If you’re not already on YouTube train and making the most of video marketing for your business, then you need to get a move on and get involved before your business gets left behind.

People now spend around 80% of the time online watching videos and a massive amount online marketers and influencers are currently creating videos as their primary form of content. Video is well worth putting your time into.

Creating a video in-house can be a long and expensive process, especially if you’re looking to invest in equipment like a camera and the best youtube microphone. However, you can make videos that will perform well with a mobile phone and very minimal equipment when you get started. You can also use some platforms to use the skills of online influencers who will create that you can use.

A lot of social media influencers are already creating video content and are willing to share this with brands, but a lot of brands are not yet taking advantage of this incredibly effective marketing tool. Video is often overlooked by brands, but not making use of it, is a mistake.

Here is why you need to integrate more video content into your marketing strategy.

Video Is More Engaging

When you’re trying to research products on the go, most of us would prefer to watch a two-minute video than read a five hundred word article any day of the week.

This is because video engages the sense more than any other format of content. As we can’t taste, smell, or feel everything that we are able to see on our screens (at least, not yet), seeing it and hearing it is the next best thing.

Videos are much more entertaining than articles, and they are also proven to make it easier to consume information. When a viewer is engaged with a video, they will be able to retain a lot more of its message than they would if they had just read an article or a blog post.

Increase Your Brand Awareness

Society is pretty tech-savvy now, and people are likely to get their first impression of your brand by encountering you online, so it’s important to get it right.

Your brand’s identity and personality are based completely on the content that you put out into the world, and your customers will form their opinion of you and your business based on the communications that you’re putting out.

Video content is unique online, in that not only can you use it to tell your brand’s story, but it shows it too. Creating video content that is fun and lively is a much better way to showcase the personality of your brand. Video is also much more likely to be viewed, liked, and shared, which is great for brand awareness.

Statistics also show that brands and marketers who make good use of video marketing will grow their revenue about 50% faster than users who don’t take advantage of video. This happens because the more people that know about your brand, the more customers you are likely to be able to attract.

Better Social Reach

Making sure that people can find you online is crucial if you’re trying to grow your brand, and video content is one of the most efficient to extend your online reach.

Social video can generate a huge amount of shares when compared to both text and images, and the more people that are sharing content that your brand has created, the better.

Telling the story of your brand through videos that are created by influencers is an effective way to make use of this exposure, as it will allow potential customers to find your brand themselves.

This means that, rather than being annoyed by an advert popping up, people are able to come across your brand organically, which means they’ll feel a bit more positively towards you.

Influencer Video Is An Authentic Recommendation

Research shows that most people trust friends or strangers when it comes to suggestions on buying decisions over all other forms of marketing for buying decisions.

If you can create video content with a trustworthy online influencer who has an engaged audience or loyal following, your product is bound to sell itself. If you haven’t done so already, now is definitely the time to integrate video content into your brand’s online presence.

Video is the future of marketing, and if you aren’t already using it to market your business, you should be.

Packaging is one of the most crucial elements of an eCommerce store and it can determine the level of success your business experiences. The way you package your product goes a long way to attracting potential customers, appealing to your target audience and differentiating your brand from the competition.

With an eCommerce business, you don’t have the benefit of customers being able to pick your products up or to talk to them face to face about your offerings, so you’re reliant on first impressions. That’s where packaging comes in to win new customers, retain existing ones and boost sales.

A rising demand for sustainable packaging

Sustainability has become an increasingly prominent issue for customers in recent years, and consumers want the products they buy to be packaged in a sustainable, environmentally-friendly way. eCommerce businesses need to be sure they’re not overpacking their products which will contribute towards excess and unnecessary waste. They also need to ensure that the materials they use are recyclable or compostable to ease the burden placed on our planet.

Sustainable packaging comes in various forms and there are many packaging strategies for eCommerce businesses to try, from shipping in smaller packages to using biodegradable alternatives and plant-based solutions. These options improve your brand’s reputation, lower shipping costs for your business and increase sales.

Increased scrutiny from consumers

With the rise in online purchasing, businesses need to do all they can to connect with consumers on a personal level. In eCommerce, a customer’s perceptions of a brand are primarily based on their initial unboxing experience, so they’ll be checking for packaging damage, whether the item arrives in good condition and how the delivery experience was for them. Damage and faulty goods can negatively affect your reputation and lead to customers going to a different supplier, so the way in which you package your items makes all the difference.

This is even more important with food products. Customers have much higher standards when it comes to consumables, so you need to think about the item you’re selling and how best to package it to preserve the integrity of the product. For example, serving up one of the nation’s most popular drinks, tea bags are sensitive to light and moisture. As such, businesses in this niche need to choose packaging that provides a barrier to these elements to ensure the customer receives the product in the same condition as when you packaged it. Likewise, a company selling bath products needs to be sure the contents of a customer’s orders will remain intact and won’t absorb moisture.

The importance of visual appeal

While it’s true that packaging serves a practical function, there’s also a fantastic opportunity for eCommerce businesses to play with the design of their product and shipping packaging to elevate their brand presence and entice customers to buy. On average, customers form an opinion about a product in just 3 seconds, so you don’t have long to get their attention and keep it. Visuals are essential for representing your brand in the right way and could be the difference between a customer choosing to buy from your online business versus another.

You can use packaging design to convey your unique brand identity and messaging in a clear and concise way, so customers are immediately aware of what your business is about. Make sure your colours and fonts are cohesive with your brand and that you’re clearly displaying your business name, logo and trademarks so consumers instantly know that it’s your brand they’re purchasing from and will recognise your products from their aesthetically appealing designs.

Greater customer loyalty

Great packaging could spell the difference between a customer using your business again or switching to someone else, so it pays to take this into consideration. Consider if someone is purchasing a gift for a friend or relative. The packaging of your product could have a significant impact on whether they’re likely to consider your brand or someone else’s, and whether they’re likely to consider you again in the future.

Customer loyalty is an argument for considering custom packaging for your eCommerce goods, setting your products apart from the rest of the industry and making the design unique to your brand. Custom packaging is an underused marketing tactic that would put you a step ahead of your competition, but it also gives you the opportunity to really hone in on what your customers are looking for and provide it to them. Getting creative with the design, from the size, shape and functionality to colours and finishes, will delight your customers and encourage them to think of your business when they need to make a purchase.

Key takeaways

eCommerce businesses have to take packaging into account for a number of reasons, particularly if they want another effective method of boosting their online sales. Packaging plays an important role in protecting the interior items, providing a great service to customers and improving brand reputation and loyalty. There are so many opportunities to make packaging a focal point of a product, from playing with different designs to make your items stand out on the digital shelves to choosing sustainable materials that will give you eco points with consumers.

The main goal when it comes to increasing sales through packaging is to ensure that the style of packaging you choose is suitable for the products you’re sending out to customers and that the appearance matches up with the impression you want to give your customers.