How To Influence The Shopper Journey With Video | #133 Ajay Bam

This episode features a conversation with Ajay Bam. We discuss why you need to harness the power of video for your marketing.

On the Show Today You’ll Learn:

- How to influence the shopper journey with video
- The power of video for personalized marketing
- How to use UCG content for your marketing
- Why video SEO is important
- And more

Ajay is currently the co-founder and CEO of AI innovator Vyrill.com, a U.C. Berkeley Skydeck-founded startup. Ajay pioneered the adoption of mobile devices for personalized loyalty, rewards, offers, and payment management. He is a recipient of many issued patents in the mobile commerce space. Ajay is an alum of the University of Mumbai, East Tennessee State University, and Babson College with degrees in Computer Science and an MBA.

Links & Resources

Website: https://www.vyrill.com/
Shopify App Store: https://apps.shopify.com/vyrill
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vyrill/
Instagram: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vyrill/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajaybam/

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Transcript

Claus Lauter: Hello and welcome to another episode of the E-Commerce Coffee Break. A picture says more than a thousand words. So what does a video do? A video obviously does much more nowadays. Video is one of the preferred forms of communication when it comes to the inter webs and everyone uses them. constantly, knowingly or not knowingly, and specifically when we're talking about eCommerce, video becomes more and more, important for users.

And you might find yourself, you're looking at a product and the first thing you go is you go and look [00:01:00] for reviews. You go to YouTube and see if people have posted about that. So you can already see that the shopper journey is very much influenced by videos. So how can you facilitate this for your own store?

How can you make the most out of it? Wanna talk about this topic, and I have as a guest today with me Ajay Bam. Ajay is currently the co-founder and CEO of ai innovator vyrill.com, a U.C.Berkeley Skydeck-founded startup. AJ is an accomplished serial entrepreneur, educator, and innovator with 15. Plus years of experience building starts up with successful exits.

AJ Pioneer adoption of mobile devices for personalized loyalty, rewards, offers, and payment management. He is a re of many issued patterns in the mobile e-commerce space, and AJ's also an element of the University of Mumbai. AJ has , a fast background there, and I wanna welcome you to the show. Hi aj.

How are you?

Ajay Bam: Good. Thanks Klaus, for having me. I'm looking forward to our conversation.

Claus Lauter: Aj, let's talk about video. What do you think is the position of video when it comes to [00:02:00] eCommerce in today's landscape?

Ajay Bam: When you start thinking of video, the growth of video has been massive. So today, 700 hours of, , video is now uploaded every minute on YouTube. 5 billion videos are watched every day. , and this is happening on 35 platforms globally, , in 89 plus languages.

What's happening now is a lot of shoppers are watching videos, , before they purchase, product. So reviews and boxing videos, and they're making a lot of videos as well, , after they purchase as. Just to give you a sense, whether you're a small brand or a medium size or a large brand, there are literally millions of videos on YouTube.

A brand like Nike has over 29 million videos just on YouTube. L'Oreal has over 11 million videos. And even if you're a small brand now, if you go on Amazon, Amazon, we believe has more than 215 million video reviews now, , on their platform. So you're beginning to see even like big retailers leading their product pages, , with video content.

, and the reason video is very influential is that, when someone is watching a video, they can see the product, the person, and the [00:03:00] emotions inside the video. When you compare text reviews versus video reviews, right? Video always at every single time, , it does better. It performs better, builds more trust.

People who are watching videos, they're 20 x more likely to, trust the brand, , because they can see the product in.

Claus Lauter: Yeah, obviously reading much more work. Most people just scan a text and video is just so more, , on a personal level. Now with that, also there's a problem because as I said, there are so many videos out there about your products, your brand, it gets out of hand you do not really know as where is this user generated content?

That can be to my advantage or disadvantage. Where is it? How can you deal with that? 

Ajay Bam: The holy grail of video is really, as you nailed it, it's, uh, users generated video content. That's really the problem that we're working on and that we solve that at, , viral as well. So essentially, we're one of the few companies in the world. That can match millions of videos on YouTube, user generated content, branded videos and influencer videos to your entire product catalog by product category, brand, competitor, [00:04:00] keyword, and hashtag.

While has developed matching algorithms to go search and find and. From millions of videos on multiple platforms and after we match the video, so we are matching algorithms that will actually match the video to product catalog. And we look at all different kinds of videos. So we're looking at reviews and boxing videos, how to videos.

And this really varies by vertical. So for example, in the beauty space, reviews and boxing how to videos are some of the top category videos. , but you look into automotive category, It's usually dealership videos inside, outside, through of the cards , and car reviews, right?

