of a bad purchase is lower. This is how a product video increases the conversion rate.
At the same time, return rates can be reduced, because buyers already understand how the product works before they buy it, so it is less likely that the product will be sent back out of ignorance or because it was the wrong purchase.
Overall, a product video therefore encourages a positive purchase decision and strong brand loyalty.
No two product videos are the same! What does that mean for your product video?
Why a product video is as individual as every company
Every brand, every product and every target group is a little different, and so every product video is different too – so that it is perfectly tailored and achieves the desired success.
The areas in which the video is used can also differ. Whether the product video is needed mainly for an online shop or rather for social media makes a clear difference to how the video works.
The 3 core elements of a product video are entertaining, promotional and informative.
Depending on how your customers identify with your brand, how your company presents itself and which platform the video is intended for, the weighting of the 3 core elements will change. For one product a highly entertaining product video is more suitable, for another a more informative one. What matters is that the film production company knows and understands your brand as well as the product, the target group and where the video will be used, so that the product video can be tailored optimally.
What does a product video cost?
As you already know from the previous section, a product video is highly individual and cannot be defined across the board. Accordingly, budgets vary widely.
So that you still have a rough estimate, we can give a price range of between €5,000 and €15,000 as realistic – depending on the image quality you are aiming for, the scope and the type of product.
An overview of options, costs and best-practice examples
Often mentioned in the same breath, but still something quite different, is the commercial. Here overall quality plays a very big role, which is why budgets start at €10,000 (with no upper limit).
The commercial: services, examples and cost estimates
Beware of fixed prices and “tempting special offers”!
Like all company films, a product video is a service, not an “off-the-shelf product”. Fixed prices and special offers, as found in many places online, should therefore be treated with great caution. You can never know the exact price of a product video in advance without knowing the details of the product, the target group and the brand.
That is why fixed prices and special offers are almost always just “quick money” for the video providers, while the actual solution to the problem and your company’s marketing goal play next to no role. In the end, offers like these are a pure waste of money for your company.
Professional film production companies therefore always offer an initial consultation without obligation. With the quote that follows (tailored to your product and company), you then find out more about the costs and what you can expect for them. After that you can still decide whether to accept the offer or keep looking.
How strong is your brand online? Do you have an Instagram profile with lots of followers, or are your products popular in online shops? Is your website appealing, and does it get lots of new visitors every day?
A product video gives your product and your brand strong branding online and is suitable for every platform.
Most companies need branding so that they don’t get lost among the mass of products and services on the market and so that they attract a lot of attention from their target group. First-time buyers become regular customers, prospects become fans. Branding stands out, leaves a positive impression and moves your brand forward.
Branding…..
sets your brand apart from the competition
generates attention for your brand and products
establishes a positive brand feeling and brand experience
builds an emotional connection between customer and brand
Successful branding influences how your brand is perceived by the public. In the end, it is an emotional feeling your customers have for your brand. And the stronger and better this feeling is, the more successfully your products sell.
A product video makes particular sense for a product launch. You draw attention to your product and can at the same time present the new product and how it works, its benefits and its advantages. This way your product becomes known more quickly and is more likely to be bought.
Especially for products whose function is quite new and innovative, an informative product video makes a great deal of sense.
Convincing in the online shop
In the online shop, the potential buyer is closest to the final purchase decision. This is exactly where a product video can make the difference and lead to your product being bought.
In online shops, product videos are often the visual form of the product description. Your customers want to see the product in action, get the most important functions presented briefly and concisely and form a final impression before they complete their order.
Optimising your own website
Many people also look up your products or services on your website. That is why not only an appealing design with images matters, but also the product video. Not only does the video present your product particularly well – Google also gives special consideration to websites with videos. The keyword: SEO. Google recognises when videos are used on your website and then favours them in its rankings. This gets you higher positions in Google search and lets you reach even more customers than before.
Standing out on social media
On social media such as Instagram and Facebook, a product video can quickly help you reach a large number of potential customers. Promoted posts are shown between stories and new posts – and only to users who are potentially interested in your product.
The goal on social media is to stand out – with a short, entertaining product video. Information plays only a very minor role here; rather, the footage has to keep up with other Instagrammers’ posts and be fun at the same time.
… and many more possibilities!
Other very popular uses for a product video are:
Point of sale (POS)
Business meetings
Trade fairs
YouTube
in your own shop
If you would like to know more about video marketing and the different film types, feel free to download our eBooks (in German) on video marketing (covers all film types). The eBooks (as PDF, EPUB or MOBI for Kindle) contain use cases, goals and strategies for successful marketing with film.
Video marketing – the comprehensive handbook for companies (download, in German)
Finding the right film production company – the handbook (download, in German)
In summary: if you are launching a new product, want to increase its sales or reach more customers and so grow your success, a product video could be exactly the right thing for you. To make sure it inspires your customers as much as possible and encourages them to buy, you should take care to approach the right film production company and get individual advice. Good product videos come in many different forms and price ranges. The question is what is right for you and your customers.
If you then place your video well online, at trade fairs or in your branch, nothing stands in your way of attracting new customers, entertaining and informing them and selling your product as well as possible.
