YouTube as a sales tool

Date: June-2007

In the most recent version of Comersus we have included a new feature that is both very simple and powerful in terms of sales potential: the use of videos to describe products.

Why use videos? Sometimes photos are just not enough to describe a product. This is especially true of novelty products for which customers have little background information or lack references to categorize the new product.

Here are two examples where videos are especially useful:

1. Sony Mylo

Mylo is a personal communicator launched by Sony in November 06. I is not a phone, it is not a PDA, it is not a multimedia player. It is all that, in a way, so it is quite difficult to express. So much so, that Sony posted a video on their website to explain the product, its features and scope.

The sale of Mylo is closely related to success in explaining the product, and nothing better than a video to achieve it. It is just like having a friend with a Mylo explain step by step all he can do with it. It can be easily operated with thumbs and index fingers, it has a slide-out keyboard, you can talk by Skype as if it were a Wi-Fi phone, you can watch videos and communicate with Google Talk, etc. The features of this unit, so easy to grasp by means of a video, would be too complicated to get from a photo and a feature list.

2. Heelys

The same happened with this product some time ago. For those of you who don't know it: these are sneakers with wheels hidden behind the heel. An average customer will say: sneakers with wheels…yeah, so? In the Heelys website, a video clearly shows how expert skaters and regular users put these original sneakers to use.

Now back to Comersus, with the latest version you can include videos hosted on your YouTube account in product descriptions. The video is embedded on the product details screen and potential customers can purchase the product right there.

Why YouTube?

Comersus has decided to use the YouTube framework for several reasons. First, to avoid the use of a proprietary video streaming system or complex codecs. Another important reason was the popularity of YouTube among Internet users. By using YouTube we are creating a two-way channel: customers at your store who access YouTube, and YouTube users who access your products. In addition, Google is now displaying YouTube videos in regular search results.

YouTube videos in three simple steps

While big companies will likely hire specialists to film, edit and upload videos to YouTube, small companies can take advantage of simple tools with great results.

You will need:
1. A digital camcorder or photo camera with video.
2. A Firewire or USB cable, or other means of transferring the videos you have filmed to a computer.
3. A video editing application such as Windows Movie Maker.

Good videos require good lighting, preferably natural light or bulbs powerful enough to light the scene. Clear audio is also important. If you use a photo camera, you will have to add sound during editing. If you use a camcorder, you can connect an external microphone for better sound quality. After filming, you will have to transfer the files to a computer for editing. Editing is just as important as filming, if not more. The video should make an immediate impact, with background music, short sentences, close-ups, and straight facts. It will be useful to review promo videos and advertisements by other leading companies before producing your own material.

Once the video has been edited, you will need to export it to a suitable format for YouTube: 30 frames, 320x240, under 10 minutes, mp3 sound, size under 100mb, and any widely-used extension, such as .WMV, .AVI, .MOV and .MPG.

After the video has been uploaded to YouTube, the system will assign an ID, that you should enter in the YouTubeV field for each product.

If you are using an older version of Comersus, you will need to upgrade to 7.07 in order to use embedded videos. Contact us at www.comersus.com/contact.html for assistance with migrating.

Happy selling!

Related information:
1. Power Pack Premium details
2. You Tube Site