Since the dawn of the digital age, consumers have been weary of noise corrupting a message, too ready to cringe at not-so-subtle conversion tactics when showing bare minimum interest in a business.

Call it idyllic but the musings of Paul Graham or an Ansel Adams photograph feel like pure consumption on a subject, unfazed and protected from the ever-present barrage of attempts to capture attention. But even these entrepreneurs have to convert. It is simply a different model.

Anyone active in a competitive market understands that converting a visitor to a buyer is necessary for survival. This is the truth for a roofing company, SaaS platform, optometrist office, or producing a quarterly collection of poems. And no one knows this truism more than the hyper-competitive eCommerce industry.

By nature eCommerce companies must battle for new and returning shoppers at all times. Loyalty is shallow, long-term contracts do not exist, and there is always a cheaper option. Luckily technology has enabled a brand to move, create, and communicate with a consumer like never before. Gone are the days when the only option was staring at items in a physical store. Access to an idea or product now happens through a slew of channels, and a digital interaction is often the first.

Look, your visitors know they can’t touch. But they can absolutely feel. And video can make visitors feel. So let’s discuss video.

Website Motion

Some visitors, a diminishing number, are used to the eBay shopping experience. Search shoes. Be delivered a static image catalog. Click on the ones that match developed taste. Let’s say red low-tops. Anything else could detract from the ultimate goal of converting a check-out. May I reiterate that this type of buyer is heading towards extinction.

On the opposite end, and the direction consumers are heading, there are visitors that are looking to be sold, or at least engaged before being sold. A video of a relatable human galloping on a beach with red low-tops can draw out a whole new set of emotions that simply can’t be matched in static catalog format. Not to mention this will show the extra effort.

Even though the aesthetic judgement of your website will vary across the board based on a visitor’s prior shopping experiences and expectations. Site layout, color pallet, and digestion of important information will always need to add up for a purchase. Introducing video into this equation doesn’t make this easier.

Too boring? A glorified powerpoint? Onto the next store.A giant YouTube clip take-over? Head down the wrong rabbit hole.

Search for that happy medium. And here at Yaguara we believe savvy video can get you there.

Our team broke down five successful campaigns:

Wolf & Shepherd

Wolf & Shepherd runs a daring and brilliant campaign to introduce their new "Toro Collection". They make dress shoes meant to handle mobile workers. Cool concept, right? While we all don't have the marketing budgets or approval to tango with massive beasts in life-threatening situations, this is a great example of thinking outside the box.

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Urbanbelly

Many products would put spectators to sleep if you saw how they were assembled. Not the case for restaurants and culinary groups that have dumplings on the menu. Urbanbelly gives visitor a simmering site to see.

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Haacht Brewery

Now this might not be in English, but many like to speak beer. And Haacht Brewery knows the language. Taking center stage is a looping video introducing how its historic roots in Belgian brewing transcend into modern times and taste, which is fantastic for those not ready to read through the early 1900s transcripts.

Gezondheid!

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Tesla

Elon you shouldn’t have! Head to other automotive websites and you are met with copycat catalogs. Stumble upon Tesla and you are orbiting the Model X in action. The calendar seems to open up once you see the “Schedule a test drive” option.

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Hickies

But your strategy doesn’t have to be as complex as Tesla’s investor relations. Hickies proves that a simple slip of the heel can drive home a value proposition that should be simple: comfortable shoes are great.

Alright, what now?

The key to this strategy is knowing when to turn off the fireworks. Customers should not be watching product highlight reels for hours on end, and the same goes for your team. Once trust is developed conversion becomes of equal importance. So what do you do?

Measure.

Be able to measure interactions before, during, and after video engagements. Not only can your team learn from the current campaign but this becomes the crux of how your team edits future ones. Otherwise the video is just a video, and your team becomes another spectator.

But above all don’t do video because of this post, or because you have seen it elsewhere. Have purpose and have outcomes that will determine if the venture is a success.