What a video cover is and how it works
A video cover is a fast-food format: it shows the product from different angles and states the key features. It has one job - grab the shopper's attention and pull them to the next stage of the funnel.
On Ozon the video cover plays before the main photo and lasts just 8 seconds. So even if your source video is 30 seconds long, Ozon shows the shopper only the first 8 seconds. One important caveat before you start: the video cover can only be enabled as part of paid promotions.
Why a video cover gets attention
Take a search for "sports sneakers". The first thing a shopper looks at is not the product name but how the product looks. Ask yourself logically: what catches your eye faster, a static photo or a moving image?
When a shopper opens Ozon and sees a moving image among static pictures, it grabs attention immediately. In my own work with students I see the same positive trend in click-through rate. I put it down mainly to the fact that a well-made video cover delivers far more information per unit of time.
That is the main advantage over a static photo. Higher click-through on the product card logically leads to higher sales. And if you compare all the video covers in a category, some get clicked more than others.
Secret 1: minimal text on frames
Secret one is to keep text on the cover frames to a minimum. For products such as headphones, smart speakers, smart watches or phone cases, storyboarded videos work well: each new frame carries one idea.
That means one key feature or one important use case. If you cram in five features at once, a person will not process them in a second and will remember none. So keep one iron rule of marketing: one frame equals one idea, two at most.
Do not put many ideas on a single frame. One frame, one idea. When choosing frames, also keep in mind that Ozon randomly picks still frames to show shoppers in search results.
Secret 2: quality frames and readable fonts
Make sure that in the first 8 seconds every frame is a keeper. This also applies to italics and any fancy fonts with flourishes. Instead of attracting the shopper, you will push them away.
That kind of creative is bad, nobody needs it, and it will not work. Moving on. Secret three follows the rule that the first frame must be the best frame.
Secret 3: the first frame must be the best
Remember that the video cover plays from the very first frame. So a black background as an intro is completely out of place. Your job from the first frame is not just to attract attention but to make the shopper watch to the end and take the target action, a purchase.
If the shopper goes to your product card after watching, congratulations, you have won. One important disclaimer: all these rules are pointless if your source frames are low quality, if they show the product clumsily and unattractively.
Frames may have odd shadows, a lot of noise or insufficient focus. All of that multiplies your efforts at a quality product card by zero. With that settled, let us look at a good and a bad video cover in practice.
Example of a bad video cover
For the example I searched Ozon for "kids educational building set for a budding engineer". Look at this cover. None of the first frames shows the product whole and close up.
The first two frames are visually overloaded with too many small pictures. The third frame carries an infographic: the italic line "12 models in one" is still readable, but everything below it is completely illegible and only irritates. The fourth frame repeats the idea of the third.
That is repetition for the sake of it, when you could simply show a child's emotions while playing with the set. The fifth frame is cropped at the sides, again with tiny infographics. I personally will not strain to work out what it says.
Neither will 99% of this product's potential buyers. On top of that, the frame flashes by so fast that nothing can be understood at all.
The second mistake is poorly readable fonts, in italics on top of that. The third is a font size that is too small. It cancels out the purpose of graphics, which is to deliver information to the shopper as fast and as clearly as possible.
The fourth is semantic repetition, which breaks the rule that one frame carries one idea. In short, do not do what you see here. Now let us look at a good video cover.
Example of a good video cover
For a keyword such as lavalier microphone there are plenty of examples; let us take this one. On the very first frame the product name - microphone - runs across the screen in simple, large type. Next the seller zooms in and shows that there is a Lightning system for iPhone.
Then that the microphone works with all types of Android. The video cover is very simple and essentially dynamic, but the main focus stays on the product.
Takeaway
There are many categories, and the recipe for an ideal cover differs by category, but the secrets are universal and apply to any product. Remember the simple rules and aim for high sales.
