In this day and age, email marketers have to work very hard to get their work noticed. According to recent studies, the average user receives more than a hundred emails per day in their inbox.
So, what can marketers do to make their emails stand out?
Great email marketers know that the answer to this question is to give the audience valuable content. If an email is just as plain and uninteresting as the next one, users will just skip them.
Let’s face it: people nowadays live hectic lives so why would anyone stop to read an email if it weren’t absolutely necessary?
As a rule of thumb, people ignore pure text and image-based emails unless it’s personal or work-related. So email marketers have to get creative to make content that their audiences find valuable and interesting. Content they feel compelling enough to click through.
One of the best ways to offer valuable and engaging content in your email campaigns is by including engaging content, like animate explainer videos, How-Tos, and Commercials!
Why Video?
Video content is one of the most preferred tools for many marketers today, not only in the context of email. As audiences get busier and more visual, all online platforms are drifting towards video content.
Just take a look at the rise of IGTV and the popularity of TikTok. Even YouTube is now the second largest search engine on the Internet! So, basically, if you’re not on board the video train, you’re missing out big time.
For email marketing, video works like magic and will help you boost your ROI (actually, it’s not magic, it’s just plain and simple facts — but they’re so impressive that they sometimes seem like it!).
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For example, did you know that video content in emails can increase the click-through rate up to 300%? Also, just including the word “video” in the email subject line can bump your campaign’s open rate by up to 13%.
I assure you there’s no magic involved. It’s just that audiences know what they want: they want an engaging and easy way to consume information, and they want it now.
No other type of content can communicate a message as quickly and effectively as video does.
But there is a good way of using video in email marketing… and a bad way.
You could just attach any type of video in your email body and hope for the best… But as you may tell, that’s probably not the smartest way to do it.
Let me give you some tips that will help you create an effective video email campaign.
● Short and sweet is the way to go
First, let’s talk about the rule of thumb of video making: your video should be short and powerful. As I mentioned before, people have very short attention spans nowadays, and are continually multitasking… You need them to receive your message effectively. Aim for shorter videos and make sure to make them interesting from the very start. Your videos can be authentic, real-life videos, video footage, product demos or you could also easily create animated explainer videos to boost your marketing campaigns.
Most people stop watching videos during the first 10 seconds if they’re not hooked from the very beginning! So start with an image or a phrase that speaks directly to them. To your audience, this will mean that you know what they’re interested in, and they’ll have more chances to stay — because you’ll be providing content with high-value.
However, even if you go through all that effort of creating a great start for your video, people won’t stay if it lasts 7-10 minutes or something like that!
Think about context: most people go through their emails while on their phones — maybe while they’re in transit, on the subway, while waiting for their morning coffee… In these contexts, are they going to watch a seven-minute video?
Probably not.
Your videos need to be intriguing and exciting from the get-go to retain your audience’s attention — you want them to hear what you have to say!
Keep your videos short: between one and two minutes is enough to communicate a powerful and compelling message.
● Make it obvious! Videos shouldn’t be kept hidden
Yes, video content will increase your campaign’s open rate, but you need to communicate it in advance for that to happen. It seems obvious, but it needs to be said! If you don’t tell your audience that you have a video for them, they won’t be interested enough to open your email.
Be sure to include “video” as a term in the subject of your email. Next, be sure to deliver on that promise! Including a video (or a link to a video) as part of the message.
Besides videos increasing open rates, researchers also found that they help reduce the percentage of people who unsubscribe. It’s evident that consumers like to receive video content, so give them a treat — and make sure that they know it!
● Add a CTA
A call to action is an essential part of every email marketing campaign. You want your viewers to take action (going to your website, buy a product, acquire a service, or even share your video content with their friends and peers). This is why you must include a CTA that’s clear, immediate and actionable.
Having video content in your campaign means you can double down by including your CTAs at the end of your video as well as in your email text.
