The Future of Video Content is

An Introduction to Shoppable Entertainment

Shoppable entertainment refers to video content that has interactive touch points within it. This means viewers can click on an item they see in the video and purchase it instantly. It is the future of e-commerce and one to which many social media platforms are adapting to. China has seen a lot of success with this format, with its influence steadily expanding worldwide.

While this content was predicted to influence the online shopping experience, its adoption and success have been sped up due to increased video content consumption, which has recently and ongoingly occurred. It has set the stage for people to want to do more than watch - they want to participate and assimilate.

If you find the proof of the pudding to be in the numbers, consider the fact that shopping habits around the world are changing, with mall culture moving to online and mobile shopping. Whatever the industry, brands find ways to make their products both shoppable and entertaining, from 360-degree showrooms to streaming fashion shows, showcasing product galleries, and hosting online pop-ups and live shows through video content.

These touchpoints are being adapted to various platforms so that no matter what video you create or share, it can be transformed into something shoppable. Over time, we have seen this develop, focusing on mobile led shopping experiences, from shoppable social media tags to QR codes to scan. The key is to produce and deliver this content well, in a meaningful way, and stands out among the multitude of other online videos.

The Customer Experience Reimagined

Shoppable videos give new meaning to ‘click to buy.’ For decades, people have been influenced by the content they consume. For example, seeing a particular style or brand in a movie can influence people to follow suit and purchase a similar product.

With this, people can see something as they are watching it and purchase it immediately. It shortens the customer journey. These posts are already available on social media giants Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat in select regions, with expansion plans in place. It is indicative of how consumers want to see and experience retail online going forward.

The days where one flat image is enough to entice a sale are long gone - customers want to see the product and interact with it. With this functionality enabled with your video content, you can allow the customer to purchase or find out more about the product offered directly. It increases the reach and interactions a brand has with its audiences. As a result, sales are also increased as it cuts out the customer’s need to search for the product or visit the website.

Marketing and Branding with Video Content

These videos are a reflection and extension of your brand. This medium presents businesses with a multitude of opportunities and more connections with their audiences. When delivered well, it can vastly improve the customer experience. However, the video itself needs to be engaging, and the integration of these shopping touchpoints needs to be seamless. The shopping aspect needs to fit in naturally, and the process should be quick and easy to complete - and then continue watching. For many brands, this concept will go hand in hand with their influencer marketing. Since these videos’ primary mover is influential, people can create and inspire high-quality and desirable content that will succeed in this form of selling. It is the point at which people watch this content as their source of inspiration and act upon it in realtime, shopping directly.

Marketers will have to work creatively with these kinds of videos to increase engagement, sales, customer satisfaction, and loyalty. One of the best ways to do this is through personalization. While this makes the creation, production, and distribution of this video content more complex, the results can be exponential.

Marketers are tasked with creating deeper connections and taking their storytelling ability to new heights with shoppable entertainment. Much of this concept’s success is based on the perceived value of the brand and the video, which will directly influence sales. Some successful models include introducing episodic, original content that features a combination of interviews with people of interest and products.

Digital Growth - Feb. 2021 12 WAYS TO DRIVE SIGNUPS FOR YOUR WEBINARS

Strategy and Relevancy

The starting point cannot be anything other than a guiding strategy. The topics you choose need to be relevant and alluring enough to drive signups. Therefore work with topics that you know are appealing to a target audience to match your ideal signup figures. The subject also needs to be more than just a discussion - it should ideally combine educational content with the entertainment factor. Part of this planning stage needs to include selecting the best possible time and date to host the webinar.

Evergreen and Series for the Win

Once you have a range of topics that will work, you need to decide the best way to deliver the content. To make the best use of the resources required to produce a webinar, it is best to create evergreen or series-based webinars. Pre-recorded evergreen webinar content can be auto-scheduled and played on the hour or as needed by newcomers. On the other hand, a series is a way of engaging with audiences over the long-term and is a great way to build loyalty. Once-o webinars can and do work; however, they cannot drive signups or engagement long-term.

