Ecommerce video is designed to drive online conversions by helping shoppers make confident purchase decisions. It is typically deployed on the product page, since the goal is to help site visitors click the “add to cart” button. Of course, you can deploy video elsewhere on your site and on social networks and video-sharing sites as well.
Ecommerce video is typically product specific, as the goal is driving conversions rather than brand awareness.. It is designed to illustrate a product’s features and benefits as a visitor browses a specific product page.
Don’t confuse ecommerce video with so-called viral video or with commercials. While each of these formats may include products, they are produced and distributed to accomplish different objectives. Viral video is often shot once as a humorous or outrageous piece of content in order to spread through social networks. Even if a clip becomes popular, online retailers have little control over or measurement of actual results. On the other hand, commercials, whether on television or the Web, offer significant control over brand messaging. They are expensive, however, and are shot at low volumes.
A retailer launching a video program will find plenty of jargon to contend with. This glossary will help in communication when producing and implementing video as well as providing an overview of key concepts to consider.
Above the fold: Anything placed on the part of the Web page that is viewable without scrolling is said to be “above the fold.” Video that appears above the fold is easier to see and therefore more effective in producing conversions.
API: Application programming interface, a bit of code that when added to a Web page will pull the appropriate video according to UPC code or some other unique identifier.
Aspect ratio: The relationship of the width of a video image to its height. The most common aspect ratios are 4x3 (standard) and 16x9 (widescreen). If you plan to use a nonstandard aspect ratio (such as a tall player to best display standing models for apparel), you’ll need to take that into account during production of content as well as deployment of the video platform.
Audio tech: The person responsible for the set up, operation, and maintenance of sound equipment such as microphones, speakers, and recording equipment on a video shoot.
B-roll: Footage often taken separately from the main shoot. Editors use these shots to cut away from the main action while using dialogue or music to illustrate the image.
Boom microphone: A shotgun microphone mounted on the end of a boom pole. This type of microphone frees an actor to use his hands while still picking up clear audio.
Call to action: In video, a call to action can refer to a text or graphic callout asking a viewer to click on a video (“click to play”) or to a script element prompting the viewer to take some action (“click ‘add to cart’ now!”).
Closed captioning: Text played during a video that allows viewers with disabilities access to audio content.
Codec: Stands for “compression/decompression.” It is a piece of software or hardware that reduces the size of raw digital video files so that they may be edited and distributed.
Content delivery network (CDN): A series of connected servers that allows ISPs to deliver seamless video streams. By offering the same content mirrored on multiple servers, the CDN speeds delivery and provides redundancy to prevent downtime.
Conversion-optimized videography: A video production process in which product elements are emphasized in order to increase online sales.
Editor: The person responsible for postproduction on a video project. Activities include importing footage, cutting together the piece, and exporting the video into a format suitable for online distribution.
Embedded video player: A video player placed into the HTML of a Web page using either an Adobe Flash plug-in or an HTML5 element. Most players will play a variety of formats, such as FLV (Flash Video), H.264, MP3, and YouTube.
Green screen: A production technique in which an actor is shot in front of a green or blue screen. Images are then added in postproduction through a process called chroma keying. You most often see this used in weather broadcasts.
Grip: The person on a video shoot responsible for lighting and rigging.
H.264: Also known as MPEG-4/AVC, it is an industry standard video compression format that supports HD video. Apple Computer has stood behind H.264 as the format of choice for HTML5 video content.
Hosting provider: A service that allows users to upload, manage, and stream video clips. Hosted services differ from video-sharing sites such as YouTube by the amount of flexibility you have in distributing your video.
HTML5: The newest update to the HTML standard, which incorporates the <video> element and allows video to play natively on a Web page. It removes the need for an Adobe Flash plug-in.
Indexing: The method by which a search engine organizes and stores data associated with a Website. If you want your content to be found by searchers, you must get it indexed by search engines.
Lavalier microphone: The small mic that you see pinned to newscasters’ collars or lapels. These are generally used when you want hands-free operation and you want to focus on one subject.
Lower third: The text or graphics at the bottom of a video clip, commonly used in interviews, product videos, newscasts, and documentaries.
Online video platform: Software-as-a-service (SaaS) product that allows you to upload, encode, host, and distribute your video content through customizable video players.
Overlay video player: A video player that displays in a modal window over the Web page rather than playing as an embedded player. An overlay player may be a good idea if page real estate constraints make deploying an embedded video player difficult.
Postproduction: The set of activities that take place after a video shoot, which include video editing, textual overlays, music, and compression for Internet distribution.
Preproduction: The preparation that takes place before a video shoot. Normally this involves strategic planning, logistics, ensuring consistency with brand standards, and scripting.
Production assistant (PA): The person on a set responsible for assisting producers and directors in all aspects of a video production.
Producer: This person works closely with all members of a production team from concept through postproduction. Often the producer coordinates most aspects of a shoot and has responsibility for budget and logistics.
Social video distribution: The way by which users with natural affinities (friends, family, professional networks) share content through social networks.
Streaming video: Video that is compressed and played over the Internet in real time removing the need for a file to be downloaded before viewing.
Teleprompter: A device that displays a continual stream of dialogue or text that an actor can read easily during a video shoot.
Video at scale: A production process that allows a high volume of videos to be shot in a short period of time.
Video SEO: Video search engine optimization. The set of practices used to help search engines crawl, index, and rank video content. Search engine bots do not crawl video and must rely on tools such as video sitemaps.
Video sitemap: An XML file required for video SEO that tells search engines such as Google the title, location, contents, and metadata of a video file.
View-through rate (VTR): Expressed as a percentage, VTR is the ratio of videos watched to the number of impressions or video players served to a Web page. It helps a retailer understand what percentage of visitors to a page choose to watch the video.
Craig Wax is CEO of Invodo, a provider of ecommerce video solutions.
