Last updated on April 5th, 2021 at 11:34 am
Adding a product video to your Amazon listing is perhaps the best way to increase conversions overnight.
That’s because adding videos to your listing has been shown to increase the CR by as much as 134%.
Think about how many more sales that would be… and how much revenue that would look like!
Now, succeeding on Amazon isn’t just all about crunching numbers and optimizing for the algorithm. If it were, the best sellers would all be data scientists and mathematicians.
There’s actually a huge need for creativity to succeed on a place like Amazon. That’s where things like product videos can really give you the edge over the other 100k+ registered brands on Amazon.
In this guide we’ll dig deep into Amazon product videos―what they are, why you need them, how to add them to your listing, how to make one, and everything in between.
Why Should You Have a Product Video in Your Amazon Listing?
Ok, so we already mentioned that it skyrockets your CR. But how?
A few reasons: it helps customers understand your product and brand, builds a relationship with them, and communicates your product to an audience with a really short attention span.
Despite how advanced modern ecommerce has become, nothing will come close to the experience of interacting with a product in person―touching it, holding it, testing out its features, and so on.
In fact, interacting with the product in person is the number one reason why customers might prefer shopping in person over ordering online (especially in the case of apparel).
Product videos are the next best thing because they offer a deep level of interactivity with customers.
Customers will receive a large amount of information quickly and videos will trigger the customer to develop an emotional response to your product. And we all know how decisions are made largely based on emotion rather than logic.
Videos Help Prevent Bad Reviews
How many people have bought your product and left a bad review, but it was because they misunderstood what your product was? Yep, I’ve had that one too many times.
Well one often overlooked benefit is that it will help filter out people who should not buy your product. If your video clearly states what the product is and what it isn’t, far less people will mistakenly buy your product thinking it does or has something that it doesn’t.
Who Can Upload Videos to Their Listings?
Product videos are not available for everyone.
To have access to them, you need to be part of one of these groups:
- Marketplace sellers, who own a brand registered under Brand Registry, and who have a professional selling account. Videos are available under A+ Content in Seller Central.
- Vendors, who are brand-owning manufacturers that sell wholesale to Amazon. Video is available under A+ Content in Vendor Central.
(If you’re not part of these two groups, there is a workaround―more on that below).
How to Upload a Video to Your Amazon Product Page
From here on, we’re going to focus the information in this guide to help brands selling on the Amazon marketplace through Seller Central.
Here’s how you upload a video to your listing:
- Log in to Seller Central.
- Click on Inventory.
- From the dropdown menu, select Upload & Manage Videos.
- Click on Upload Video, then select your video file.
- Enter a title and then select which ASINs are related to the video.
- Choose a thumbnail for your video.
- Click Submit and then wait for Amazon to approve your video
How Long Does the Review Process Take?
The review process can take up to a week, or sometimes longer.
Once it’s approved, its status will show as “live”. The video should appear in the product detail page for all related ASINs, as long as there are no more than six images already assigned.
What Does It Cost?
Adding a video to your listing doesn’t cost a dime.
Your only costs include producing the video itself.
Thankfully, high-quality product videos are cheaper than ever to produce. With advances in camera, editing, and lighting technology, product videos have become super reasonable.
Can I Upload a Product Video Without Being Brand Registered?
The short answer: yes! Kind of.
To be clear, you won’t be able to upload a product video that appears at the top of your listing. You still need to be Brand Registered for that.
But as of today, what you can do is add your video under the “Amazon Video Shorts” section of your product listing.
Important caveat: you can’t do this under your account. You need to have a friend or family member with a different account do this.
What they need to do is scroll down to the videos section (underneath BSR) and upload your video. Just fill out the form and it’ll get uploaded.
Use this as an opportunity to sneak some keywords into the title and body wherever you can.
As of right now, this is 100% white hat, so as long as you do not submit a fake review or use any shady services that promise to hack videos onto your listing, you will be safe.
Amazon Product Video Requirements
In terms of how you produce your video, you’re really only limited by your imagination.
That said, there are a few specific technical requirements to keep in mind:
- Your video must be entirely in English.
