Amazon product videos help shoppers better understand a given product. The data shows not only do shoppers who understand the products better have more confidence in their buying decision, they also make the decision to buy significantly more often when an Amazon product video is on the page.
In this blog post, we’ll look at the key considerations for adding videos to product listings, as well as the guidelines and best practices all sellers should know before they decide to make product videos for Amazon.
Why Add Video to Amazon Product Listings?
As with high quality images and A+ Content, an Amazon product video is yet another valuable opportunity to showcase the benefits and features of your products. The statistics on video marketing show that adding videos to your Amazon product listings could lead to a more efficient conversion rate and better engagement. Here’s a quick breakdown of a few key Amazon product video stats:
- Video marketing accounts for 69% of all consumer traffic
- Landing pages with videos convert 800% better than those without
- Engagement rate with videos is 16.85% compared to 2.14% for standard banners
- 55% of people watch videos online every day
There is no question videos are an effective marketing tool, and every metric points to the same outcome: Customers are more likely to purchase after watching a product video.
Why do Amazon product videos have such a strong impact on consumer shopping behavior? Videos help create an emotional connection with your customer. As we discussed in the podcast, Using Emotional Targeting to Optimize Conversion Rates, customers don’t always make buying decisions based on logic: they often decide to buy based on emotions.
In addition to triggering the right emotional response in your customers, here are a few of the most common reasons to consider adding videos to your Amazon product listings:
- Highlight additional product features
- Demonstrate product usage
- How-to tutorials
- Customer testimonials
- Engage with customers
- Tell your brand story
All of which contribute to higher conversion rates.
Can Your Brand Add Video to Amazon Listings?
Previously, Amazon product videos were an option only for Vendor Central accounts. In September of 2020, Amazon expanded this offering to Seller Central accounts in the US, making the Amazon product videos option available to sellers and brand owners registered through Brand Registry. While Amazon product videos are not yet available in all international markets, there’s good reason to believe that Amazon will continue to expand options in the future.
Now that US-based brands registered through Brand Registry can add a product video to their Amazon listing, the next big question is, should you?
“You really have to drill down on each product,” says Kaspien Creative Director Amy Jahn. “Ask yourself: what as a consumer would you want to know? Why would they want to stay on the page? Does the listing ‘sell them’ on the product?”
Should You Add Product Videos
Videos take time and resources to produce. If you’re already answering those questions with high-quality images and infographics, you might want to save your video efforts for something that can work across multiple product pages, such as the benefits of your products, how-to tutorials, and customer testimonials or brand story videos. Infographics can be changed based on individual products, while the same video can be added to multiple ASINs — up to 300 for Seller Central accounts and 2000 in Vendor Central.
“What’s important here is branding,” says Jahn. “What makes the difference between a good listing versus a great listing is going beyond what is simply ‘required.’ Call out those features and benefits. What makes your product different from your competitors? If we can keep customers on the page and give them all the education they need, we’re doing our job and giving them a better experience.”
Amazon Product Video Guidelines
When planning and creating your product videos, it’s important to consider both the rules and guidelines you must follow as well as the specific tendencies of your customers. For example, 85% of videos on Facebook are watched without sound, and viewers are able to retain 90% of the information they get from a video compared to only 10% through texts. It’s easy to see how these statistics might influence your Amazon product video creation, leading you to create visually impactful videos with little to no dialog or listicle videos that can explain a few key features of your brand or product.
Here’s a list of the current guidelines for Amazon product videos. Refer to your Seller Central account on Amazon for more information.
- Must be in English
- Claims must be supported by evidence
- Products must be yours, and you must be the brand owner
- No defamatory or derogatory statements about other brands
- Must not contain prices, discount claims (including words such as “cheap,” “affordable,” “on sale,” etc.), promotions or other time-sensitive information.
- No health/medical claims or medical advice
- No controversial, political, sensitive, or sexually suggestive content
- You must not direct viewers away from Amazon
- If you mention customer reviews, you must include accurate product information that can be substantiated
- Any customer review details must be less than one year old
As you can see from the list, these guidelines have a big impact on video creation, and Amazon is not known to give much wiggle room when it comes to guidelines. Consider also your brand’s long-term goals. If you plan to expand to international markets, does it make sense to have a lot of dialogue? Will your video make sense or have the same impact in other countries and cultures? These are questions you really should answer prior to production.
Amazon Product Video Creation
There are several agencies and production companies who can assist you with your Amazon video production. As with any element of your product listing, Amazon product video best practice is to stay within the rules and specifications while still delivering the best and most informative experience to the buyer.
Here are the Amazon product video specs:
- High-quality: 480p or higher is recommended.
- Use a 16:9 aspect ratio
- Must be under 5GB in file size
- Should be in .mp4 or .mov file format
- Title should be 60 characters or less
How to Upload Amazon Product Videos
The video upload tool is in your Seller Central dashboard under the Inventory tab. Click on Upload & Manage Videos to upload your finished file. Remember, only seven images are displayed in most product categories, so limit your listing to 6 images in addition to your video. Be sure to upload a thumbnail image and include related product ASINs.
Once you upload your file into the video manager it can take up to 72 hours for it to appear on product detail page.
Need Help?
If this discussion has left you feeling a bit overwhelmed, not to worry. Experienced Amazon agencies have a team of creators and consultants who can help guide you at any point in your video creation process. Here at Kaspien, we offer free consultations and expert listing analysis to help you craft the most effective marketing strategy for your brand.
