YouTube’s taking the next steps in its gradual integration of eCommerce tools, via a new partnership with Shopify, which will enable Shopify merchants to feature their products across their YouTube channels and content to set up eCommerce Youtube Shopify Business.
OPENING: Youtube - Age of Video
We live in the Age of Video. Videos are consumers’ favorite type of content to see from brands on social media, with 73% of them claiming video has influenced their purchasing decisions. And Youtube obviously is the largest source of videos until now.
YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine next to Google. People upload more than 100 hours of video per minute to YouTube. It’s one of the best ways to communicate to a wide audience, whether you’re promoting your eCommerce campaign or providing information to target customers. Here are a few reasons why developing a YouTube channel is crucial to the growth of your eCommerce Youtube Shopify Business.
Improve your Search Engine Optimization
Video is one of the most popular content formats, and it’s regularly shared via social media. Google and other search engines tend to favor video, so sharing videos via YouTube with good titles, descriptions, and tags is a great way to improve your search engine ranking.
Powerful Branding
Video is a fast and effective way to convey your brand messages. People respond well to visual cues, and video is a perfect method for capturing the emotion and physical attributes of what you’re promoting.
Show, Don’t Tell
Video is a great way to demonstrate concepts that are not easily explained in text form. Show your students through screen capture videos, live demonstrations or even drawing on a whiteboard.
Get Your Message to a Wider Audience
Not only is YouTube the most popular video platform on the planet, but videos themselves are also highly shareable. Consider how often you see videos pop up in your Timeline on Facebook or in your Twitter feed. How often do people email you videos? Video can be spread far and wide very easily.
You Don’t Need a Huge Budget
While there is some merit in having certain types of videos produced by professionals, not every video needs a 6 figure budget. You can create effective videos of lecture demonstrations more quickly and easily with minimal video equipment.
Video is Mobile Friendly
With the booming of Millennials and Gen Z in the population, smartphones are the most accessible device compared to desktops, tablets, and other resources. Therefore, video is a great platform to reach them. YouTube is highly optimized for mobile devices, and the majority of target customers are using it day by day.
Youtube’s Shopify Integration Announcement
Needless to say more about Shopify, you, as a merchant who works tirelessly to harvest the advantage of the Shopify platform so your eCommerce Youtube Shopify Business can thrive in this industry. But what we want to emphasize in this article is the announcement about Youtube’s Shopify Integration.
It’s booming in the eCommerce industry when those two giants collaborate together. It can change totally the way online shoppers buy. And whoever can take advantage of these opportunities can be the pioneer to lead the whole market.
On July 2022, YouTube announced a new integration with Shopify. The shopping feature allows creators and businesses to share their products organically across their content and channels. The integration includes onsite checkout for creators in the US so viewers can make purchases without leaving YouTube.
YouTubers already trust the platform for product recommendations, tutorials, reviews, and unboxing videos. Now, YouTube’s Shopify integration will help viewers take the natural next step to purchase the product they’ve just viewed.
For creators and ecommerce business owners, the partnership unlocks new potential for growth.
Combining discoverability and conversion gives creators a shorter and more organic sales funnel. Instead of directing viewers to leave the platform, find their website, and make a purchase, creators can now display their products natively and benefit from real-time Shopify inventory updates.
According to YouTube, the explore tab will have shoppable content for viewers in the US, Brazil, and India. We can expect the feature to be available in more countries later this year.
Therefore, more than ever building a Youtube channel for your brand is the higest priority no matter what types of product you are selling.
PART I: Develop a YouTube channel for your eCommerce Shopify Brand
1.1. Set up a YouTube channel
Signing up for a business YouTube account
Most social media networks require you to set up an account before you can view content. That’s not the case with YouTube; you can view content without a YouTube account. However, an account is required for your company to upload videos and engage with other users. Membership is also required to view videos flagged as adult content.
Follow these steps to create your business YouTube account:
- Sign in to your company’s Google account. If you use Gmail for your business email, you’ll use the same username and password for your YouTube account that you use for Gmail. Alternatively, you can create a new Google account that you use solely for YouTube business purposes.
- Once signed in, visit YouTube’s homepage. Double-check that you’re signed in to the appropriate business account instead of your personal YouTube account.
- Click on your Google account’s avatar. You’ll find this in the top right corner. It’s a small circle containing your picture (or your company’s logo if you’ve set that as your email address’s picture).
- Click on “Your channel.” This option will appear in the dropdown menu that displays when you click your avatar. It’s the top option in the first batch of icons.
- Choose “use a business or other name.” You’ll need to select this option to get started with a business YouTube account. You can then enter your company’s name.
- Click “Create.” Then, voila! You have a business YouTube account.
Customizing your YouTube profile
Once you’ve signed up for YouTube, you’ll need to customize your profile with your business’s information. Every user is assigned a channel according to their username, and you’ll be given a specific URL so other people can find your channel through a direct link – but you’ll need to do more than the basics to stand out from the competition. Take these steps to customize your channel:
Step 1: Add channel art.
