As a business owner or entrepreneur, one of the things you’re passionate about is getting people to know about your product.
You know it’s a game-changer, but here’s the thing – how can it make waves if people haven’t heard of it?
Sure, you’re running ads and posting consistently on social media. But let’s face it, they don’t tell the product’s full story the way you’ve envisioned.
So, how do you switch things up and tell the story authentically?
Enter… product review videos!
Uncertain about how to produce one?
That’s what we talk about in this guide.
We’ll walk you through everything you need to get started and bring your product into the spotlight.
Ready to begin this journey?
Let’s jump right in!
What Is a Product Review Video?
A product review video is a type of video where creators or customers share their opinions about a specific product or service.
To help you understand it better, picture that one time you got a new smartphone.
Remember how super excited you were, ready to unbox your new toy, and play with it?
In your mind, you started reviewing the smartphone from the moment it was delivered. How was the packaging? Did it come with the right accessories and all that?
Well, a product review video is like that. Just that in this case, your review is being captured on video and you’re sharing your thought process.
Videos like this have a way of showing your product from a different perspective to your audience. They get to see what it’s really about in a way that you like
It’s engaging content that helps your audience better understand your product or service.
You’ll have probably seen one on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube.
A good example is this JBL Flip 6 review from The Product Lab’s YouTube channel.
The producer shared their honest review in this video, beginning with the question, “Is it really much better than the Flip 5?”
That tells viewers that this person is gonna give them honest feedback on whether this is a good product for them.
The result?
This video got over 100 comments and 180k views.
Additionally, research shows that 77% of shoppers say they’ve been motivated to buy a product after seeing a review video or testimonial.
So, it’s a great type of content.
But why should you invest in producing review videos when there’s a chance it can go either way?
Let’s find out why.
What Are The Benefits of Video Product Reviews?
Well, because they’re videos.
It’s the most popular content type when it comes to running ads.
According to research, about 95% of marketers say that videos have helped them increase brand awareness. Another 91% claimed it’s helped increase their traffic.
Videos are more engaging than other content types and easy to share too.
But aside from all that, review videos are authentic. They provide viewers with honest opinions about a product…just like this review from Gabrielle Ishell on Hollywood Hair Bar’s growth serum.
In this video, she used the product and took viewers on a journey to show whether or not the product was effective. It got her audience curious about the brand with many saying they were gonna look it up.
That’s what producing video reviews can do.
Here are other benefits of video product reviews:
- They provide customers with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions.
- They improve the brand’s credibility as it shows you’re not trying to force your product on them.
- They get people curious about your products.
- They help you develop a relationship with your customers as they’ll see you as a brand they can trust.
- They show customers what your product has to offer.
Now, how do you hop aboard this train?
Let’s walk you through how to begin.
How to Make a Product Review Video in 6 Steps
Here’s the juicy part you’ve been waiting for.
It’s quite simple, really.
Buuut only if you follow the steps outlined below. So, shall we?
Step #1: Plan your review
You’ve decided you wanna create review videos for your products, so where do you start?
To begin, create a plan detailing the strategy you’ll use.
That involves deciding:
- The product’s story you want to tell, aka the objective.
- What key features do you want people to know about?
- What existing users love about your product.
- The main message you wanna convey to the audience.
- What social media platforms you’ll share it on.
- Alternative options to promote the video.
- Whether you’ve got the talent needed to produce a video or will outsource it instead.
- How you want the video to look.
- The format the video will take, e.g, unboxing videos, tutorials)
…Stuff like that.
The point?
To ensure your video resonates well with your audience and doesn’t turn out to be an epic fail. You know, like the final season of Game of Thrones.
In a nutshell, don’t fail to plan, otherwise, you’re planning to fail.
With a proper plan in place, you can now proceed to create a script for the video.
Step #2: Write a script
Imagine you start recording the video and after shouting “action,” the actor keeps zoning out.
They go a couple of lines and start saying “Uhhhm.”
They’ve forgotten what to say.
This is your face after the 15th take:
To avoid that, you need to create a script they can follow. Now, it may or may not be the traditional script where every sentence is written.
The idea is to just have a guide or bullet points when recording the video.
But regardless of which kind of script you decide to write, here are some tips you wanna follow:
- Open with a bang. Your first line or pointer needs to capture your audience.
- Speak audience-ese 😉(i.e., your audience’s language). You wanna use a tone that resonates with them.
- Highlight the product features you outlined in your planning stage.
- Be brutally honest about what works and what doesn’t
- Finish off with a strong call to action (CTA).
Once your script is ready, it’s almost time to shoot. But you’re not there yet.
You need to ensure your space is prepped for shooting.
Step #3: Set up your recording space and prepare your equipment
Want your review videos to capture your audience’s attention?
Then you need to set up a proper recording space before shooting.
Of course, you can record anywhere, like Gabrielle in her review video. She recorded in what looked like her living room and somewhere else with a white backdrop.
But she set up her space so it looked attractive and gave viewers a warm, friendly vibe.
Now, here’s what you can do to set up your space:
- Pick a space with verrrrry minimal or no background noise.
- Ensure the area is tidied up.
- Add some artwork in the background if you’ve got any. Sometimes, a colorful backdrop might do.
- Ensure the space has natural lightning. But if it doesn’t, you might wanna get softbox lights or really bright lamps for consistent illumination.
- Face the light source so shadows don’t appear in the video.
- Getting a tripod is always a good idea whether you’re using a smartphone or a professional camera. It helps keep your shots steady.
- You might wanna throw in an external microphone. It’ll give you high-quality audio.