- Acceptable file formats include 3GP, AAC, AVI, FLV, MOV, MP4, and MPEG-2.
- Thumbnail image should be JPEG or PNG in 16:9 aspect ratio and a minimum of 1280 x 720 (1920 x 1080 is best).
Aside from that, you should also pay attention to Amazon’s Content Policy. Violating it is the easiest way to get banned, or at the very least have your video removed.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
- Any claims you make must be backed up with evidence. You may provide your opinion as long as it is clearly stated as such.
- Derogatory claims about competitors are not allowed. You may only present factual data about competitors so long as it is supported by evidence.
- Any products must be yours and you must be the brand owner.
- Videos must not contain prices, promotions, discounts (including words such as “cheap”, “affordable”, etc.) or any time-sensitive information.
- No health claims, medical claims or medical advice.
- You cannot modify the manufacturer’s warranty, or offer your own warranty.
- You may not direct customers away from Amazon.
- Mentioning customer reviews that contain inaccurate information, asking for positive reviews, using reviews over a year old (under one year is fine), or editing reviews to change their meaning, are all strictly prohibited.
- No controversial, political, sensitive or sexually suggestive content.
- You cannot claim a product can lead to weight loss without following a balanced diet or exercise.
- You cannot imply celebrity endorsements or infringe on others’ intellectual property.
As you can see, there are multiple ways you could potentially violate Amazon’s Content Policy. That’s why it’s important to read over it and understand it before planning your video.
It is quite possible to accidentally violate the policy, especially if you opt to use humour in your video or have a product that is any way sensitive or tied to political matters.
Should I Hire a Company or Make It Myself?
When it comes to producing a video, you basically have two options: produce the video in-house, or outsource it to an agency that specializes in producing Amazon product videos.
Which one you will choose ultimately depends on your budget, time constraints, and the expertise of your in-house team (if you even have one) compared to an agency.
Obviously, if you don’t have an in-house team, and you’re serious about producing a high-quality video, outsourcing to an agency is a no-brainer.
Regardless of which one you pick, however, you will still need to be heavily involved in the process. That way you can maintain the integrity of your brand, and ensure the highest possible quality of the resulting product video.
For almost all Amazon sellers and brand owners, the best course of action is to hire an agency with expertise in making product videos specifically for Amazon. You want to have your brand and your product displayed to the highest degree possible, while also keeping in mind Amazon’s myriad content restrictions and requirements.
The bottom line is that an investment in a good product video will pay for itself many times over.
How to Prepare in the Pre-Production Phase
Before your team or your agency gets started on your video, you need to sit down and do a lot of preparation.
You will carefully want to consider the following aspects:
- How do you want your brand positioned? Is it high-end, or intended for everyday use?
- What are the key benefits and features? How can I demonstrate them to the customer intuitively?
- What questions do your customers commonly ask, and how can you answer them in the video?
- Are there any variations? If so, do I need another video or can they be rolled up into one video?
- Do I need to hire a professional script writer?
- Do I need narration?
Examples of Different Product Video Types
There are four main types of product videos.
Product Highlights
Product highlight videos are clean, simple and highlight the key features and benefits of the product.
It could be as simple as showing a 360-degree panoramic shot of your product on a white background, zooming up close and panning out, and throwing up some simple infographics about your product’s key features. Less is definitely more.
Customer Experience
The customer experience video is powerful because it shows the product being in use, typically by the same demographic the product is designed to be appealing to.
This helps potential buyers understand how the product fits into their lifestyle, and how they’ll feel while using it.
As long as you don’t go overboard on the cheese factor, it helps create a connection with the customer, where they start thinking, “That could be me!”
This type of video is ideal for products that are interacted with directly―where the product is the experience. Think about products like toys, computers, or beauty products.
You could also include social proof here as well, in the form of customer testimonials. You could show these reviews briefly on screen via text, or have your narrator read them out loud.
Explainer
Explainer videos are great for, well, explaining! They’re ideal for products that are more complicated.
