Video has the power to capture attention like few other email marketing tactics. In fact, more and more marketers say they are using or are planning to use video in their email initiatives. So what do they know that you don’t? Does video make sense for your email marketing campaigns?
Video Improves Email Metrics
According to a study by the Web Video Marketing Council, 88% of email marketers report a positive impact from incorporating video into their strategies. To quantify that further, an Experian study found that when marketers included the word “video” in an email subject line, open rates rose by 7%, conversion rates rose by 21% and average order value rose by 24%. Who wouldn’t want to see results like that?
Video Is Highly Deliverable
For years, video has had a bad rap for deliverability. Traditionally, many email service providers did not support video. To make matters worse, the huge file size of most videos caused excruciatingly slow load times.
However, with the advent of HTML5 and progressive playback, technology is no longer the problem. Lynn Baus at MarketingLand explains that HTML5 is supported by a very high number of email clients, allowing marketers to deliver video to most inboxes without the need for a third-party plug-in. HTML5 also allows the marketer to designate fallback media, such as an animated gif or static graphic, for the handful of email clients that don’t support video. And finally, thanks to the use of hosted, progressively downloadable video files, users can launch a video even while it’s buffering.
Video Adds a Human Touch
Rather than your email coming from a cold, impersonal email address, video adds a new layer of engagement that you simply can’t get from text alone. For example, you can bring new life to your products with video demonstrations, you can up-sell or cross-sell by highlighting features and benefits of related products, or you can use customer-generated videos to show how your products are making a difference in real-life settings.
Other types of video to consider include:
- Customer Testimonials: Ask your customers a question about your product or service and videotape their responses. If you ask the customer to repeat your question before answering it, you’ll have a terrific, unscripted testimonial that is perfectly suited for video.
- Location Walk-throughs: This can be highly effective for real estate professionals, but it’s also a great idea for manufacturers who want to show off their capabilities and give customers a behind-the-scenes look at operations.
- Training: Whether the training incorporates product how-to’s for customers or company procedures for employees, few platforms are as effective as video for training delivery
- Slideshows: If you need to combine video footage with elements such as graphic animation or text (like statistics or written statements), a slideshow can give you the best of both worlds.
- Thank you messages: What could be more personal than an email thanking a customer for a purchase? Use video to send thank you messages from the account manager, the product manufacturing team or even the company CEO that thanks the customer directly!
No matter how you choose to incorporate video into your email strategy, it’s clearly an important and effective tool. No more excuses: Now is the time to start learning how to leverage video for maximum advantage.
Looking for more ways to gain new advantages in your email campaigns? Download our eBook “Build, Clean, Personalize: The Recipe for Email Marketing Success”!
