Is video a part of your product content strategy?

You know video's important. And you know product content is important. So are you using the two together?

No? You're not alone. It's still pretty rare these days to find brands that are fully embracing video as part of their broader product strategies. But here's another, even better question: Why not?

The answer is...there is no good answer. Video can be an invaluable tool for just about any business's product content efforts - so long as it's utilized in an effective, strategic way. 

Not convinced? Here are some stats that may change your mind:

• Customers are between 64 and 85 percent more likely to make a purchase after watching a product video, according to KISSmetrics contributor Sherice Jacob.
• StacksandStacks.com found that customers were 144 percent more likely to add products to their carts when they watched product videos, Cathy McManus, marketing director for StacksandStacks.com, told Internet Retailer.
• Web pages containing video content are 50 percent more likely to appear on the first page of Google search results than purely textual content, according to Trakax contributor Colm Barry.

Those are some pretty compelling numbers, and it'd be a mistake to overlook them. The simple fact of the matter is that those companies that incorporate video into their product content strategies will have a serious advantage over those that don't. Here are three tips for making this strategy into a reality.

1. Bring your product to life
To gain and hold a consumer's attention, your product content needs to connect with your audience. They need to not only understand what the product is and does, but also envision what it'll be like to actually get their hands on the offering. Text descriptions can go a long way in this direction, and dynamic photos and other images can go even further, but neither can bring the product alive to the same extent that video can. Video offers more of a connection, and that makes consumers more likely to make a purchase, so feature videos that show your product in action.

2. Offer how-to guidance
One of the best ways to incorporate video is through the use of how-to content. Think With Google recently highlighted just a few examples of how effective this can be. Maybe the best example can be found at The Home Depot, which developed a collection of how-to videos demonstrating the use of their products around the house. The source pointed out that videos in this collection have been viewed more than 43 million times overall.

And as Kate Stanford, director of YouTube advertiser marketing, explained in a separate Think With Google post, how-to product videos are particularly popular with mothers. She pointed out that a survey found that 81 percent of moms who use YouTube watch how-to content and, even more importantly, 58 percent said they are likely to search for product videos before making a purchase. 

Moms love video, and moms are a major consumer demographic. What more is there to say? 

3. Feature user-generated content
Finally, brands can leverage video for user-generated content. By this point, everyone agrees that customer engagement is key for broader success. The only real question is how you can get your customers to interact with your brand and with each other.

Allowing customers to upload and share videos of themselves using your products, and actually making those videos part of your product content, is a powerful step in this direction. Other consumers will put a lot of stock in video product content produced by actual users, and it encourages brand loyalty and social sharing, as well.