5 Types of Social Media Videos Fit for Ecommerce in 2024

The way we communicate with each other is always changing, and the way that brands communicate with their customers is changing along with it. Therefore, it's important for eCommerce businesses to stay up to date on the latest trends in social media marketing—especially when it comes to video content.

Social media videos are a great way to market your eCommerce business, whether you’re just starting out or have been in business for several years. The only problem is that there are so many different types of social media videos. How do you know which ones to create?

In this guide, we take a close look at the five most effective types of videos you can use on social media as an eCommerce brand today.

Types of Social Media Videos for Marketing Your Ecommerce Business

There are five main types of videos for social media that are highly effective at promoting eCommerce.  We examine each of these in more detail below to reveal how you can use them to your own advantage.

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1. Brand Videos

Brand videos are about the company, not just the products. They’re a chance to tell your story and engage with your customers. Brand videos also give you an opportunity to show off your brand’s personality and values. If you have a strong and unique voice, this is a great place to let it shine.

It’s also a chance for you to tell the story of how your company came about, why it exists today, and what makes it unique:

• How did you come up with this idea? 

• Who uses your products, and why are they valuable to them? 

• What makes your products different from similar products out there? 

These are all questions that should be answered in any kind of marketing video, but they’re especially important when creating brand videos to market your eCommerce business on social media.

There are many different types of social media videos that allow eCommerce businesses to showcase their brand on a deeper level. These include:

About Us Videos

The goal of this video is to captivate your audience and give them a glimpse into who you are and what your business stands for. The best way to do this is by telling an engaging story that highlights the values, beliefs, and goals of your company. This can be done through interviews with employees or customers, or by showing footage from events or milestones in your company’s history.

Meet the Founder / Employee Videos

Meet the founder and meet the employee videos are a great way to introduce the key people behind your brand to potential customers.

When filming a brand video about your eCommerce store’s founder or employees, you can give your audience an insight into how and why the company started, as well as the founder’s original hopes and dreams in doing so. Additionally, you can have employees share what their role entails, when they got started, and what they love most about working for the brand.

Behind the Scenes Videos

Behind-the-scenes videos give an insight into the inner workings of an eCommerce business and can help set yourself apart from other brands by showcasing the personality and culture of your company.

You can create a video that shows how your products are made and how each individual piece comes together. You can also create a video showing what goes on during an average day at work, whether that's working with customers or managing inventory. This will help set you apart from competitors who don’t offer this insight into their business model. It also helps potential customers understand why they should choose your products over others on offer in the marketplace.

Check out Fiverr Anywhere Workers video, where we showcase some behind the scenes footage of what it means to be a Fiverr freelancer traveling around the world.

2. Product Feature Videos 

Product feature videos are great for showing off your products and explaining what makes them so special. They’re also a great way to demonstrate how your product can be used in different ways, especially if it’s customizable or has many different components. 

You may even want to consider making a few different versions of this type of video:

• A video demonstrating how the product works on its own

• A video that shows how someone could use it with other products from your brand

• A video that focuses on all of the little details that make it so special (like detailed close-ups).

Product feature videos are helpful because they showcase all of the unique features of a product. They allow a two-dimensional photo of a product to come to life, thus giving online shoppers even more confidence about their purchasing decision—especially since they can’t view, touch, or sample the product in person.

The most effective forms of product feature videos include:

Product Overview Videos 

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A product overview video concentrates on your product as a whole and looks at the bigger picture. Apart from showcasing its features, this type of video should also discuss the product’s purpose, the different options it’s available in, and provide insight into its pricing structure.

Product Close-Up Videos

Unlike a product overview video, a close-up video should allow the audience to get up close with the product, as though they were viewing it in real life. It will capture the item from every different angle while zooming in on notable features and providing an in-depth look at the product’s texture, size, or any other relevant elements.

360-Degree Videos

A 360-degree product video is similar in nature to a close-up video. However, rather than showcasing individual, zoomed-in scenes of a product, it gives your audience a recording of the product as it completes a full-circle rotation. This helps the audience view the product from every conceivable angle, offering the most complete insight into your online product.

