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Due to availability and ease of use, eCommerce companies have all but taken most markets by storm, becoming the preferred purchase alternative for customers.

And it comes as no surprise, really. In today’s online world, there are few boundaries for when and where people decide to shop online.

More importantly, this also means that the way people interact with digital content – especially how they make their purchase decisions – has also changed.

Customers now rely on digital content to gauge the viability of a purchase, which has led companies to step up their digital marketing game. Customers can’t interact with the product up front, so they rely on engaging product videos – like product spotlights, whiteboard animations, and influencer unboxings – to decide.

Today, we’ll figure out what makes great product videos, well, great! And go over some examples to learn valuable insights you can apply to your own content.

Why Use Product Videos?

Put simply, videos let you bring your customers closer to what you are selling. To showcase its features and benefits, and give customers a clear sense of how it would improve their lives – even if their only experience with the product is through a screen.

Moreover, the right product video can help you explain what you are offering in quick, visually attractive, and engaging ways. Something particularly useful to industries selling complex or highly technical products, such as software solutions or healthcare products.

Elements of a Great Product Video

Every type of video marketing piece has its own set of characteristics that make it work. When it comes to product videos, these are the key elements to account for:

• Simplicity: Keep it simple and clear, no matter how complex the product is. The secret of a successful product video is to develop a well-written script and combine it with meaningful visuals to convey its value and benefits clearly.

• Length: Timeframes vary slightly depending on what you are showcasing; however, viewers’ attention span drops dramatically after the two-minute mark. Compelling product videos tend to stay between the 1 and 3 minute’ mark. When covering absolutely everything requires more time, a video series is usually the best way to go.

• Context: Without context, your video will lack punch, and customers will be less likely to purchase it. Create a narrative around your product or service; show exactly how it’d make their lives better. In short, deliver an experience with your piece.

Valuable Lessons from Fantastic Videos

With the why and how out of the way, it’s time to jump into those video examples and see what we can learn from those who’ve already done a great job.

Pencil

Without any spoken or written words, this video manages to convey the product’s usage and benefits in less than 2 minutes!

Pencil is a stylus for touch-screen devices, developed for designers and illustrators. With a cheerful melody, the video focuses on showing hands using the tool in a variety of situations.

The message is clear: It looks like a regular pencil, but it’s better – You can draw, write, erase, and blend with “your hands.” To give it a realistic and engaging effect, the camera moves along with the pencil’s movements, reinforcing the whole theme. Cool, right?

Pure Argan Milk

Well-executed, storytelling can help you form a connection between your customers and your product right away. And this video, introducing the Pure Argan Milk treatment, perfectly illustrates just that.

Whether you are selling software or a moisturizer, it’s crucial to help users resonate with what you are offering in your video. Emotion is the best way to go about it, and that emotion is usually powered by storytelling.

To accomplish that in this piece, they deliver a personal and emotional story while explaining what the product is and how the treatment works. Altogether, it helps build trust in the product’s capabilities, and that reflects it in the perceived reliability of the brand!

Blume

Here’s another example of fantastic storytelling powering a product video, but using an explainer video animation this time around.

Animation can be a great alternative to create engaging and attractive pieces to deliver longer – or more abstract/complex – messages across, bringing them to life without risking losing your audience’s interest midway. Blume’s video revolves around one concept: showcase the value of uniqueness.

To do so, this video weaves a lovely, heartfelt family story that doubles as the company’s background, and lists all the benefits of their product while at it. It reinforces a personal tone through beautiful animations and an empathetic narrator that helps viewers feel comfortable right from the start.

Figma

When you are planning a video, there are plenty of approaches you can take. Figma’s videos focus on addressing a problem right away and bringing up the solution.

Figma is a collaborative design platform, and they used animation to reveal how messy the design process can be.

With simple and dynamic visuals – combined with a cool narrator, and an upbeat tune – this video showcases every single benefit of using their platform, and how much more simple the process can get. It’s short, fun, clear, and straight to the point.

Night Cable by Native Union

Here’s another straight-up approach – Showing a problem and how to solve it. The cool thing about Night Cable’s video is that they do it in less than 45 seconds!

Native Union addressed a very basic, but incredibly common and unsolved issue: we all need to charge our devices, but cables tend to be way too short, poor quality, and uncomfortable.

Through simplicity and familiar settings – at home, in bed, or having a relaxing day in sweatpants – the video displays how helpful their product actually is. In the end, the message is both subtle and persuasive: You don’t just need the product, you’ll also want it!

Breville Precision Brewer

This is a classic “how-to” video that displays the product in action.

Thirty-three seconds, no voice-over, and yet it delivers a clear message by showing how to easily brew an “over the ice” coffee using their classy and elegant machine.

Even though home appliances can be hard to explain because they usually involve too many features, in this case, they managed to keep it super simple, clear, and informative, in record time!

Sonos

Sonos’ video is a great way to show how live-action elements can be enhanced with the right type of animation by their side.

The product itself is a cool set of wireless speakers and home sound systems — nothing really innovative by today’s standards.

However, by using linear and elegant black and white visuals, this video combines animation and the actual products in different situations and rooms. It walks viewers through many of the product’s functions and addresses common questions while at it. The result is an elegant piece that conveys the brand’s tone.

What We Learned

High-quality product videos can help eCommerce businesses bring their potential customers and their products closer than any other medium could. By using beautiful and compelling pieces, they can convey all the relevant information their customers would need to take action.

Done right, they can lead to increased conversions and help build brand loyalty in one fell swoop. The operative piece there being “done right.”

There are plenty of approaches you can take with your product videos, so they require a lot of know-how and planning to get them just the way you need them. That said, by following the design ideas and examples we went over today, you have a much better sense of the elements you’ll need to cover!

Time to take these ideas as inspiration, and start developing your own awesome piece for your eCommerce company. Good luck!