Crafting an effective video ad is a balancing act. You want to give viewers as much information as possible to entice them, but the ad can’t drag on so long that it bores them. Modern media and marketing place a lot of emphasis on snappiness and brevity. Yet, your average consumer aims to be more informed than ever.
Interactive shoppable videos are a solution offering the best of both worlds. Let’s break down how they work, and what it takes to use them effectively.
What are interactive shoppable videos?
Interactive shoppable videos are a modern approach to the demand generation process. The videos are often ads with relatively short run-times, although it’s certainly possible to do longer-form content.
These interactive videos contain visually signified clickable hotspots. Clicking one will pause the ad, and produce an in-video pop-up or hyperlinked web page. Either way, your place in the video is not disrupted. When you’re done investigating the hotspot element, the video continues seamlessly.
Key elements of an interactive shoppable video
Even that short description should give you a clear enough idea of how interactive shoppable videos work. When you break it down, however, there are several important elements you need to reap the full benefit.
1. Clickable hotspots
The point of a clickable hotspot is to be obviously interactive. They should be visually distinct so viewers don’t mistake them for an ordinary part of the video. It should also be obvious what they correspond to on-screen, either by placement or through connective visual elements.
Since clickable hotspots are so distinct, try to use clear visual icons and incorporate your brand’s color scheme.
2. Product overlays
It’s not always necessary to take someone to a completely new page. Product overlays can offer a less disruptive way of providing extra info. Overlays take full advantage of pausing interactive shoppable videos by using in-ad shots as a natural background to the information being conveyed.
3. In-video links
That said, in-video links can have their benefits too. They’re a great way to drive website traffic, and promote big brand events like sales or competitions. On-screen video links have been around in places like YouTube for a long time, but that doesn’t make them any less useful.
4. Interactive CTA buttons
A lot of the depth interactive shoppable videos provide stems from how you can use CTA buttons. Here are just some of the potential applications:
- Add-to-cart functionality without even pausing the video.
- Consumer polls.
- Competition entry.
- Gamified interactive elements.
5. Pop-up product information
This is more of a specific application of product overlays, but it’s still worth mentioning. Rather than bombarding viewers with product stats they’ll never remember, let them investigate the ones they want.
Pop-ups in interactive shoppable videos differ from the priorities of a traditional high-conversion pop-up. A normal pop-up ad aims to increase CTRs and purchases by quickly enticing a customer. In-video pop-ups are more supplementary, offering extra information only when the viewer seeks it out.
Pop-up info usually includes product specs, like measurements, material, and thread count for furniture appearing in the video. You can even add in recent, highly-rated product reviews to win people over.
6. Video player integration
No matter how amazing your interactive shoppable video is, it’s useless if no relevant online platform can host it. Fortunately, an increasing number of social media platforms and other online spaces have enabled interactive video functionality, such as:
- TikTok.
- Instagram.
- YouTube.
- Various commercial websites.
7. Real-time analytics
Any opportunity for interaction is a chance to learn about consumers. By monitoring how people engage with your interactive shoppable videos, you can get a clear idea of what does and doesn’t work. Important stats to track include:
- Click-through rates.
- Levels of interest in specific products and services.
- Viewer reading times.
- Rates of video abandonment.
Just be aware that the sheer volume of data you can collect may be difficult to store. You need solutions in place before you commit, either by modernizing mainframe applications and storage architecture or investing in third-party cloud-based solutions.
Key steps for making compelling interactive shoppable videos
Next up, let’s quickly go over some tips for how to make your interactive shoppable videos more engaging. You’ll find it shares a lot in common with traditional video ad generation sensibilities.
1. Define your objectives and target audience
Before you start filming anything, you need to know who it’s aimed at and what you want them to do. Are you simply drumming up business or getting customers to engage in your product recycling campaign?
Establishing these things early on provides essential focus. For example, it’s worth noting that most of this article looks at how interactive shoppable videos can engage consumers.
