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Video is changing how businesses grow. And that includes the impact video can have in creating successful email campaigns.
According to a study by Experian Marketing Services, simply including the word ‘video’ in your email’s subject line can increase click-through rates by between 7 and 13 percent. Emails with a video embedded had a 21 percent higher conversion rate than emails with an image. Plus, media measurement company ComScore found 64 percent of users after watching a video are more likely to buy a product online.
Here are a few more things to keep in mind to help you on your next email campaign.
1. Be Brief
For colder prospects especially, stay under roughly 90 seconds with your top of funnel video content and get straight to the hook. Keep in mind if sharing is one of your goals, videos fifteen seconds or fewer may be more likely to get shared; one study found a 37 percent higher probability. At the end of the day though, users are going to be more likely to share if they find the video valuable in some way whether it’s educational, entertaining or directs them to a solution they need.
2. Pose Questions
If you hear your emails are ending up in Promotions for your prospects using Gmail - or even worse the Spam folder - consider asking questions to re-engage your lists. With the responses to your question, Google can see they actually want to receive your emails and gives you a better opportunity at hitting their Primary folder for more overall opened emails.
3. Get Personal In Your Campaigns
Modern marketing is moving more and more towards personalization. Along with segmenting your list and providing video content based on their stage in your purchase journey, consider producing personalized videos in bulk for your sales efforts. These do not have to be a slick production; empower your sales team to produce the content. Let your prospects see who they would be working with to make a more personal connection.
You can even test out retargeting on social and Google ad networks with special offers and discounts based on previously personalized outreach. In one holiday campaign by Iberia Airlines, customers received emails asking if they could visit any destination where would it be and who would they travel with. Customers were redirected to a microsite to provide their answer and the email address of the person they wish to go on a vacation with.
If they didn’t book the flight, they were subsequently retargeted with ads containing their name and the destination.
Consider also delivering customer testimonials by segment, company size or business need that are highly specific to your prospect. The testimonial can not only cover use cases of your product but provides more information on what it's like actually working with your company.
4. Just Say No to Clickbait Thumbnails
Some of the tactics PewDiePie uses for his audience won’t necessarily work for older and more sophisticated demographics. In case you missed it, even YouTube is looking for solutions to reduce clickbait on their site including testing auto-generated only thumbnails. You may get the click through on the thumbnail but if your prospect bounces after a bait and switch, your goals go out the window.
When it comes to video thumbnails within emails, smiling faces are generally effective. You can also try out GIFs linking out to the video.
Along with including a play button on the thumbnail, you can also provide copy telling them to click below in case their email client doesn’t load the image.
5. Don’t Make Finding Your Video a Journey
If the link takes them to a landing page, they shouldn’t have to look for the video. Keep it above the fold and utilize subtitles as many people check out their emails on a mobile device and do not always have earbuds on hand.
6. Test Different Variables
In your emails, there are a ton of ways you can A/B test to make your content convert higher. Test and reiterate the subject lines, video length, CTA, thumbnail, and placement of video after clicking through.