YouTube channel art is similar to a Facebook or Twitter banner. This header is a great place to add your business’s logo and tagline.
Your profile photo (also known as a channel icon) and channel art should represent your brand clearly through high-quality photos
These are the ideal dimensions for YouTube channel art files:
- Channel icon: 800 x 800 pixels (displays as 98 x 98)
- Channel banner: 2560 x 1440 pixels, though for mobile and web use, the “safe” dimensions are 1546 x 423 pixels.
Step 2: Fill in your business info.
It’s important to share information about your business, its services, products, and so on. You can do this in the “About” section of your YouTube account while adding your website as well as your company’s tagline. Some parts you need to update the brand information are the mission statement, call to action statement, links section: business website, Shopify store, social media pages, and other webpages to which you want to direct your viewers.
As you write the copy for your channel description and links, you should use keywords to increase your visibility in YouTube searches.
While optional, a channel trailer – a brief video that introduces viewers to the content they’ll find on your YouTube channel – is an excellent customization option to increase YouTube viewer engagement. Once you add this trailer, it will appear on your account’s homepage when viewers visit, helping to reel them in and acquaint them with your eCommerce Youtube Shopify Business.
A typical example of a channel trailer is the Intro Video from SoBooster Search and Filter. It’s a brief overview of the product's information, including brand name, functions, and benefits, with dynamic animation, concise description, and an easy-to-understand voice.
You can find videos about Sobooster Filter & Search on Sobooster Youtube Channel. A powerful Shopify Filter & Search empowers the product discovery of leading eCommerce Sites by leveraging advanced semantic search, natural language processing, and merchandising, ensuring shoppers quickly find what they are looking for on any device. Stores with Sobooster Filter & Search achieve better visitor engagement, higher conversion rates, and increased online revenue.
1.2. Create YouTube Content
So now that you’ve got your business set up with a channel on YouTube let’s look at some video types you can post to serve your audience and social media marketing objectives. Each video type is aligned with some certain angle of content. So, while looking at these categories, you may come up with many ideas for your eCommerce Youtube Shopify Business.
This section will give you an overview of the different types of videos best for Ecommerce Shopify businesses, with examples.
Customer testimonials
Starting with one of the best types of videos in your toolkit, customer testimonials are statements given by existing users of your product or service. Similar to why people read reviews, potential customers need assurance that someone has bought your product and is worth spending money on.
In fact, 79% of people have watched a video testimonial to find out more about a company, product, or service, and two out of three of them are more likely to make a purchase after watching one.
An example of a video testimonial on YouTube would be NikkieTutorials, with 13.9M subscribers. Nikkie is one of the most famous makeup artists on YouTube. She often uploads tons of videos about trying makeup products and reviewing them, which have received millions of views.
Authentic testimonials from real customers make the most impact, but you’ll also want to make sure they’re thorough. They should overcome objections, reinforce important product benefits, and tell a compelling story.
Product demos
Another useful type of video you can create is a product demonstration.This video type involves demonstrating a single product’s features and use cases. Product demos help people see themselves using the product and getting similar results.
According to research by Wyzowl, 69% of customers felt that product demos would best assist them in making a purchase decision. So what do product demonstrations look like?
An example of this type of video is the series “How to use…” from Chanel Beauty. Whenever they launched new product line Chanel Les Beiges Water Fresh Tint Makeup Foundation.
A good product demonstration should provide an overview of each of the product features and demonstrate how you can use the product in ways according to those features.
Explainers and tutorials
Next on the list are explainer or tutorial-type videos. Not to be confused with product demonstrations, these videos usually address specific questions or functions of your product rather than an overview.
Explainer videos are a great way to show off your product’s best features and how they can benefit viewers, while tutorials can help ensure both existing and potential customers use the product correctly for best results.
For an example of what a brand product tutorial video looks like, check out Gucci Beauty YouTube channel. Gucci Beauty published a series of mascara tutorials with different styles: Classic Look vs. Bold Look, along with launching the new product Gucci Mascara L’Obscur campaign.
The above example provides both elements of explainer and tutorial in one video, highlighting each of the grills’ best features before moving on to the tutorial section.
Reviews and case studies
Similar to testimonial videos are reviews and case studies. While testimonial videos usually only talk about a single product experience, reviews and case studies typically involve more than one product in a side-by-side fashion.
Many review or case study type videos will be in the form of showdowns like “X product” versus “X product,” or are included in a list such as “top X products for Y.” Videos like these provide a ton of value by boosting revenue per online visit by 62%.
You can find a great example of how this is done by looking at Kathleen Lights (4.15 million subscribers), who published her makeup products choice every month.