● Identify the best way to include video in your email campaign
There are many ways in which you can add videos in your email campaigns. For some, embedding could be your first choice, but keep in mind that only two-thirds of email providers today can play embedded videos. For example, Gmail, which holds a 40% market share for webmail, isn’t one of them.
So, if you’re trying to reach a wide range of people, embedding your video directly in your email won’t be the best choice. Luckily, there are other ways to do it.
A link to YouTube, Vimeo, or your own website is probably the safest choice — it’s the one that will assure you that almost everyone will be able to watch your video. If you don’t want to lose the “wow” factor of video content, you can use GIF images (extracted from your video, as a preview) to suggest the presence of a video in the email campaign.
Including videos in your emails is one of those 15 bright ways to make your emails interactive and engaging and grab attention, so do not hesitate to use them.
There are many different types of videos. Can I just use any kind?
Testimonial videos, explainer videos, how-to videos, animation to increase your sales, animated in hand drawn style with folk music playing in the background…
There are many types of videos you can use, and, honestly, your imagination is the limit.
I recommend you follow these 8 steps to create a successful video marketing strategy for your business. That said, some marketing videos work better in email campaigns than others.
It will depend on your campaign goals: you could be looking to educate your audience, or maybe you want to increase your audience’s trust in your brand, or perhaps you’d like to share an update in your software or a new product in your store.
Let’s take a look at the type of videos that work the best!
● To educate your audience: How-To Videos and Explainer Videos
Video content has many uses, and one of the most powerful ones is as an educational tool. Just think about it — When people want to learn how to build something, how to solve a math problem or how to speak a new language, they usually search for their answers directly on YouTube.
And that’s not random! People understand new information better when they consume it through video, compared with just text or images.
So, if you need to educate your audience about a particular problem they’re having and how to solve it with your product, you can create an educational video.
You can also use an explainer video if what you need is to explain difficult concepts that are important for your audience to understand (like what your company does, and why it is the best in business), but in a short amount of time.
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● To increase brand trust: Product reviews and Testimonials
Customers trust other customers. They’ll listen and consider the opinions of their peers, and this is why it’s so important to get in control of this narrative early on.
Video testimonials and product reviews are the best way to convince your future customers that your product is the best, without actually saying it — if you mention it, it doesn’t mean anything, really. If actual customers say it… then it’s real. At least, for the average prospect it is!
Create video testimonials that are real, trustworthy and candid, and you’ll have a powerful tool that’ll make you convince your prospects to make the purchase.
So, long story short… Why make great email campaigns with video?
Video works wonders for email marketing campaigns, and this is no longer a secret to anyone.
It communicates messages directly and effectively, and it’s also an excellent tool for increasing customer trust. This is because, more than any other medium, video helps people empathize with what they see on-screen.
A high-quality video is a powerful tool to have in your toolbox of marketing assets because it is an emotional medium, perfect for connecting with potential customers and perfect to make your brand stand out in the crowd.
In this case, it’s perfect for making your email stand out from the inbox-ocean that your potential clients navigate through every day.
I recommend you add video marketing to your digital marketing strategy if you want to increase conversions.
If you want to get the best results, then you must see video content as an investment. It’s the kind of material with the highest ROI, so it’s going to be a positive investment! A high-quality video made by a qualified video production company equals professionalism and credibility.
So, my advice on how to improve your email marketing campaign? Use video content. Not because everyone’s doing it — but because it’s effective.
Growth Hackers is most likely one of the best video marketing agencies you will ever find. We help startups, marketers, entrepreneurs, founders, leaders, CEOs, business owners and brands from all around the world succeed through email marketing, video marketing, lead generation, conversion rate optimization and growth hacking.
2 Comments
Nice information, valuable and totally true. I recently added videos into my emails and the results have been astonishing.
Email marketing is such a good tool to promote your company and even more including video. I recently discovered Viewed, an app which allows to play your videos in your email marketing campaigns, highly recommended!