Online Cooking Videos Gain Momentum – multi-media web sites drive extra traffic to retail stores
Featured in: www.Supermarketnews.com

Websites that intergrate cooking demonstrations as video footage are driving extra footfall into retail stores. ‘A retailers web site is no longer a glorified corporate brochure, it’s an experience!’ claims Rob Ward from On-ward. ‘We receive information in mainly one of three ways – visual (text), sound and shapes, most websites only cater for text orientated readers.’

One example of great video marketing on a web site is Wholefoods Market Inc. http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/

An increasing number of retailers are using online cooking videos to draw shoppers to their stores. Hy-Vee here has teamed with renowned chef Gary Puetz for online cooking advice and recipes. “Watch the instructional video, print the recipe and add the ingredients to your shopping list,” Hy-Vee says on its website. This week’s recipes include risotto Milanese and Thai chicken and shrimp stir-fry. Abingdon, Va.-based Food City has put recipes like spaghetti squash alfredo into videos on its website. All videos are from “Tasteful Creations,” a live cooking school held each Monday night at the retailer’s Food City Crown Point in Kingsport, Tenn. Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans Food Markets also has a full slate of summer videos posted on its website. Recent recipes include cedar-plank salmon with brown sugar and cracked pepper blend, and braised barbecue pork spareribs.

Not many people seem to know that you can embed a YouTube video into your website, this has the triple benefit of:
1. Out hosting memory hungry video’s off your website
2. Promotes your business into YouTube network
3. Has instant play-back

Happy food filming = more customers!

Comments or your experiences?