3. Tutorial Videos

Tutorials can be helpful in any situation where you want to teach people how to use your product. This is because they walk people through specific processes. 

The exact content in these videos will vary greatly depending on what type of product you're selling and who your target audience is. If you're selling a software product, for example, you may want to include step-by-step instructions on how to install the latest update. 

If you're selling a physical product, such as makeup, then you can use tutorials to show people how to apply their products in different ways. These types of videos are great because they don't just show people how your product works—they also teach them how to use it properly.

This type of social media video combines educational content with product promotion to accomplish two objectives at once. A how-to video's main objective is to describe a certain method or technique, but what it also does is present a product or service as a solution, and that's what truly draws in audiences.

When creating a tutorial video for your eCommerce brand’s social media, there are two different avenues you can take:

Step-by-Step Process Videos

When audiences want to achieve a very specific set of actions, such as how to install a light globe or how to sew a button on their shorts, for example, they will often seek out a step-by-step video to show them how. When creating one of these videos for your social media, think about the eCommerce products you sell and the specific actions they can help audiences achieve.

The step-by-step video can even relate directly to the product itself. For example, you might film a video showing how to use the product or set it up.

How-To Videos

While how-to videos are similar to step-by-step videos, they generally focus less on carrying out a specific action, and more on achieving a larger goal. “How to eat healthier”, “how to stress less”, and “how to feel more confident with public speaking” are all great examples.

When creating one of these videos for your social media, think about the types of products you sell and how they can help your audience achieve a better life—no matter how broad. The idea is to address a common problem among your audience, then present your eCommerce product as the solution.

4. Live Videos

Live videos are more personal than other types of videos, as they allow you to interact with your viewers in real-time. They're also a great way to show off your product in more of an unfiltered and realistic way. For example, if you have an event coming up, then you can use live videos to promote it. 

You can also create a behind-the-scenes look at what happens before and during the event. If you sell products online, then you could create live videos where people can ask questions about your products. This helps build trust with customers because they know that they're getting an honest answer from someone who's familiar with their needs—not just some canned response from a marketing team.

Live videos are beneficial for impromptu interviews, providing tips and advice to your audience, and live streams let you show your audience what’s happening in real-time.

The best part of live videos is that they’re more engaging than pre-recorded ones. People will comment on your video, ask questions, and interact with each other while they watch. This can help you build relationships with your audience as well, as they’ll feel like they really know you because they see how you respond to questions or comments.

There are four different types of live videos you can create for your own brand:

Q&A Videos

Social media audiences love Q&As because they give them a chance to interact directly with a brand and learn about them on a deeper level. Followers also have a chance to ask their own questions and have them answered in real-time, which strengthens engagement, credibility, and trust.

Allow your audience to send you questions via social media in the lead-up to your live Q&A, or have them post their questions in the video’s comments section during your livestream.

Announcement Videos

It’s not uncommon for a brand to have an announcement to share with its audience. Rather than just issuing a lengthy text-based post or press release, however, you can build intrigue and excitement by making the announcement live on your social media.

Don’t forget to provide your followers with a teaser in the lead-up to ensure they tune in.

Appreciation Videos

As an eCommerce business, your customers are your heart and soul. What better way to show your appreciation for their loyalty than by expressing your gratitude via a live video on social media? This is the type of content users don’t often expect, yet which reinforces to them the human element of your business. It also makes them seen and heard, which is important in the world of online shopping, where face-to-face interaction is less common.

Live Webinar Videos

A webinar is a live online video conference, seminar, class, interview, presentation, or panel discussion. They're also similar in nature to live-action explainers. Webinars are usually interactive, with viewers learning, asking questions, and exploring a subject in real-time. They’re also very similar to a how-to video, yet provide a lengthier and more in-depth way to provide value to your social media audience. Similarly, they also aim to position your products as the ultimate solution to the topic being discussed.

5. User-Generated Videos

User-generated content is a great way to boost your eCommerce business's social media marketing efforts. It can help you display how your products are used, show people enjoying the experience of using them, as well as provide some insight into how people respond to them—which is invaluable information if you're trying to figure out what kinds of products should be offered.

