Video Production Tips

How to Create Product Videos

Posted February 19, 2020
Written by Lana Sciasci

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Product videos for e-commerce.

We all understand the power of video in 2020. It’s transformed how businesses drive sales online, adding video to everything from Facebook ads to product pages. It’s on the latter that customers make their purchasing decisions, and evidence strongly suggests that product videos can make those decisions positive ones for retailers. In fact, according to Invesp, a customer who views a product video is up to 144% more likely to add that product to their cart than a consumer who watches no video. 

Impressive statistics aside, a product video will only achieve great results when it’s made well. To help you out, we’ve put together this guide to creating videos for e-commerce that you can put into practice on your own Shopify, WooCommerce, Etsy or other e-commerce platform. In it we’ll cover:

  • What are product videos?

  • Product videography tips

  • Where to share product videos

What are product videos?

Like the name suggests, product videos are videos focused on products. Their purpose is to highlight the key features, benefits and potentially overlooked details of an item for sale online. Product videos can take a variety of forms but the most common types are detail videos and demo videos.

Detail videos

Detail videos are made to give the customer a closer look at an item for sale. These videos are key to selling very visual products like clothing, accessories and furnishings. They are often shot up close, in high resolution and try to give a 360 degree view of the product. Detail videos do a great job of assuring customers if a product is right for them. According to Invesp 52% of purchasers say watching a detail video makes them more confident in their purchase. The team at classic game and brain training site Solitaired found that video improved engagement. When they introduced a video with strategy and tips, they saw total solitaire games completed rise by 11%.  Check out an example from one of jewellery brand Mejuri’s pages below.

Example of product detail video from Mejuri jewellery.

Demo videos

Demo videos show products in use. These are great videos for practical home appliances and technology that require a little more explanation. A demo video can be shot in a studio or staged in an environment that a product is likely to be used in, like a home. Demo videos can highlight features, benefits and technical components to potential buyers. This information empowers buyers to purchase, with Invesp reporting that 73% of online consumers say they are more likely to buy a product after watching videos that explain how it works. Check out an example from appliance company Dyson below.

Example of product demo video from Dyson website.

Product videography tips

Setting

When it comes to the setting for your product videography there are two main options: a plain backdrop and a contextual setting.

A plain backdrop is usually the best setting for detail videos (and photos!). Without anything in the background to distract the eye, this kind of setting allows products to shine. This can be achieved by using a standard photo backdrop, a light box or you can do a little DIY and build your own like in the example video below. While you can use coloured backdrops, we recommend sticking to white to give the most accurate product visuals possible. 

In contrast, a contextual setting is the best choice for demo videos. By filming a product in its logical environment, you can help to further demonstrate its uses and benefits. For example, you could shoot a blender demo video in a kitchen or a cosmetics demo video in a bathroom.    

Lighting

The lighting of a product video should help provide a realistic representation. Using a three point lighting system is a simple and effective way to achieve this. Avoid using coloured gels or any other add ons that might distort the true appearance of the product – you don’t want your customers returning items because they don’t look like the video on your website.

Timing

Product videos should be kept as short as possible, as is the general rule with all online videos. Detail videos should be comprised of a few close up shots and limited to 30 seconds maximum. Meanwhile, demo videos are usually longer due to their instructional nature – try to keep these under two minutes in length.

Where to share product videos

Once you’ve shot your product videos and edited them using Clipchamp Create, it’s time to share them. The main place you’ll be sharing these videos is on your e-commerce website, specifically in the image gallery of individual product pages.

While there are countless e-commerce platforms with varyings specifications for video, Clipchamp Create makes it easy by offering a variety of aspect ratios, export settings and the option to compress file size to avoid affecting your website’s performance.

Shopify

Shopify users can easily add video to product listings if they use a video-friendly theme. They specify that videos should be no longer than 60 seconds, no larger than 1GB in size and no higher than 4096 x 2160px in resolution. MP4 is the preferred file format. 

WooCommerce

To add videos to a WooCommerce site, users must purchase a Product Video for WooCommerce plugin. Once uploaded to the product gallery, images will be automatically resized for your website. The plugin allows you to upload videos in any format such as MP4, MOV or AVI.

Amazon

Videos can be added to Amazon product galleries in the same way a photo is. Amazon specifies videos should be of high quality with a resolution of at least 1280 x 720px and can be uploaded in any format such as MP4, MOV or AVI.

Etsy

Videos can be added to Etsy listings as a product image would be. Etsy recommends videos be 300MB maximum, no longer than two minutes in length and uploaded in any video format.

Start selling!

With our guide by your side, you’re bound to join the thousands of e-commerce businesses converting online sales with product videos. Our final tip – keep these videos handy for purposes beyond the product page. In the future, clips from product videos can be reused for Facebook ads, email marketing and more!

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