So this will vary in fashion, it's try on videos, it's reviews and so on. We are able to search and find and match videos. And after we match the video, we actually analyze the audio texts and images to. , , brands and retailers rank and rate all their video content. The first step is finding the relevant content.

The second step is to understand how good or bad the content is. So at Viral we're analyzing the audio, the text and images, , in nine [00:05:00] plus dimensions. So we analyze the audio for sentiment analysis so we can actually tell you if the, , UDC video is positive or negative, , when it's referencing your product or your brand.

We look at demographic data, so age, ethnicity, and gender of all the people in the videos. Are the people in the videos, are they relevant or is it someone else that, you know, you are probably targeting 19 to 25 year olds, but you're seeing a lot of videos from 35 to 45 year olds. video can give you, a lot of signals as well.

You know, who's buying your product, is your marketing on target? Demographic data diversity, so race language and country scene analysis, indoor and outdoor scene. If you're selling a sunscreen product, you're looking for a review that's probably done outdoors, topic analysis. We have trained the machines to identify 600, or a hundred topics by vertical. , we look at brand safety. Is there nudity? are there minors in the video? , is there profanity, And so on. So essentially, we can also predict whether the creator of the u GC video, are they a fan or a celebrity or an expert.

We look at the last 30 videos, they posted. We're looking at their [00:06:00] engagement, we're looking at multiple dimensions of, , rating and ranking your content. we're able to then tell you, here's a good video and here's a bad video. And then from the platform, not only can you find it, but you can also run campaigns as well.

And you can also capture videos, reviews if you don't have it. And then you can license, , UDC content to the platform. So we also capture the email address, , of the creators as well. , and then from there you can then leverage that video. On your Shopify store. So we actually have built a Shopify app where you can then publish all your video content, whether it's branded videos or influencer or UDC video content to your product pages.

The key problem we have solved is in video search. Really the bottom line, That's really our, focus and we use Invidia search to help Brian marketers capture, rate and leverage video.

Claus Lauter: Well, there's a lot to unpack here. So I'm a big fan of ai, because it helps and it Democrats as the way that small and medium enterprises now can use tools in ways that in the past only were available for big cooperations.

Now I'm a small Shopify store owner to under a million whatever on [00:07:00] revenue and have a product with a huge fan base.

Now let's go through the thinking process of where viral.com can help you with to get all the ducks in place to get the most out of 

Ajay Bam: Let me just start with the problem that we have solved, and I'll tell you how the tool solves it. So one of the problems that, when a shopper arrives on your store, and there are 20 videos on the homepage. Or there are 20 videos on your pdp, on your product pages.

One of the challenges today, , before viral was let's say you're on a men shaving product brand, and you're looking for a shaving cream for dry hair, or dry skin. And I'm looking for essentially something that has all.

So today the 20 video is how do you know which video is talking about allo versus, what you're looking for? So essentially what Wal does is we make all your video content searchable and useful on your Shopify store. So you as a shopper can instantly type the word allo you can type dry skin.

So we will not only find the four videos featuring dry skin or aloe, but even better, we'll pull the clips. [00:08:00] We will make all that video content, , instantly so you can essentially improve the efficacy of making shopping decisions by helping shoppers instantly find the answers they're looking for, , with video.

let's now tell you how the tool does it and how we can help , the Shopify brand. So first of all, whether it's even as a small brand, as a Shopify brand, Many Shopify brands, they make their own videos. , so step one is you can start with your own video content. You can upload that video content to the viral dashboard.

it could be so we have integrated today with multiple platforms. We can capture your video directly that you produced. Perhaps you have a video sitting on your Google Drive or your Dropbox folder. We can capture that video. We can also, perhaps you already have a YouTube channel account, if you don't have one, I strongly recommend having a YouTube and a channel for your brand.

So you can add it to a YouTube URL or, you can add a video via. You can add if you already have videos on TikTok, we have also integrated with TikTok as well. So you can also add a a TikTok URL as well. So you upload your videos. VA will then essentially, , make all that video content searchable in those nine plus [00:09:00] dimensions that I mentioned before.

If you don't have video, Or if you think you have videos on YouTube and TikTok, we can also go find those videos for you. , what was step one is to add your product catalog and your videos, and we can go and search and find those videos for you. So if you already have UDC videos that your shoppers have made on YouTube or TikTok, We can find those videos for you.

, we can also find in many cases the email address of the creator as well from the platform. , if it's your branded video, you don't need licensing, , rights for. With a UTC video through the platform, you can acquire licensing rights for that video. So you can decide how much you want to pay the creators between, you can actually manage all that process through the platform.