YouTube Live
Rather than just focusing on the content of the videos you create, you can also focus on the method of delivery. Going live on YouTube is a great way to grab immediate attention, thanks to push notifications as well as a dedicated Live tab on YouTube recommendations.
In fact, according to Google, some corporate livestreams have made it into the top 100 YouTube livestreams (ever). Going live on YouTube can include all different types of content, including live demos, behind-the-scenes footage, live Q&As, and more.
One brand that relies almost exclusively on going live on YouTube is Bésame Cosmetics, which posts live interviews and how-to videos:
The key to creating a smooth live video experience is planning ahead for both the content (and its timing) and thinking about any potential issues you might encounter.
Vlogs
Potentially the most well-known type of video on YouTube, the video blog (or vlog) lets your brand tell stories in a more relatable, authentic way.
In short, they are usually videos you post regularly that document events—either in a “day-in-the-life” style or specific events happening involving your brand. However, they can also be in the form of repurposed blog posts summarizing or highlighting main points as another way for your audience to take in content.
An example of this type of content is a video from Jeffreestar (15.9 million subscribers), where owner Jeffree Star Cosmetics. The luxury lifestyle and her charming talking style allured more than 27M views just to explore her Closet.
Educational
The last type of content on this list is by no means the least effective: the educational video. These types of videos help your audience become more knowledgeable about a given topic in your brand niche or help them to solve a problem they have.
Educational videos typically don’t involve pushing hard on sales, which helps a lot when people are twice as likely to share them with their friends than any other type of content. Giving value this way (without the obvious sales pitch) also helps to establish trust for your brand.
An example of what an educational video looks like (versus explainers or tutorials) comes from Christen Dominique (4.37M subscribers), which shows viewers how-to makeup with a myriad of styles from Westen to Eastern, using a lot of skincare and makeup products a wide range from drugstore to high-end brands. She’s the founder of Dominique Cosmetics, with lots of product lines. Christen Dominique’s also the brand ambassador of Youtube’s Shopify Integration Campaign. It’s worth looking at Christen Dominique's youtube empire to pop up some ideas for your own eCommerce Shopify business brand.
Part II. Utilizing eCommerce Youtube Shopify Business: A new way to sell
As shown in official announcement published on the Shopify News Platform, using the Google Channel app within your Shopify add-on tools, you’ll now be able to activate YouTube Shopping and connect your YouTube account to easily display products from your Shopify inventory.
Shopify merchants will be able to display their products on YouTube in three ways:
- Live streams - Merchants can tag and pin products at key points during a livestream, and picture-in-picture playback means consumers can watch while they check out
- Videos - Merchants can show a curated list of products in a product shelf below on-demand videos
- Store tab - A new tab will be added to a merchant’s YouTube channel, featuring their entire selection of products
Merchants will need at least 1,000 subscribers to qualify for these options, while there are also requirements around appropriate content and channel strikes. But if you meet the criteria, it could be a good way to maximize exposure for your product listings while also helping YouTube to expand its in-app shopping push.
Sales, Simplified
For Shopify store owners, selling on YouTube will be as easy as shopping on it. The new YouTube shopping feature promises an intuitive 4-step process for Shopify merchants ready to start eCommerce Youtube Shopify Business:
- Install the Google Channel in the Shopify app Store
- In the Youtube Shopping section of the Google channel, connect your Youtube account
- Choose which products to feature for Youtube Shopping
- Add products to your videos from Monetization > Shopping
Tips for eCommerce Youtube Shopify Business
Instantly sync products to YouTube
Ensure product names, images, pricing, and inventory details are always up-to-date with an automatic catalog sync from your Shopify store to YouTube.
Create live shopping experiences
Tag or pin products at key points in your live stream for an engaging, watch-to-shop experience. Audiences can check out while your video continues picture-in-picture.
Manage your sales in Shopify
One-stop tracking means you can sell on YouTube and manage sales and performance alongside everything else in your Shopify admin.
Integrating Shopify with YouTube is simple. Once you’ve installed the Google channel in Shopify and linked it to your YouTube account, you’ll be able to select and add your product catalog to your videos.
Shopify’s robust backend will make inventory management a breeze. Products will sync instantly with your videos, accurately reflecting changes in prices and names, while letting viewers know what’s in stock and what isn’t.
CLOSING: The First Mover Advantage
YouTube’s Shopify integration natively supports live content, presenting an incredible opportunity for early movers. Creators can actively create engaging shopping experiences in real-time, pinning products via the Live Control Room on YouTube.
Shopping on YouTube might be new, but merchants will still have access to Shopify’s impressive admin features—including support for Google Analytics. You can track your store’s performance with a range of useful metrics and finetune your strategy to dominate this new market.
With eCommerce Youtube Shopify Business, moving first is everything. Make the most of YouTube’s Shopify integration to give your customers a streamlined, engaging shopping experience, and see your audience grow as a result.
Read more: How U.S Ecommerce Market Evolving 2022: Statistics and Trends
