The TradeCast platform includes several useful features to add interactivity to your video content. One of these is 'Overlays', a feature that allows you to place a number of interactive buttons on top of a video. Your viewers can use these interactive buttons to be redirected to web pages or to request additional information related to the video being watched. This article explains how to add and manage the 'Book/buy' video overlay.
The 'Book/buy' overlay is an ideal feature to redirect your viewers to a web page - inside or outside of your video platform. The icon of this overlay is a shopping cart, which suggests that the viewer is forwarded to a page where a purchase can take place. For example, you could use this overlay to encourage a viewer to buy products or tickets, redirecting a viewer directly from a particular point in the video.
Adding the 'Book/buy' overlay to a video
Adding the 'Book/buy' overlay to a video is done via the Media Overview. The Overview can be accessed by clicking the following buttons in the CMS of your online video platform:
- Media
- Overview
In the Media Overview, select the video you want to add the overlay to and click on the three-dot sign (...). In the selection menu that pops up, click on 'Overlays.
You'll now enter the Media page for the chosen video. Here, not only can you find the most important display and analytics information for this video, but you can also manage the overlays here. If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you will see a selection screen with the following Overlay option:
- Book/buy
- Link
- Map
- Info
- React
- Twitter feed/RSS feed
- Automated trading
The bars behind the different interactive overlay options visualize the duration of the chosen video. To activate an overlay, click on the bar behind the overlay you want to activate. The 'Add' screen pops up:
Here you can specify at which moment in the video you want to activate the overlay and until which moment you want the overlay to be visible. The default setting ensures that the selected overlay is visible throughout the entire video.
More options for 'Book/buy'
Further options in the 'Add' screen include 'Label' - which allows you to choose whether the button should show the word 'Book' or the word 'Buy' when a viewer moves their mouse or finger over the button - and 'URL', which allows you to determine which URL the button should direct to. This can be an external URL - e.g. to a ticket platform or webshop - but also an internal URL - e.g. to a video you offer for a fee or a content page on your own video platform.
If you're satisfied with the overlay's settings, you can save your edits by clicking on the 'Save' button in the lower right corner of the 'Add' screen. Your chosen overlay is now active and you can view the results of your settings directly in the video player at the top of the screen.