Learn how APXautoparts.com became a top seller of shocks and struts online by shooting product installation videos for YouTube.

During my stint as Ecommerce Director for an online auto parts store I lobbied my executive team to invest in a YouTube video campaign. My concept was pretty simple: drive sales by shooting how-to / DIY / installation videos of our Sensen Shocks & Struts so that our customers can learn how to install the products themselves (or show them that it’s clearly beyond their mechanical ability!). We would include a promo code in the video and try to drive sales to our website www.apxautoparts.com. The team thought I was crazy but they were willing to make the $5,000 investment in equipment when I explained if we could sell just 3 sets of shocks and struts per month off of just one video, we could get a return on our equipment within 12 months. Curtis, Inspire co-founder and video production guru, gave us some recommendations on equipment to purchase and we were on our way.

I offered up my Volkswagen Jetta as the guinea pig for the first video shoot. One of our client’s put me in touch with a marketing-minded mechanic who was willing to perform the install to have his shop featured in the video. If you need your car repaired in Wilmington, NC, Mike Moore at Atlantic Car Care is THE BEST.

We launched the video in February 2012 and made sure that we sent it out to all of the Volkswagen Jetta forums out there. The results were INSPIRING:

• We sold out of our inventory of around 200 sets within 3 months.
• The Jetta set went from being our #26 selling set to our #1 selling set (better than the Camry!).
• Our annual sales on this set alone increased by over $50,000 (I think we got a return on our video equipment investment…what do you think?).
• We did drive sales to APXautoparts.com but it also increased our sales dramatically through our other channels like eBay.
• As of this post, the video has over 70,000 unique views.

When we sold out of the inventory on this set, lets just say that the Executive team became big believers and a decision to start pumping out videos was a no brainer. The results of the APXautoparts.com YouTube Campaign is not a unique phenomenon. There is a science behind its success.

Here are a few reasons why this campaign worked:

1. The information in the video provided users with information they needed. It is important that the video is useful and does not leave the user feeling “marketed to”.
2. Video results appear in about 70% of the top search engine results (YouTube video marketing IS search engine marketing!).
3. 52% of consumers say that product videos help them make purchase decisions.
4. Visitors who watch product videos are 85% more likely to buy than visitors who don’t.
5. 66% of visitors watch the same video two or more times.
6. Visitors are 144% more likely to purchase a product after seeing a video.
7. Web pages with an embedded video are 53% more likely to show on the first page of Google search results (again…YouTube is an essential component of any SEO campaign!)
8. Retail sites with videos increase conversions by 30%
9. By 2014 online videos are expected to account for 50% of website traffic and YouTube is already considered to be the second largest search engine!

We want to help your company succeed on YouTube and in search engine results. We use our in-house experience working in the North Carolina film industry to produce high-quality content and our online marketing experience to optimize your campaign’s ROI through search engines and social media. We offer everything from DIY packages where we advise you on the necessary equipment and train you on every step of the process through the completion of your first video to full-service monthly YouTube campaigns where we take care of all the work.

Contact Curtis Thieman or myself for a free consultation and we’ll help you develop the ideal YouTube campaign for your business.