Email marketing is the most reliable channel of interaction between you and your customers – edging out even social media and SEO!
But truth be told – people nowadays are receiving a lot of emails than they used to, and they are growing more selective about the ones they choose to engage with. Meaning that however effective, email marketing is also becoming more challenging.
So, to get the results you are after, you need to start delivering creative pieces that excite your readers to open them – And there’s no better way to do this than with video!
Whether it’s to welcome new customers, introduce subscribers to your business, or try to generate some awareness and sales, well-crafted video pieces can give your emails the impact and value necessary to make them effective.
Today, we’ll take a page from some of the best video companies’ playbooks, and learn how to blend video content and email marketing into an irresistible recipe!
Benefits of Using Video in Email Campaigns
Customer Trust, Brand Identity & Email Video
#1 Use Video in the Subject Line
#4 Add the Video After the Copy
Benefits of Using Video in Your Email Campaigns
First of all, people prefer video to any other type of content. Did you know that 64% of consumers are more likely to buy a product online after watching a video about it?
Moreover, using video content in your emails can boost click-through rates by up to 300%, increase conversions, and reduce unsubscribe rates by 75%. Just including the word “video” in your email’s subject line can boost open rates by up to 19%.
Numbers aside, though, video is a very versatile and dynamic channel that helps brands connect with their audiences, foster brand permanence, and build consumer trust. Combined with good ol’ email, your campaigns can have a bigger, more lasting impact on your audience.
Customer Trust, Brand Identity and Email Video
Trust is one of the most important and valuable assets for doing business online. It’s what motivates users into actions like making a purchase or subscribing to your newsletter – In short, to get the most out of your campaigns, you need to foster brand identity and consumer trust.
Luckily, there are several types of videos that can help you do both.
There are certain types of videos that, when combined with a solid email marketing campaign, go a long way to show your customers you are reliable. That you know and care about their problems, and that you are committed to helping solve them.
Testimonial videos show clients singing praises about you and your company. As you can imagine, they tend to be way more effective than a self-promotion piece, and are a great addition to email campaigns targeting the final stage of the buyer’s journey.
For example, you can create an email campaign with a lovely testimonial in it, and send it to prospects that are on the cusp of closing the deal. By showing how other people benefited from your product or service, you’ll encourage them to take action.
When it comes to brand identity, though, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better alternative than explainer videos. These are short pieces, usually animated, that explain your product in an engaging, beautiful, and very simple way while using clever branding tactics that foster permanence in your customers' minds.
There are many different types of explainers that can fit in with your email campaigns, like motion graphics, live-action, and whiteboard animation. You send these through your email campaign aimed at prospects in the consideration stage, show them how you can make their lives easier and further them down your funnel in a single stroke!
Video Email Best Practices
Each of your email campaigns will be after its own goals. However, they all share something in common: you'll always want to improve click-through rates. After all, your emails are but a means to an end.
So, with that in mind, let’s go over a few useful do’s and don’ts that will benefit all of your email efforts!
#1 Use "Video" in the Subject Line
After you spend a lot of time and effort creating an awesome email campaign, the last thing you want is for it to go unopened – Which is precisely why you want to let your readers know there’s some cool content awaiting inside from the get-go!
There are many ways to do this, but a very clear and simple alternative is putting the word “video” in brackets at the end of a short subject line containing the topic. For example:
Learn Guard Retention Strategies in 5 Steps [Video]
3 Easy Ways to Build Physical Wellness [Video]
Why You Need to Start Practicing Yoga [Video]
#2 Turn Autoplay Off with Embedded Videos
When you use email and video together, you can make your readers interact with an embedded video in the email itself, or you can use a still photo and have them redirected to a website and watch it there.
If you choose to embed the video within the email, turn the autoplay option off. Let your subscribers decide when to watch it instead of forcing them to hear music or a sales pitch when they open the email.
However, if you want to send your audience to your website when they click the video thumbnail, you shouldn’t turn the autoplay option off. It’s better not to make them click again and play the video automatically.
#3 Customize the Thumbnail
First impressions matter, especially in email campaigns! “Thumbnails” are the presentation image of your video that users see, and encourages them to take action – That is, to hit the “play” button.
You need to catch your viewer’s attention and use an attractive thumbnail that also represents what the video is about. Develop a custom-made thumbnail using images from your video, instead of stock photos. And if you want it to look extra interesting and juicy, make sure to include some text.
Take the following email as an example. They used an enticing image that’s reinforced with a powerful and inviting text to give the viewer context and information that describes what the video’s about.
Pro Tip: You can also use an animated GIF or cinemagraphs as a thumbnail. They are fun, engaging, and can be easily added (and viewed) to all email providers.
#4 Add the Video After Your Copy
Make sure to always include a short but strong text preceding your email’s video, to give the reader some context about what they are going to watch, and a call to action you’d want to reinforce.
If the video doesn’t work or takes too long to load, at least your prospects will get the basics of your message and know what action you are encouraging them to take. That said, best not to include more than a single, clear CTA per email! The last thing you want is to pull your reader's attention in two different ways.
Wrapping Up
Email marketing is far from being the ancient history some mistakenly assume it might be, but you do need to keep up with the changes to help your email campaigns stay relevant!
By using video content in your marketing emails, not only will you be spicing them up and adding that useful “Wow” factor, but you’ll also improve its chances of accomplishing the goals you are after. All while fostering deeper, more loyal relationships with your customers.
Follow the tips we discussed here today, and we promise your next email marketing outing will have much more chances of succeeding than it would have otherwise!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Victor Blasco is an audiovisual designer, video marketing expert, and founder/CEO of the explainer video company Yum Yum Videos. Besides running the business, he’s a lifelong student of Chinese philosophy and a passionate geek for all things sci-fi.