Have you ever tried adding videos to your email? If you haven’t, judging by these stats maybe you should. Video-in-email marketing works! In fact, just having the word video in an emails subject line:
- increases its Open Rate by 19%
- increase click-through-rate by 65%
- while decreasing Unsubscribes by 26%
Those three stats alone justify incorporating video into your emails. However, to enjoy all the benefits video can offer, there are a few things to keep in mind before you get started. After all, good results only come with the successful implementations of a good strategy.
QUALITY IS KEY
Only share videos that provide viewers with quality content that tells them something useful or they’ll stop opening your emails, video or no video. This may sound obvious, but it’s crucial to the success of your efforts and needs to be a respected part of your process. Quality is not a subjective concept in this case, as it has everything to do with your ability to come up with content that provides real value to your audience.
The types of videos you include can vary greatly, depending on the purpose of the email. For example, if your goal is increase brand awareness or build your network, a thought leadership video that showcases your grasp of the viewers’ challenges with valuable tips, advice or insight might be the way to go.
Video-in-email marketing works because they can become whatever you need them to be. Because of that, an important part of your process involves deciding what type of videos to choose. Promotional videos that feature your products, corporate videos that tout your company’s credentials and stature in the market, product tutorials, insightful interviews with industry leaders… these are just some of the types of videos you should consider. It may seem like a daunting task, but incorporating variety will supercharge your email marketing strategy.
But quality doesn’t only refer to your videos’ content, it refers equally to the literal quality of your videos: the image resolution, lighting, editing and sound. Think of them as two sides of the same coin. The better the quality of both sides of that coin, the more engaging and effective your videos will be.
COME UP WITH EFFECTIVE SUBJECT LINES
The subject line is the first piece of your email marketing content your recipient sees, and it is crucial to determining [and improving] your open rates. As such, it needs to be compelling enough to convince your recipients that checking it out is in their best interests. As mentioned in the first paragraph of this blog post, a big part of the equation that makes a subject line compelling is the word “video”. The next part of the equation to motivate the recipient to action is clearly stating the value of the video’s subject matter and how it addresses a need.
It’s well known that the simpler you make anything, the better your results will be. The same goes for emails. So, it stands to reason that allowing the recipient to play a video right from the message, rather than having to click and go to your website or YouTube is a great way to increase your open rate. The good news is that with Outlook, Mac, and iOS Mail, it’s actually possible to embed videos directly in emails using HTML5.
A FEW BEST PRACTICES
No matter what kind of content you are creating for your email marketing campaign, it is imperative it addresses a need of your target audience. Knowing this will help you come up with effective client communication that generates the high conversion rate you’re looking for. This applies to both the written and video content you include in your emails. So, as you’re writing the scripts for your videos, ask yourself, “Does the information I’m sharing help my customer become more efficient, profitable or successful?” If not, find something else to share with them. The key is creating content that serves the interests of your audience first, and you second.
Also, make sure to use the right mental triggers to convince them to press play. Whenever you use video in email marketing, it must be part of a broader strategy to lead your potential customer somewhere. This is done with good CTAs that leverage the right phycological triggers that are direct, easy to notice, and speak in their language.
Make sure your videos themselves also have effective CTA s that lead the viewer – your potential customer – to the next stage of your relationship. Never create any piece of content that does not have a clear next step for the audience to follow.
KEEP YOUR VIDEOS SHORT
Video-in-email marketing works when you keep the videos short. An email is an expressway of communication. Most people read them in-between other tasks. Which is why it is important to keep your video short. People can justify spending a couple of minutes watching a video, but many will skip over a video that’s even 3-minutes long. They may make a mental note to go back to it when they have more time. But few will. Brevity is essential to increasing your engagement rate. So be careful not to ask for more of their attention that they are willing to give.
GENERATE ANTICIPATION FOR YOUR VIDEOS
You can increase interest in your emails with video by creating anticipation among your recipients. These expectations will ensure they’re watching for your next entry and may even look forward to it.
This can be accomplished in a few ways. One is to create a series. For example, a four-part series on a topic with each episode covering one aspect. Maybe part one lays out a challenge common to many of your customers. Parts two and three could be devoted to solutions, while part four covers the results people can expect to see if they follow your suggestions. Just make sure you make it obvious that this is the first of a 4-part series, then sit back and enjoy the results.
IN CONCLUSION
To reiterate, video-in-email marketing works. It’s an example of how the right content implemented in the right way WILL increase both exposure and engagements, and will have a positive influence on the success of your marketing efforts. So we invite you to give it a try… it just may help you reach your goals. And you just might have fun along the way.
If you’d like a professional team to handle your video content, don’t hesitate to contact us here or click here to book a free 30-min video consultation with one of our producers. The team at Arc and Crown Media would be more than happy to help.
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