Nothing is more irritating than seeing a product on the internet and not knowing where or how to buy it.

If you want to save your customers from screaming into the internet abyss with frustration because they want to give you their money but can’t figure out how, it’s time to implement shoppable video in your marketing strategy. 

What you’ll learn

    What is a shoppable video? 

    A shoppable video shows off your products via an interactive format. When customers see a product they like, they can click directly on that product to learn more, then add to cart.

    It’s a seamless customer journey that fast-tracks the conversion funnel, directing customers from the video that caught their attention to the product page requiring little to no effort on their part. 

    Explore Vimeo’s shoppable video solutions

    You can create shoppable videos for your website, social media pages, and even your email funnels. These videos give customers quick access to product details, reviews, buying details, and any other information they need to inform their purchase. 

    Shoppable video capitalizes on the storytelling element of video and the customer’s immediate interest by presenting a path to purchase right then and there. Essentially, it’s a way for marketers to strike while the iron is hot. 

    How a shoppable video works

    1. The video informs users that they can interact by prompting them to click around.
    2. Product links appear in connection with product hotspots within the video.
    3. When a notebook for sale pops into the frame, a little icon will pop up to reveal the product hotspot.
    4. Viewers can click that hotspot icon to view the product page.
    5. After reading up on the product and making a purchase decision, they can click back to the video or continue shopping the site!

    4 ways to get started with shoppable video 

    Implementing shoppable video into your marketing strategy is simple. Start by creating a video for your website, then do the same on all your favorite social media sites. Here are some ideas to get you started:

    1. Bring shoppertainment into ecommerce 

    Create a shoppable hero video for your ecommerce site. This will help you grab the attention of website visitors. You can then use storytelling to guide them through your products in a way that teases out conversions. You can personalize these hero videos to your audience segments, increasing the likelihood that the video will interest every visitor who clicks on your site. 

    1. Post an Insta story

    Film a video for your Instagram Story highlighting a single product, then use Instagram’s product tags to make the Story shoppable. All you have to do is upload your video then click “Stickers” and choose the “Product” sticker. This will pull up your Instagram product catalog where you can select the product you want to link. You can also customize the location, size, and color of your sticker before posting. 

    1. Make a shoppable Reel 

    Create a Reel featuring a new (or well-loved) product. Once it’s all set to post, click “Tag Products”. This is where you can add the product or product collections you want your Reel to feature. Shoppable Reels are native content, which makes them all the more appealing and likely to boost conversions. 

    1. Create a shoppable TikTok

    Connect your Shopify and TikTok accounts and fill up your product catalog on the app. After that, you can tag products to make your TikTok videos shoppable. 

    Example of live shopping

    Why should you make your content shoppable? 

    Video is a powerful tool for boosting customer engagement. Interactive video goes beyond increasing engagement through storytelling and emotional connection by creating an interactive experience that encourages clicks. The clickability of shoppable video results in way higher engagement rates for content. 

    Shoppable video is also sticky website content– it’ll keep viewers engaged on your site for longer. An interactive hero video could suck your customers in the moment they click to your site, then spit them out at the checkout page with a full cart. Clicking through to products from shoppable video reduces friction in the path to purchase, which makes customers more likely to convert. 

    As shoppable video becomes more popular, we will undoubtedly see more platforms come out with features that make the whole process easier. Here’s the gist of what’s available now:

    • Social media platforms: All your favorite social media platforms enable some form of shoppable video. You can use product tags to make Instagram posts, Stories, and Reels shoppable, add product tags to TikTok videos, and launch live shopping events on Facebook. 
    • Amazon Live: Amazon also has a live shopping feature. Brands can use influencers to promote the sale of products via interactive live streams. 
    • YouTube: YouTube makes videos shoppable by including browsable product images right below an ad. To create shoppable videos on YouTube, you’ll have to first create a video ad. Do so by syncing your Google Merchant Center feed with your advertisements. 
    • Clicktivated: This app connects products to videos, enabling viewers to click to purchase products they’re interested in.
    • Shoploop: Shoploop is Google’s version of shoppable video. This platform allows users to find, evaluate, and purchase products all in the same place. You can see user reviews, read up on product specs, save the product for later, and eventually click to purchase. 
    • Live streaming apps: There are quite a few apps on the market that enable influencers and brands to launch live shopping videos. While live shopping is not the same as shoppable video, it still provides an interactive shopping experience for customers. Examples include Bambuser, Buywith, and HapYak. 

    Why your brand should be creating shoppable video now 

    Ecommerce is booming. B2B ecommerce sales alone will reach over $1.67 trillion in 2022. When your customers open their phones, they’re bombarded by advertisements at every turn. On social media, in the app store, on Google, etc. As ecommerce sales increase, so will digital advertising. 

    Shoppable video is a way to remain competitive as the digital space gets more congested. The easier you make your conversion funnel, the more likely customers are to convert. When customers can click right from a product hotspot to purchase something that interests them, they’re more likely to respond to that ad than one where they have to do the legwork themselves. 

    Plus, interactive video content mimics the immersive experience of in-person shopping. Customers who are reluctant to try ecommerce will appreciate the personal touch an interactive video offers. Ultimately, shoppable video could ease their transition into the world of ecommerce.

    Lastly, shoppable video can be personalized to spotlight different products for each segment of your audience. Personalization alone boosts conversions. Paring personalization with shoppable video increases the likelihood that customers will convert, giving them the ability to easily snag the products that interest them most. 

    How does shoppable video differ from live shopping? 

    Live shopping and shoppable video are similar in that they both allow customers to purchase straight from the video. The nature of the video itself is where they diverge.

    With live shopping, an influencer or business owner goes live on social media to show off their product recommendations. Customers are given the opportunity (and often encouraged) to purchase products they like, straight from the live stream’s links. 

    Shoppable video is not a live stream. It’s static video that presents products in action, providing customers with a path toward immediate conversion. Because shoppable video is static, it can be pre-prepared and professionally edited to fit your brand’s style prior to release.

    Shoppable video can be thrown up on your ecommerce site or social media and is evergreen, unlike live shopping videos. Look at ChopValue, for example, who created an interactive virtual trade show experience to showcase their products and provide a chance for attendees to network with key members of their team.

    How to make a shoppable video 

    Making shoppable video is easy with the right interactive video software. Essentially, you can create shoppable video for your website by adding video hot spots. These are the product hotspots we’ve been talking about. Brands can use AI-based object tracking to create video hotspots that follow products as the video progresses. This creates the overlay that customers use to shop the video.

    You can “gamify” your shoppable videos so that they’re even more interactive and engaging via branching. This video concept gives the viewer a choice between different actions or storylines, allowing them to actively personalize their video journey. Shoppable video can effortlessly combine personalization and gamification with the OG in-person “ask the store clerk for help” experience.

    But, be mindful when linking products. Linking every single product featured in the video might overwhelm customers. Instead, identify a promotional purpose for a specific video and only link products relevant to that purpose. The products should complement each other to increase the likelihood of customers purchasing more than one product per video. 

    For the best results, slow down the parts of the video that include product hotspots and add text to guide your viewers through the interactive video experience. 

    Check out this example of shoppable recipes from Jamie Oliver, where you can simply tap a hot spot to preorder his latest cookbook.

    Wrapping up

    Now that you’re up to date on the shoppable video logistics, it’s time to get creative with your strategy. Make TikTok skits featuring tagged products, create how-to videos that guide your customers to the product that best suits their needs, or tag a new product every week in your Instagram Stories series.

    Make converting easier, and your customers will thank you with their wallets. 

    Captivate your customers with the latest and greatest in video.