SKLZ Uses Online Video to Boost Site Traffic and Sales
Problem: SKLZ, a retailer and wholesaler of athletic training products, wanted to provide athletes with engaging online content to develop and perfect their skills, introduce them to the SKLZ brand and products, and support sales at retail stores.
Solution: Hired a content delivery network service provider to add sports training-related video content to its site.
Results: Within the first two months of launching online video, SKLZ saw an 8 percent increase in overall site traffic and 73,000 video views. Product introduction videos, which usually run one minute in length, are typically viewed for 50 seconds, while instructional videos are viewed for 45 seconds on average. These numbers indicate that viewers are thoroughly engaged with the video content and consequently the SKLZ brand.
SKLZ is a developer and marketer of athletic performance and skill development training products for serious athletes of all ages for a variety of sports, including baseball, fast-pitch softball, golf, football, basketball and soccer. By focusing on transforming innovative concepts into effective sports training tools, the company is helping serious athletes reach their full potential.
Searching for the Right Online Video Platform
The vision for the SKLZ website, which receives more than 100,000 visitors a month, is to inspire athletes to develop their skills. To meet that vision, the retailer made a commitment to add videos to its site and drastically expand its library of training-related video content. SKLZ believed that if athletes could watch instructional videos that incorporate its products, then they'd be more likely to see SKLZ as a legitimate source for training.
“We're different from many companies in that our products truly need to be dynamically used, and they need to be used properly,” said Scott Curry, director of marketing communications at SKLZ. “Many people see our products and immediately ask themselves, ‘How does this work and how do I use it?’ There's no better way to demonstrate the value of our products and how they complement athletic improvement than through video. This is crucial not only to helping athletes become better at their sports, but also to converting more shoppers on our website and later at retail stores.”
Realizing the strategic importance of online video, SKLZ decided to transform its site into an athletic training destination packed with instructional and product videos for athletes from every sport. To implement this extensive new project, the retailer needed a flexible video platform solution that would allow it to efficiently upload, manage, organize, analyze and deliver more than 360 videos. This solution wouldn't only ease navigation and maximize the end user experience on the site, but also enable SKLZ to build brand awareness.
SKLZ reviewed more than 100 websites that use video and spoke with several online video platform providers. After a thorough analysis, it concluded that Limelight Networks’ Video Platform was best able to meet its needs.
“After testing Limelight Video Platform, we immediately realized how easy the interface is to understand and work with,” noted Curry. “As we moved towards implementation, there were no questions on how the solution worked. Also, its customer and technical support teams were knowledgeable, open and eager to help us. With Limelight, we knew that the technology and support was there.”
Within the first two months of launching the video-centric site, SKLZ realized an 8 percent increase in overall site traffic and 73,000 video views. The product introduction videos, which usually run one minute in length, are typically viewed for 50 seconds, while the instructional videos are viewed for 45 seconds on average.
Furthermore, the addition of video content to SKLZ's website has been met with positive responses from retailers that noted consumers are more likely to purchase products if they’re aware of the product benefits and if it's supported by instructional videos. In fact, SKLZ has added Microsoft Tags to product packaging, which lead directly to product introduction URLs for on-the-spot product information. The packages also direct consumers to visit SKLZ.com for instructional videos, so in-store shoppers are immediately aware of the availability of the associated videos.
Video is Backbone of New Site
The success of SKLZ's website is due in large part to its ability to efficiently organize, filter and manage its content, which allows it to continue building a large library yet keep it easy for viewers to find the videos they want. The tagging capabilities within the Limelight Video Platform allow for this.
SKLZ created custom tags for each video which include information such as the general topic of the video, the sport and the product number. These tags allow viewers to quickly and easily browse and filter videos first by sport and then either by topic or product. Once a viewer selects a sport and then a topic or product, a list of relevant video series appear. When the viewer selects a particular video series, a playlist of three to six short instructional videos are presented. This content is delivered to the viewer using the information in the tags.
The tags also allow SKLZ to display aside the video that's playing the product featured in the video as well as additional relevant content. At the end of a video, the featured product is displayed within the player, making it easy for consumers to browse or purchase the product they just watched. Some of the tags are also viewer-facing. For example, when watching a video within a series on “how to expand your range,” viewers can click on the tags “defense,” “fielding” or “lateral movement.” By clicking on one of these tags, viewers are provided with a list of video series on that topic.
Custom tags enable SKLZ to organize its library so that it can continually feed viewers with relevant content while also making it simple for them to locate and buy the products featured in the videos.
Building Brand Awareness
To improve its ranking with search engines and direct more traffic back to its website, SKLZ created a specific URL for each of its videos. The retailer also created a viral element, enabling visitors to easily share and comment on the videos. SKLZ then altered the player interface to maintain a strong, unified brand presence with its site. Rather than employ an off-the-shelf solution, SKLZ branded the Limelight player by adding its own colors and tailoring the “play” button to their logo. As a result, it enhanced its brand not only on SKLZ.com, but also on sites where users share its videos.
Delivering Optimal Viewing Experiences
Maximizing the performance of the videos on its site was critical to building brand loyalty and establishing credibility with SKLZ's retail partners. SKLZ employs Limelight Networks’ content delivery network (CDN) infrastructure, which is tightly integrated with Limelight Video Platform. By leveraging these integrated services, SKLZ's videos are delivered with no buffer or delay to any viewer location — even during intense traffic spikes. It can also employ just one company to host, upload, manage, publish, deliver and analyze its videos.
The integrated video platform and CDN provides SKLZ with several benefits. To simplify workload and content management, the retailer can manage Limelight Video Platform and Limelight CDN services within the same interface. SKLZ can also more quickly transfer large volumes of videos by leveraging a dedicated line between its physical location and a Limelight point of presence on the edge of its network.
SKLZ can improve player responsiveness and viewer experience by caching the player, playlists and all metadata information at the edge of the network, close to each end user. What’s more, Limelight Internet Health Monitor provides real-time information to Limelight Video Platform, enabling SKLZ to maximize viewer experience in near real time as network conditions change.
Another key component of Limelight Video Platform is its ability to capture analytics, which allows SKLZ to track and analyze viewer engagement with each video. SKLZ is analyzing how many viewers are watching both the instructional and product introduction videos, giving it insight on what types of instructional content viewers are interested in and what products they want to learn more about. SKLZ is also tracking how long viewers are watching the videos to determine if they’re finding the content engaging and relevant. These analytics are essential to helping SKLZ determine what type of instructional videos it wants to publish in the future and which types of products are most appealing to athletes.
“Since adding videos to our site, sales and traffic have consistently increased month-over-month,” noted Curry. “We can confidently share our videos with consumers and retailers alike. We've received many compliments from consumers, retailers, distributors and especially our overseas partners about the simplicity of the design. Our innovative training and skill development tools coupled with the impressiveness of our videos establishes a high level of credibility in the marketplace. By simply sharing a video link, we can show retailer partners that we're sophisticated marketers and show consumers that we're committed to delivering products and accompanying video content that will improve their games.”
