VideoRetailer.org - Exploring the Intersection of Video and e-Commerce.

Using Video as the Fuel in Your Social Media strategy
Jimmy Healey, Onlineshoes.com

Onlineshoes.com Seattle-based online retailer - one of the first brick-and-mortar business to go online mid-90’s.
- Online, trying to recreate the traditional experience, online
- Video seeing as the way to bridge between brick-and-mortar and online shopping experience
- Convinced of the value of video, question was about how to start and how to convince the team to do it

Why social media/video?
In this tough economy seeing erosion of other marketing channels, getting more and more expensive to do marketing, like SEM for instance. Sometimes even competing with manufacturers. Margins keep getting squeezed.
- Even channels like email threatened. 3-5 years from now, will people check emails as much (vs MySpace, Facebook)?
- Is how our business is going to be viable in 3-5 years? Social media seen as the long term strategy. Video as acquisition tool (posted on Facebook, Twitter), as conversion tool (Video on site)

History

- Initially started 1.5 years ago as a one-man-show, leveraging past sales experience/athlete runner. Put it on video site onlineshoes.tv

- Now on product pages, carefully picking the products that were revenue and traffic driver for the side. Example Asics GT2140 http://www.onlineshoes.com/productpage.asp?gen=w&pcid=130271 Notice the type of video that’s essentially an animation with photos, audio - because there is limited type to produce. Currently we can produce 300 videos/year.

- Importance of a good call to action on product pages. Went from 0.5% of click-through rates on video (product page) to 5%. Trying to get it be higher. Significant Average order size and conversion rate for people who saw the video.

Question: are you measuring returns? Answer: we’re not in the context of video.

- Point about proving ROI, paying for production and video platform with co-op dollars. Charging manufacturers for shooting the video and playing it

Question: is the appetite higher internally for doing a “viral” video project? Answer: example of Green Day project internally:
- wanted to do a quick video
- asked everybody internally about tips
- within 2H, video was produced, ready to go live next day
link: http://onlineshoes.tv/p/158/12-ways-to-stay-green-in-your-everyday-life/

On contests. Examples
“How do you Dansko” 13,000 views 257 comments, 50 words average comment length
Merill post, 140 comments, 60 words average
- Easy to put in place, gets a ton of UGC
- Following on contests, you can use as ideas for create a spontaneous videos. Example Dansko (using family/friends) http://onlineshoes.tv/p/118/what-does-dansko-mean-to-you/

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