While simple in concept, haul videos are an effective e-commerce marketing strategy. You’ve probably been engrossed in these videos yourself without even recognizing it! Essentially, haul videos show influencers or shoppers unpacking their latest purchase hauls. These purchases can be items they were recently gifted or bought from specific brands or retailers. They often entice interested consumers who want to know what their favorite influencers are using, loving, and recommending.
Brands that are looking to get in front of users can partner with influencers who align with their own audience. For instance, a new swimsuit brand can work with a fashion influencer to showcase their latest product line. The influencer can talk about why they like the brand, how they discovered it, and when they will be using this new product. Most of these videos are uploaded to an influencer’s social media page on Instagram, TikTok, and/or YouTube.
Before you hit the record button, keep reading. There are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind before partnering with an influencer to do a video. Below you’ll learn three ways haul videos can influence e-commerce marketing.
1. Generate and Boost Awareness
To start, one of the major benefits of haul videos in the e-commerce space is that they generate and boost brand awareness. With millions of brands in the e-commerce marketplace, it can be difficult to differentiate your products from competitors. This is particularly the case if you are a newly launched business.
Working with an influencer, or even a pool of influencers, can get your product in front of new, captivated audiences. Through a haul video, influencers have the unique opportunity to showcase a variety of products in a short amount of time. Not to mention, influencers can speak to why they like or enjoy the brand. These videos are also an opportunity for the influencer to talk about their purchase experience. With this, they may speak about other important aspects of your business, such as your easy-to-navigate site or seamless app.
You may find it beneficial to stagger how often and when your selected influencers post their videos. This can help you get a better sense of which videos resonated most. Also, it can help you navigate your inventory fulfillment. As you start to garner more awareness, you may decide to utilize a complete e-commerce solution to outsource processes like inventory, distribution, and fulfillment. This can allow you to focus on growing your brand as you receive more orders.
2. Drive Conversions
Getting consumers into your marketing funnel is a hard enough task in itself. And yet, this is only the first step. Driving conversions is challenging, and you may not be seeing the results you would like. Haul videos can help drive conversions because users have come to trust their followers.
Trust is essential when partnering with influencers to promote products. If you try to partner with an influencer who doesn’t share your brand values, you could send the wrong message to potential customers. A consumer who watches a trusted influencer rave about a brand is more likely to buy from the brand. In fact, recent research shows that over 60% of shoppers value their favorite influencers recommendations.
This compares to only 38% who trust social content that is branded, such as social ads. This transaction can happen at the exact moment or in the near future. The more that your brand comes up — whether on social or word-of-mouth — the more likely a user is going to complete a purchase. However, don’t fall into the trap of utilizing influencers based on their follower size alone. Aligning with influencers who can represent your brand in a respectful way and that attract similar target audiences is a key to expecting e-commerce success.
3. Gather Audience Feedback
Lastly, haul videos are a great, organic way to gather feedback. Any type of feedback, whether positive or negative, can help strengthen your brand. Good feedback will allow you to see what your consumers really like about your products and brand overall. Negative feedback allows you and your team to focus on improvement. It can help create a priority list of items to tackle based on what consumers are saying.
Even if you are already gathering user feedback, haul videos are another great avenue to get responses. This may come from the influencers themselves who may have suggestions on your product packaging, for example. These influencers have likely worked with multiple brands, some of which may be your competitors. Their direct feedback can also be extremely helpful in fostering relationships for future partnerships because it showcases what influencers value.
Feedback may also come from viewers of the videos. While you may be hesitant to read social media comments, it is a valuable way to engage with enticed users. After all, these users may just have been introduced to your brand through the influencer. Providing excellent customer service by answering their questions directly or responding to their posts can show that you’re a brand that cares.
Takeaways
Haul videos aren’t the newest marketing strategy, but they certainly aren’t a passing fad. Utilizing this tactic can help generate awareness, drive conversions, and gather feedback. These three benefits can strengthen and grow your brand for long-term success. Just remember to partner with influencers who are good collaborators and represent your brand’s values.