User-generated videos also work well for brand promotion, since they allow for less formal content than professionally produced videos do. They're a great way to get people involved and interested in your products since they give them a chance to be creative with their own content. They’re also easy for you to share on your social media channels without being too “salesy”—which makes them an efficient tool for promoting your eCommerce business.

The best way to take advantage of user-generated videos is by creating a dedicated hashtag and asking your customers to use it when they post their own content on social media. You can also use this hashtag in your own posts to generate additional awareness and engagement.

Generally speaking, user-generated content will fall under these four popular categories:

Customer Testimonial Videos

Customer testimonials are important because they give you a chance to show prospective customers why they should trust you, and they can be used as a tool for conversion when people are considering buying from you. They use the concept of social proof, which is when people seek out confirmation that others have purchased and found value in a company's product or service.

Product Review Videos

Just like customer testimonial videos, product review videos help to convert prospects into paying customers by showing how other people have specifically benefited from your product. When customers see that others are delighted with what you offer, they will be more likely to purchase from you too.

Unlike a customer testimonial, which focuses more on the brand as a whole, a product review video discusses a particular product on offer.

Competition Submission Videos

An easy way to attract user-generated videos for your eCommerce brand is to run a competition where entrants must submit their responses in the form of a video. This could be a fun challenge related to your product, or even a video of customers showcasing their favorite purchase from your store. You will then award the most creative response with a prize or choose the winner at random.

Running a competition of this nature gives you a treasure trove of user-generated content (and therefore social proof) to share across your social media.

Trend Videos

Trend videos are extremely popular among social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, and can often generate thousands of views for associated brands. Most commonly, they’re things such as dance routines, transformations or glow-ups, or other physical challenges.

Think about how any of your eCommerce products could align with a trend, then encourage followers to take on the challenge. For example, if you sell makeup products, then you could ask customers to capture how they use your products for the ultimate transformation.

Tips for Successful Social Media Videos for Your Ecommerce Business

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Now that you know the five types of social media videos for marketing your eCommerce brand, as well as what each category involves, let’s look at the best practices you should follow to ensure ultimate success.

Keep Your Videos Short and Sweet

People usually access their social media while on the go, so the aim is to get your message across quickly and easily. Trend videos often tend to be short in nature, ranging from just a few seconds to half a minute, while live videos such as webinars should be capped at around one hour.

Be Authentic

You want your viewers to enjoy watching and engaging with content, but the key to achieving that result is being genuine. When you're authentic and honest, they'll be able to relate to you and trust your brand more.

Check Each Social Platform Recommendations

Before you upload your video, be sure to optimize it for the platform's specifications, as these can vary across social networks. This means using the correct dimensions, resolution, and file type for each platform.

Check Your Audio and Video Quality

To ensure the best possible quality when filming your own social media videos, use a tripod to keep your camera steady and check that any audio recording equipment is working properly before recording begins. Additionally, ensure that your lighting is neither too bright nor too dark. If you're not experienced in the realm of videography, you can also hire a freelance videographer or video editor to ensure your content is high quality. 

Use Subtitles or Voiceover to Clarify the Visuals

Using subtitles or voiceover is a great way to make your video clearer and more engaging. Text can be used to explain what is happening in the video, while voiceovers are also effective tools for providing additional information about products, without having to rely on someone speaking off-camera. 

Include a Call to Action at the End of Every Video

A call to action (CTA) is a message that encourages your audience to take some sort of action. It can be as simple as telling viewers they can find more information on your website, or it could be something more elaborate like a specific suggestion for what they should do next, such as checking out your products.

Harness the Power of Social Media Videos for Your Ecommerce Store

Social media is a powerful platform for marketing your eCommerce business. A well-produced video can drive sales, increase customer loyalty, and boost your brand awareness. The key is to know the type of video you need in order to effectively reach your audience where they are. With so many choices out there, it’s important not only to understand what each type of social media video does well, but also how it might fit into an overall marketing strategy for your brand.

Creating eCommerce product videos for your social media can be time-consuming, and often require more professional equipment than the average person has on hand. Thankfully, Fiverr is home to thousands of eCommerce product video experts who are ready to bring your visions to life—no matter your budget, timeline, or location.