How Unboxing Videos Can Help You Sell More

Do you remember that anticipation and excitement you felt when receiving gifts as a child and how eager you were to tell your friends all about it? It’s a similar excitement that YouTubers tap into with their Unboxing videos.

The concept behind unboxing videos is pretty simple: people tape themselves opening boxes of toys, gadgets, beauty or fashion products, and reveal every step of the process. They show the condition of the package, describe all items that came with the purchased product, and explain in meticulous detail how the product works or doesn’t work.

If you are one of the few people who has never checked out an unboxing video, let this one be your first – it is well worth two minutes of your time …

On paper, these videos may sound less than exciting to watch and not necessarily like a million dollar idea, but Google begs to differ. Their research indicates that one fifth of consumers has watched an unboxing video on YouTube and that the unboxing genre is no longer a territory claimed only by so-called oddballs, nerds, and tech geeks.

ThinkWithGoogle revealed some amazing statistics:

• Unboxing uploads were up 50% in 2014
• Unboxing views increased by 57% last year
• 62% use unboxing videos to research a product
• 66% of beauty product purchases resulted from YouTube unboxing videos
• Unboxing views increase by 34% during the Christmas season
• Spring, Summer and Back to School are also times when unboxing views increase

Unboxing videos have been around since YouTube’s humble beginnings in 2005 and since then, this phenomenon has grown to generate over 20 million search results.

By analyzing these numbers, it’s clear that unboxing videos are something you shouldn’t ignore when trying to find ways to help shoppers decide. But before we look into how you can leverage Unboxing videos in your business context, let’s explore why they are so popular.

3 Reasons Why Unboxing Videos are Popular

• Mirroring Emotions – A good unboxing video triggers emotions. You can see the unboxer’s excitement over a product – they share emotions that are both genuine and contagious. People who watch these videos are very likely to mirror that emotion. It’s a psychological effect in which viewers sub consciously replicate the unboxer’s nonverbal signals and will experience a similar feeling of excitement, making them feel as if they owned and unwrapped the product themselves.

• Reassuring Decisions – As consumers are veering away from brick-and-mortar stores, unboxing videos replace in store demonstrations and help reassure consumers that they are making a good buying decision.62% of people who view unboxing videos do so when researching a particular product Click To Tweet

  These videos help consumers to visualize the product, see how it is being used and understand whether it will suit their needs.

• Trustworthy Sources – Unlike in-store demonstrations or anonymous reviews, unboxing videos are transparent, unfiltered and “in the moment”. Unboxing videos are generally regarded as honest, objective and unvarnished. They explain the product experience without using buzzwords or marketing lingo and share more information than can be found on any manufacturer’s website. If the product doesn’t work according to the specifications, or if the item takes hours to assemble, these issues will be revealed. This makes it more likely for consumers to trust the unboxer and his or her recommendations when seeking inspiration or advice.

So how can you make use of the unboxing video-experience (if you don’t want to sit down and record one yourself)?

Here are 5 Ways How Businesses Can Take Advantage of Unboxing Videos

1. Place an Ad Next to Unboxing Content

“Being present at the right time” is crucial for businesses who want to engage with consumers and create “moments”.

YouTube’s Awesome Stuff Week showcased how businesses can use “Shoppable Ads” that are integrated into a YouTube video pre-roll or how click-to-buy content could work on YouTube Unboxing videos.

The idea is that people who are already watching the video about a product are only a click away from making the next step to purchase the item.

YouTube creator, Jim Chapman, shares his take on H by Hudson boots.

2. Collaborate with YouTube Influencers

People who become famous for their YouTube videos succeed in an area businesses find difficult: the ability to create an authentic connection with consumers. This makes YouTubers powerful as influencers in their niche.

Here’s an article shares some tips to help you identify these influencers and approach them to endorse your product in an unboxing video:

How to Identify YouTube Influencers to endorse your brand

Some experts wonder if this approach taints the purity of unboxing videos since their appeal lies in their honesty and low budget production quality. However, most YouTubers are loyal to their fans and will still produce an honest review of the product.

3. Create Unboxing-worthy Packaging

Unboxing videos are a way to drive customer loyalty and referrals. To make customers want to go on camera as they unwrap your product and share the experience, you will have to create unboxing-worthy boxes. Packages with a little love inside, such as by creating a thoughtful branding or by including unexpected surprises, can become your way to retain customers and turn them into evangelists.

Dollar Shave Club is an online retailer that offers razors and shaving products for a monthly subscription.  Their marketing video went viral in 2012 and since then the company has been getting a lot of attention in the market as well as subscriptions. To increase loyalty, the company doesn’t save pennies on the packaging, but ships little boxes that deliver a satisfying brand experience for men. And they don’t hesitate to share this experience in countless unboxing videos on YouTube.

4. Encourage your Customers to Create Unboxing Videos

Another way companies can take advantage of unboxing videos is by building a connection with customers and encouraging them to create their own videos. Loot Crate has been able to build a thriving online community of customers who create videos where they open new shipments as soon as they arrive.

Loot Crate is an e-commerce subscription business. For a monthly fee, Loot Crate sends customers an assortment of geeky products. The customers don’t know what they’re getting until they open the box, which makes watching these unboxing videos so exciting.

Loot Crate also gives customers whose videos receive many views special coupon codes which they can place on their videos. These coupon codes increase followers for the customer and increase the number of new subscribers for Loot Crate.

5. Bonus: Create Your Own Videos

While consumers are not entirely trustful of a brand producing unboxing videos, they do consider well produced video content, such as demonstration videos and explainer videos, helpful during their purchase-decision journey. If you are thinking of creating video content that features your products make sure that they have to showcase the product benefits, provide advice, and show how the product works or should be used – and, they should be entertaining, timely and relevant to create the buzz you want.

Check out how Ikea promoted their new catalogue in a successful parody playing on unboxing videos and the launch a new iPhone product.

Just like interactive advisors make up for the missing expert advice and decision support in online stores, which is usually offered by knowledgeable sales assistants, unboxing videos are an excellent substitute for the tactile experience of buying a product in a brick-and-mortar store.

They provide the honest feedback that customers are looking for when researching products. Help them confirm that they’re making a good buying decision by including unboxing videos as a part of your Guided Selling efforts.

Happy to hear your thoughts. Sound off in the comments below.

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