How to Make Effective Product Review Videos

Abstract

Extant research on online user-generated content, especially product reviews, has consistently examined the effects of textual reviews on consumers and has ignored an emerging and popular review format such as product review video (PRV) on YouTube. Specifically, no research exists that suggests how to develop an effective PRV. The present article addresses this gap by examining the effects of three important attributes of PRVs – review depth, review frame, and review disposition, on consumers' attitude toward the PRV and their propensity to share it. Technical quality of the video is included as a moderator. A between-subjects experiment was conducted with a sample of Internet users. The findings suggest that PRVs are most effective when the review depth is moderate, the review is comparative in nature, and it highlights product benefits instead of attributes. Technical quality positively moderates these afore-mentioned relationships.