Think about those classic Billy Mays or ShamWow infomercials. Those are basically the archetypical explainer videos on steroids.
The reason it works so well is you’re essentially showing the customer how it works. That way they understand the product more and how it could benefit them.
Something like a fork is so simple that it would come off as condescending if you tried to explain it. But, something like collagen supplements isn’t as intuitive, so it would be perfect for an explainer video. You could explain how to mix it in with water, how much to mix, and how often you would take it, as well as elucidating all of its benefits.
Other types of products that work great for explainer videos include more complicated equipment, “unique” functional products (i.e. ShamWow’s, etc.), technology or technical accessories like screen protectors.
Comparison
Comparison videos come in two types:
- Explaining how your product is better than its competitors, or;
- Showing how your customer is better off with the product vs. the outcome if the customer didn’t have the product in their life.
Both can be highly effective depending on the situation, because this one really targets your customers emotions.
It elicits fear that if they buy the competitors’ products they could end up with an inferior product, thereby evoking confidence that they are making the right purchase by buying yours. Plus it induces FOMO because if they do not buy right now, their life could be worse without the product.
You don’t have to call out specific products―all you need to state is just generalities. For example, you could say that all your competitors have handles that are too slippery, or legs that are wobbly, and then show how your version improves or fixes these issues.
Remember that if you are calling out specific brands, make sure to avoid defamatory or derogatory comments and only state that which is factual.
For example, you could say, “Our product has 10GB of storage, while Product Y only has 5GB.” But you can’t say, “Our product is number 1, because Product Y is a piece of garbage.”
General Principles to Abide By
Keep It Concise
These days, people’s attention spans are shorter than a goldfish’s.
“Look at our product!! It does this, and that, and the other thing, and it opens up like this, and it comes in blue, and…”―yawn, next.
Remember Vine videos? They were so popular because they were only 7 seconds long max. Successful Viners had to grab people’s attention right away and form some sort of emotion connection, otherwise they’d just scroll past.
Product videos are similar. Don’t waste time bantering on with introductions, filler, unnecessary jokes, or useless information. Connect emotionally with your viewer and get straight to the point.
All in all, the ideal length should be around 1 minute or less. Up to 2 minutes is pushing it but it could work if your video is entertaining. And after that, the likelihood your customer will click off is very high.
Communicate Clearly
Videos are certainly an art, not a science. With that said, this isn’t the place for an experimental arthouse film.
Keep your message clear, clean and simple. Now’s not the time to show off your fancy stylistic or experimental skills. Your video is there to communicate information and sell a product, period.
Choose Appropriate Music
Imagine a product video for a children’s toy―wouldn’t it be really weird if death metal were playing in the background?
That’s why choosing ideal music is really important for the viewing experience.
It should suit the mood and theme of the product you’re selling. However, you don’t want it to steal the show by distracting the viewer or overpowering the narration.
Make sure you avoid using copyrighted music you don’t have permission to use. Plus, make sure the audio quality is top notch. You’d be surprised how much a small drop in quality affects sales.
Avoid Time-Sensitive and Discount-Oriented Language
As mentioned above, these types of content are strictly prohibited under Amazon’s Content Policy.
Your video should speak to the product itself―what it is, how it can solve your customer’s problems, and why it’s the best.
Why Did Amazon Reject the Product Video I Tried Uploading?
When you click Submit Video, your product video will need to be approved based on Amazon’s Content Policy. This process could take a week long or more.
Now there could be any number of reasons why your video was rejected, but it will always be because you (likely unintentionally) violated their Content Policy. Refer to the section above on their restrictions.
Get Out There and Start Filming!
Once you jump over the hurdles that are getting Brand Registered, not violating Content Policy, and coordinating video production, product videos aren’t that complicated, right?
Essentially, just communicate your product information clearly and concisely, create an emotional connection, and show the customer why they need your product by highlighting all the benefits.
Thankfully, you don’t need to go at this on your own. If you lack a dedicated in-house video production team, our team of expert product video producers here at Kenji ROI can lend you a hand.
Click here to check out our Amazon product video services and see if we are a good fit.