However, it’s perfectly possible to use them as part of B2B lead generation tactics too. Your video can offer condensed demonstrations of service functions, and include things like client testimonials from major businesses.
2. Develop a comprehensive video content plan and format
You won’t get far by filming things at random. To provide a consistent experience with interactive shoppable videos, every element needs to be planned:
- Product placement: What items or services are you promoting?
- Interactive elements map: How will you organize your overlay and present additional information?
- Ad format: Is it a condensed feature demonstration? How about customer testimonials or a comedic dramatization?
3. Create a detailed script and storyboard
As with any video project, scripting and storyboarding are essential. It’s easy for something to look good in your mind’s eye but quite another to get it down on paper (or screen).
Interactive shoppable videos, in particular, help finalize additional elements, such as the best placement for clickable hotspots, pop-up locations, etc.
4. Produce high-quality visuals with clear audio
Don’t be so preoccupied with interactivity that you forget basic filming quality. Not only will there be a huge quality disparity between footage and interactive overlays, bad video quality offers a poor depiction of your products and brand. Bad audio, meanwhile, makes your ad hard to understand, meaning it may need repeat viewings.
5. Design and integrate interactive features
Interactive shoppable videos give you plenty of opportunities to flex your creativity beyond basic CTAs and product descriptions. For example, the clickable hotspots for each product in the video could show the latest customer reviews in real time. Not to mention polls, games, educational trivia, or any other interactive feature you can think of.
6. Optimize the video for different devices
Between phones, computers, games consoles, and other devices, there are countless hardware and software configurations for people viewing your interactive shoppable videos. That means the video has to run consistently across these setups without playback issues or displaced elements. Always test your videos on a wide range of devices before release.
Best practices for leveraging interactive shoppable videos
To finish up, let’s go over a few best practice tips to help you nail your interactive videos. These involve establishing the right interactive features, maintaining high standards of quality, and even marketing your interactive shoppable videos effectively.
1. Use clickable hotspots and quizzes to enhance viewer engagement
Including interactive elements stops your video ads from being entirely passive experiences. Clickable hotspots give viewers control over the parts of your presentation they want to engage with. There’s also the fact that a component of active participation minimizes the likelihood of distraction.
Quizzes tap into our love of games, making them effective engagement tools. They can also be used to educate consumers and collect their insights.
2. Embed purchase links and prompt viewers to act with clear CTAs
Purchase links are one of the biggest ways interactive shoppable videos contribute to lead conversion. Informative pop-ups are great, but don’t necessarily drive website traffic. For example, you might use in-video quiz options to generate bespoke deals, using a linked CTA like, “Collect your personalized discount at the end of the video.”
3. Optimize video and interactive elements for mobile
What we said before about optimizing for a wide range of devices is especially important for mobile users. Many people spend most of their online time browsing through a phone instead of an actual computer. You need to make sure all your interactive elements still fit and function on a much smaller screen.
4. Share videos on social media and in email campaigns
Once you’ve made interactive shoppable videos, you might wonder how to get them into the public eye. Obviously, social media is one of your best options. Share something in the right place, and it’ll take on a life of its own. Sites like TikTok and Instagram are known to have interactive video functionality.
You can also use interactive videos to spice up ecommerce email marketing. All you have to do is link to your website or social media post with an inviting in-email CTA.
5. Tailor high-quality content based on viewer preferences
Don’t let all that data you collect go to waste. Studying which products and video elements viewers most engage with helps you improve your next wave of ads. For example, a computer retailer might start focusing on gaming PCs over other areas to capitalize on the market. Some viewers might prefer gamified interactivity, while others prioritize informativeness.
Key takeaways
People often view traditional video ads reluctantly, waiting for the content they were watching to start or resume. Interactive shoppable videos offer a far more engaging alternative.
Clickable hotspots and prompts draw people in, giving people control over their viewing experience. You can even take things a step further and have people browse and make purchases entirely in the video’s interface. These interactive ads offer one of the most streamlined sales funnels you’ll ever see.