When you’re done setting up your space, test all your equipment before shooting. Like a rehearsal dinner so you’re certain everything works.
So …
Video script ✅
Recording space ✅
You know what’s next, right?
Step #4: Record the video
Andd action!!!
You’re all set to start recording the video and it’s the easy part, really.
To ensure you maintain that smooth ride, here are some pointers to follow:
- Look straight into the camera so you can engage with your audience.
- Speak clearly at a natural and moderate pace. You may want to practice this before shooting.
- Ensure the product remains the focus at all times.
- Take shots from different angles to find the most appealing one for your product.
See?
Pretty simple.
Again, just remember to make your product the focus. It should be the star of the show.
Step #5: Edit the video
After shooting, video editing is next.
If you’ve got an in-house video editor, this will be a cakewalk.
But if not, you’ll probably need to hire a freelance editor or leverage editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro, Magix Movie Studio, or CapCut.
The good thing about these software programs is that you can use them on smartphones like Android or iPhones.
Anyway, when editing the video, your focus should be aligning the clips to suit your storyline or script.
That means:
- Trimming unnecessary footage, aka fluff.
- Adding background music to some clips.
- Adjusting the video’s brightness, contrast, and sharpness so it aligns with your brand’s style.
- Adding graphics or text overlay.
- Ensuring the video has clean cuts and transitions.
Step #6: Upload the video and promote it
At long last, your product review video is ready. And it’s time to put it to work.
All you have to do is download the video from the editing tool (if you used one) and share it on your preferred social media platforms.
That’s all!
But to ensure your video is visible and has more reach, here are a few things to do when uploading the video:
- Optimize the video titles by using relevant keywords and language your audience understands.
- Add short descriptions to provide additional context that can motivate people to watch your video. And improve your chances of being seen in the SERPs.
- Add tags so your video is properly organized. If it’s a beauty review video, you don’t wanna tag it as ‘how to make money’ or ‘tech review.’
- Attach a thumbnail to the video when uploading it.
- Add hashtags and try a time stamp if it’s gonna be a YouTube video.
Now that’s how to create a product review video.
Easy, right?
Well, wait till you find out tips you can implement to make this process even easier.
Tips & Tricks for Creating Product Review Videos
With the steps above, you can produce clean, high-quality videos.
But if you want your video content to go from good to great, keep these additional tips in mind.
Tip #1: Short and clean is the way to go
You see, social media is like a marketplace for online videos. You’ve got brands and content creators all trying to get your audience’s attention.
One of the ways you can stand out is by keeping your content short and attractive. Let it be like dessert at a fancy restaurant. Short and sweet.
Tip #2: Outsource the creation process
Let’s say you don’t have all the equipment needed to produce a review video. Here’s what you can do: outsource the process.
You just have to find willing customers, content creators, or influencers, send them free products, and they get the job done for you.
It’s in situations like this that we believe *ahem* Insense shines.
On Insense, we’ve got features in place to help you find creators and influencers who can produce review videos for you.
You can use the Insense Marketplace to find influencers, using advanced filters, who align with your target audience.
Or just create a campaign brief, provide details of your campaign, what you’re looking for in an influencer, and we’ll curate our top picks for you.
At the end of the day, you’ll be getting full video rights and the opportunity to run creator-licensed ads with the content if you want.
Tip #3: Incorporate humor
You can spice up your review video by adding humor to the mix.
Perhaps start with an interesting story and then, bam, hit them with some lighthearted humor. Before slotting in the product features.
Just ensure that your humor or story is something the audience can relate to.
Okay. So you now have the keys to the review video kingdom.
But how do you know if all your hard work is worth it?
How to Measure the Impact and ROI of Product Review Videos
You’ve done the hard work. You produced a review video against all odds.
But is that all?
Do you just sit around, waiting for the sales to come in?
Well, nope!
You wanna look at some key performance indicators (KPIs) and measure how the video is performing.
For review videos, here are some KPIs to measure:
- Views. How many people have seen the video?
- Engagements. Are people commenting, sharing, and liking the video? If so, how many?
- Conversion rates. This KPI is many brands’ favorite. It lets people know if people are clicking their links/CTA or not.
- Watch time. How long viewers spend watching the video.
- Subscriber growth. How many people have joined your community via the video review channel?
Now depending on the platform you’re using for video marketing, most apps provide insights you can monitor.
But in general, you can use any of these tools:
- Google Analytics to track web conversions from views.
- YouTube analytics for monitoring views, engagement, and audience demographics for YouTube videos.
- Amazon or Shopify for tracking sales and conversions from your social media platforms.
***
And with that, it’s time to close the curtains of our ultimate guide to product review videos.
Need Help Promoting Your Products?
No problemo.
We’ve got just the right hack for you.
You could scale your promotion strategy with a good product review video today.
How?
Here’s what you need to begin:
Book a demo with Insense and let’s show you how to leverage professional video creators to take your campaign to the next level.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Still have questions about product videos? Here are answers to a couple of frequently asked questions.
Q1. How do you make a product review video without showing your face?
Here are a few options to consider:
- Use B-roll footage. Here, you record the product in action from different angles with only your hands showing.
- Record voice-overs. For this option, you shoot a normal video highlighting the product’s main features. And when you’re done, record a voice-over to provide commentary.
- Create animation videos. Another option is to do a 3D rendering of your product in use. More like a cartoon of your product.
Q2. What should I do if I don't know what to say in a product review?
You might wanna try these steps:
- Research what existing customers are saying about the product, for inspiration.
- Focus on how the product can help solve an existing problem.
- Answer frequently asked questions customers have.
- Create an outline or script.
