I came upon an interesting new service for Online sellers the other day and I wanted to share it with all our readers as an eCommerce Idea article. It’s really unique, useful and right in line with current eCommerce trends.

Before we get into the new service I wanted to briefly mention our last eCommerce Ideas article on Using Creative Linkbait and Engaging Customers At The Same Time. It featured another really creative eCommerce idea that at least one merchant is using. This idea article has the same concept, in that it’s a unique or creative idea that eCommerce merchants can use to improve or enhance their stores, however it’s not related to linkbait and customer features as much as it is related to eCommerce video content and store usability. Same concept, different topic basically.

Finally, on to the new service by interactive video design company FlipSeek, who has recently released a very unique application which allows eCommerce store shoppers to click on items displayed within video content or catalog demos as a way to make product purchases directly from the interactive video. The product is called Live Link Video, it allows merchants to develop and implement videos in which users can click on hyperlink ‘hot spots’ to either get product information or buy certain items highlighted within the video content (sort of similar to the transactional banners and shopping gadgets article we published).

Here’s what Adam Marino, Flipseek President, had to say about Live Link Video…

They send us the electronic video and we convert it by layering over the hyperlinks and adding the captions to it, and then saving it as a Flash file so it’s compatible for everybody on the web to see it.

Flipseek apparently released Live Link Video on January 2nd after about two months in beta. Their specialty is not creating the videos, or implementing them into a merchants site, it is more about converting a typical Web video into an interactive video capable of displaying the hyperlink hot spots (although they will work with merchants either using their own in-house video specialist or another third party ad agency). Once the merchant has submitted their video content to be converted, whether it be for a commercial, video tour, product demo or any other video presentation, the converted files are then returned in order to be implement into the site design and content. Currently, the following video formats can be converted into a Live Link Video; mpeg, mpg, flv, mov, avi, or wmv. The videos will then be converted to a standard Flash SWF file. Their standard delivery time to convert files is about 3-5 business days, however more complex projects can take longer. Contact a representative to see if your project fits within the standard time frame.

Here are some other video uses suggested by Live Link Video…

• TV Show Product Placement
• Online Store Tours
• Commercials
• Online Infomercials
• New Product Showcases
• Movie Trailers
• Fashion Shows
• Cooking Shows
• Training Videos
• How-To Demonstrations
• Business Proposals

Here are some Live Link Video Samples (click images to watch)…

(Click image to watch, video is not embedded so you will be taken to a different site)

(Click image to watch, video is not embedded so you will be taken to a different site)

(Click image to watch, video is not embedded so you will be taken to a different site)

I am really impressed with how this feature works and all the potential uses it has within the eCommerce space, especially if video marketing on the Web is already part of your strategy and you already have the content developed on your end. Video is already being implemented by several Hot 100 retailers and shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. Unique ideas such as interactive shopping links are setting new trends and are sure to become a standard in eCommerce before too long.

Take an interactive video for a spin on your site, see how it converts and determine if there’s potential for it for your products, brand or store. You never know what will work and what won’t unless you try it out, but please, be sure to have the necessary tools in place to track ROI. That’s one thing I think a feature like this is lacking, a great way to track which videos are being clicked and how many purchases are coming from those clicks. Something to think about maybe. Let me know if anyone here knows of a good way to track these things through the checkout process, I am not very familiar with multi media files and the potential uses for them.