, and then finally, we just launched a couple of, months ago. , we launched our Shopify app. So you can now add, download the Shopify app from the Shopify app store. , you can install it. It's a pretty quick, , install. And then you can publish your videos from the viral dashboard, , to your Shopify store.

You can moderate all the videos, , that you publish to your store. And what we have done is we actually, , help you [00:10:00] categorize your videos as either the branded videos or shopper videos. When you put yourself in the mindset of the shopper, 

first thing they wanna know is what are other customers? Seeing inside the video about this product and. And then they wanna know, what is brand saying? What's unique about your product as well. So from the viral dashboard, you can then publish videos to your Shopify store. And the moment you hit publish, , the video gets, on your, pdp.

And so essentially we're solving three problems, , for you , as a brand. First. On the page, we offer in video search. So we're the first company on, shop. To offer in video search and video reviews, , for your store and for your pdp. , we can also help you personalize the video content as well, if it's males who are visiting your site, you can launch videos that feature men versus, , female.

And then finally, SEO is. Challenge as well when it comes to videos. , so we're solving that problem as well. So along with the video, , essentially we add, , the transcript, we generate a transcript for that video, and we also [00:11:00] generate hundred tag. What's in the video as well. So for the first time, the Google search engine can actually read all your video content on your store.

So in short, we'd really help you increase the ROI on your video content, , by 10 x. So we're increasing page engagement, , to X five X. , we're increasing customer acquisi. Within video search, what we're finding is because there's search, your video completion rates go up by 90% because customers can now instantly find what they're looking for.

And then we increase conversion. And this really depends on the product, the videos on your page and the category. We can increase conversion anywhere from 5% to 38% depending on the, product category. And.

Claus Lauter: That sounds absolutely amazing. I think you solved a lot of problems along the way. Also, you already answered a lot of questions that I. So first of all, obviously you have your own content, then you have content that was created by influencers. Others, you can reach out. You get the address of these influencers So [00:12:00] all amazing tools, all amazing features that you have in there. Question that I have is now that you have grabbed all the information out there, bring it all together on the viral platform, where are these videos host?

Ajay Bam: If you look at the history of video content, right, it really started with. 15 years ago. Right? So today, most customers, when it comes to product reviews, , and boxing videos and how to videos, they generally, first thing they do is they go to YouTube.

So a lot of reviews by default are on YouTube. I would say about today, about 90% of reviews today sit on YouTube. So, because YouTube has traditionally been around for a long time, it's also a long format, , platform as well. Meaning, you know, you could post up to an hour long video, , on YouTube, when I look at video reviews, right? On average a review tends to be anywhere between, , eight to 12. Right long. So we are seeing a lot of videos and even customers go generally navigate towards, , YouTubers. When it comes [00:13:00] to TikTok. TikTok video generally tends to be because it's a short video platform, or it started traditionally as a short video platform.

, the videos tend to be more u gc but also more, uh, , entertaining and fun. The big difference between YouTube, TikTok is just the type of category of content is a bit different. , TikTok videos, because they're very short, sometimes they're 10 seconds long, 32nd longs, they could be just flybys off your brand, of your product, meaning somebody just simply just moving the camera, across the product.

Those fly-by videos are good just for very initial touchpoint. But honestly, it's the reviews on boxing and how to videos where someone's actually talking about your product and brand why it is good or bad, , and what it does for them and how it's benefiting them. , those videos are extremely useful.

Now, TikTok has increased, , the length of the video. You can actually post up to three minute videos on TikTok as well. So we're slowly starting to see, pick up on reviews, but I think it's going to be a little bit longer. On TikTok with video reviews, product reviews, unlike, YouTube. And then if you look at Instagram [00:14:00] and , other social media platforms like Instagram tends to be more photos and the videos are very short.

They're flybys, so people don't go on Instagram. They're going there for more product discovery with images, but they're not necessarily going to do in video. , on Insta, they usually are going to YouTube, for that. Those are some of the big platforms globally.

If you go to China and India, , there are some other platforms in those countries, but I would say generally, these three platforms , are huge. than that, there are a number of influencer platforms as well, where the number of companies helping capture influencer videos. Farra is a Shopify photo and video hosting an influencer marketing platform as well.

They have a lot of Shopify customers, and so now at Varo, you know, we'll also be able to pull videos that you're capturing from your influencers. We have Farra as well. We have today five platforms, so YouTube, TikTok, Dropbox, Shopify, and Farra. We continue to add more platforms, , to capture more video content, as the video continues to expand.