The Power of Partnerships

In today's world of business, partnerships are golden. The webinar strategy should, therefore, include seeking suitable partners as guests and sponsors. By having guests, you can leverage a complementary audience, which will naturally drive webinar signups. There is also the option of partnering with a brand through sponsorship, which can boost your credibility and industry-standing. This can provide audiences with the authoritative vote of confidence that your webinar will be worthwhile to tune into.

Incentives and Value

The content you cover needs to be of high value. What does this mean? Well, webinars require viewers to dedicate a considerable amount of their time, so it needs to hold their attention and be worthy of that watch time. Many businesses o er incentives to audiences to encourage more signups and viewers to join in. This can include special deals for those who tune in or prizes for the guests. If you have something worthy of sharing and can do so well, your signup rates will increase. Consider incentives as an option to boost these numbers if need be or as a token of appreciation.

Optimization is the Driving Force

As with most online activities, optimization is both necessary and rewarding. By having a title that includes keywords, you will be o to a good start. Other things to consider are having a dedicated and well-designed landing page for the webinar where people can get all the necessary information and signup quickly. This needs to be appealing and easy to find. Refining the target market and utilizing retargeting will ensure it is reached by the right people, who are most likely to sign up.

Promote your Webinar

One of the best ways to drive signups is to publicize and promote the webinar well. This begins with allocating enough time - ideally a month, with most signups occurring in the two weeks before the webinar. Personalized email marketing is a great way to do this. Your webinar's landing page should also have all of the links readily available for people to share it within their own social media networks. This is twofold, as people need to know about it and want to join in.

Research and Rehearsals

The research will begin with your strategy creation; however, it is important to continue throughout the marketing process. It goes beyond research about the target audience - it needs to include your competitors. Having a firm grasp of what's happening in your industry and the standards set by those around you, you can strive to provide better webinars to encourage more signups. Rehearsals are also crucial as winging it will show and be a poor reflection of your brand among viewers.

Production and Branding

Good quality webinars will need to be produced well. While it can certainly be done - and done well - on an iPhone, there is also the webinar platform to consider, sound, and all editing required to repurpose the content. Having a good technical team on board will help you provide interactivity and multimedia, creating better webinars, which will boost the number of people who want to watch your webinars. It also needs to give an accurate reflection of your brand throughout, which can be translated in obvious and subtle ways (for instance, being consistent with your set up and knowing when and how to show your logo.

Calls to Action and Interactivity

With more signups, you'll, of course, want to secure more viewers, leads, and sales. Calls to action are among the most vital aspects of webinar marketing, as investing time to no end will not bode well for your business. Attendees of webinars will be encouraged to signup when they know there is an element of interactivity. Often, they don't only want to be talked to, but rather to have the opportunity to engage directly through a Q&A or contribute to a poll or survey.

Sharing and Repurposing

Any marketer will tell you it is in your best interest to record your webinar. By doing this, you can have more than a record - you can repackage it to share various other ways to increase the content's lifespan. It is an easy way to create an on-demand viewing option or shorten it into video bite clips, which is the most coveted content on social media. Other ways to repurpose this content include creating slides and blog posts related to and driving signups for future webinars.

Reminders and Thank You's

Anyone interested in signing up for your webinar should be able to add it to their calendar easily. The reminders need to be there, though they should be shared in a balanced manner. O ering the option to check-in and share that as a status update on social media can also help drive last-minute signups. Finally, delivering a well-considered 'thank you' to attendees with packaged material and useful resources will increase audiences' satisfaction and encourage more registrations in the future.

Auditing and Testing

Audits are necessary to learn from previous webinars and see where improvements can encourage more signups. Testing for email subject lines and social media captions are also helpful in this regard. Remember, registrations are only one of many metrics to monitor. Once a signup is secured, other metrics such as completed viewings, conversions, and engagement need to be reviewed and included in your marketing KPIs.