Optimizing marketing strategy: a video analysis approach

Purpose The current study analyzes product review videos of influencers to determine why they are popular among customers. The study on electrical and electronic appliances covered by YouTubers is an entirely new field of research. Knowing why customers watch their product review videos before purchasing would be interesting. Design/methodology/approach We analyzed 172 product review videos from influencers on YouTube. Subsequently, the study employed negative binomial regression (NB2) to predict the explanatory power of the independent variables over the dependent variables. Findings This paper recommends two different models for viewer engagement in online review videos. One can be used for high and the other for low viewer engagement. Comparatively, viewers put more effort into commenting on a video than liking it. Yet both have their importance as per the requirement. Research limitations/implications We only focused on video content in English and Hindi. The study data considered review videos from various electrical and electronic appliances. Future researchers may replicate this study on different product categories. Practical implications This study makes a remarkable contribution to how firms and their managers can optimize video content when designing marketing strategies, particularly for retailers and e-tailers. Originality/value The current paper takes the lead in contributing to the existing literature on marketing in two ways. First, focusing on product review videos from influencers and second, employing a video analysis approach. Furthermore, this study recommends two different viewer engagement models for marketing practices when employing quantitative and qualitative video content.