Claus Lauter: Couple of questions on my side. So obviously with your Shopify. [00:15:00] Seamlessly integrates into viral. What kind of homework does immersion need to do before they think starting with you guys?

Ajay Bam: Yeah, absolutely. So a couple of things. we always recommend, if you have at least two or three videos to get started so you can actually see an end to end journey of how you can add your video, and then, leverage that video on your Shopify page. Having at least a couple of videos, , whether they're sitting in your marketing folder.

Or whether it is sitting on YouTube or TikTok that you have produced, , it's always a good way to start, , with viral. And then from there essentially what you really need is, you need to add a couple of products, , and SKUs on the viral dashboard. So I'm assuming that you're going to already have that.

And generally we recommend, , Shopify 2.0, or, and Shopify Plus., where Shopify is headed is, , with all their apps is, they prefer that app support the 2.0 versions and above. So if you have a template, already have a product based template that supports, , the Shopify 2.0 platform, , that's highly recommended.

And that's actually coming from Shopify more than us. [00:16:00] So we strongly recommend that, , you have a PDP template that can accommodate videos, , that supports, 2.0. So honestly, that's all you need to get started and then from there we can help you, , build capture. And then, , you can run campaigns after that. Once you get started with a couple of videos, your videos, or you might even have influencer videos if you have influencers. You can also add those videos as well on the platform, , to get started. , and then from there, what happens is once you add a couple of videos, the system does everything for you.

The AI will analyze the video, then the only task that remains is for you to decide what videos you wanna publish. we'll actually tell you how good or bad the video is, and then you can publish those videos. Within 48 hours, , after you download the Shopify app,, you can get your videos up and running.

So you can essentially start driving your roi, , right within after 48 hours, , after you integrate and download.

Claus Lauter: what's the right size of a retailer? So basically your perfect customer. Is there a minimum or a maximum limit that you can work with?

Ajay Bam: We generally work with customers [00:17:00] that have at least, , a million in revenue. At least 20 SKUs. , and the reason we do that is because we found that, a customer with those skews and, they have some videos, , they've started producing those videos as well.

They have some u GC content as well already that their customers have creating as well. They have some marketing. So in. A marketing person or someone managing marketing as well, , because you do need to manage your video content , and all of that. And, one thing I wanna say is that, we have a try and by model.

So you can try out the viral, , app for 30 days for free. , and then from there you can then upgrade. And really our pricing, we made this very affordable. And easy we're, offering a big discount rate. Maybe normal pricing is about $199 a month. We're now starting that, we're giving a discount now for early customers we have a special promo right now we offer you for $79, , a month.

You can get started. And essentially what you're getting is a hundred videos I included in the plan for 70 $9 a month. So even as a small merchant, we strongly recommend even if you have few products, videos are [00:18:00] absolutely essential. In fact, they should be part of your, marketing goals that every products queue.

Just like you, you're building your text reviews. You absolutely need to start capturing and leveraging a video content as well. So you have to make that part of your game plan. trust me, , video's a game changer. It changes your, , conversion and your conversion rates.

Claus Lauter: Hundred percent. I agree. Final question before we come to end of our coffee break. , chat is who will be on the customer side or on the version side? Who will be your contact partner? Cause I'd see that the platform has marketing bits and pieces of it. It has se bits and pieces of it. So who would be , the right person to deal with this?

Ajay Bam: Whoever is managing content marketing. At the brand or the retailer or whoever is managing the Shopify store, the head of e-commerce, if you're interested in also doing a little bit of social listening as well, , I would say the second person on the team that is always interested in viral is, whoever is managing social media.

And so this could be you as a brand or it could be your agency as. So we can also give you agency access to the dashboard, , as well. those are the [00:19:00] roles, , that are generally leveraging and using our platform.

Claus Lauter: Excellent. Sounds great, aj. Where can people find out more about viral.com?

Ajay Bam: You can look us up at, , viral v by r i l.com. , you can email me a j a y viral.com. And of course, we're also on the, , Shopify app store. So if you'd search, , in video search. or Viral, , you'll also be able to download , the app from the Shopify store.

So many ways to find us. Thank you. And please follow us on LinkedIn, we share a lot of interesting articles and stuff about video and video commerce.

Claus Lauter: Excellent. I will put the links in the show notes. Then you just one click away. Hey, thanks so much. Give us an insight in what's happening in video. I think it's a very strong point to follow through for every merchant, and I'm sure that they will immediately see some positive impact on their business.

Thanks so.

Ajay Bam: Absolutely. Thank you so much. Thanks for the opportunity.