However you look at it, email marketing continues to be a powerful advertisement tool, even today. But it is also one that most businesses allow to go underused and is underestimated most of the time.
It doesn’t take a genius to look at the numbers and realize the potential value there, yet for every bit of potential, there are also big misconceptions on how to use it, as most email marketing strategies online today have become a bit outdated.
To tap successfully into the fantastic power of email marketing going in 2021, you just can’t leave out the cornerstone of most content strategies online: effective videos.
So, in this article, I want to run by you a few of the best ways to incorporate video content in your email marketing campaigns to generate the leads and conversions that a powerful email strategy can bring.
Let Email Open the Door and Video Deliver the Message:
Imagine I walked up to you right now and gave you a choice between watching a quick 2-min video on my phone on a topic or handing you a couple of pages on it for you to read, which option do you think you’d choose most of the time? Which would most people choose?
Email is one of the best channels of engagement with potential customers you can use, but once you have their attention, having video being the format of your message is the best way to ensure they actually received it.
Regardless of your topic, or the point you want to get across, there’s a video format that fits it perfectly. Maybe you are launching a campaign to promote your company’s new service, or you are using email to put your brand in front of new eyes and make an excellent first impression.
Most people will be more open to hearing about how your new service works through an animated video, and a lot more people will care about your company after watching a video talking about who you are, and what you stand for, rather than merely reading a text mission statement.
Once You Are Using Video, Don’t Hide It!
The second most common mistake I see when it comes to using video in email marketing, (the first one not being using it) is a failure to feature video prominently at the beginning of the email.
Once you select or create video content for your email, you need to make sure that people will be aware of it at a glance.
Otherwise, all your efforts go to waste as people assume it is just another standard text email. The likes of which they’ve grown used to deleting or marking as spam without a second thought.
You need to feature your video content prominently at the beginning of your emails (more on this in a bit.) Another important practice is to add the tag “Video:” in the subject line of your email, followed by a teaser or description of its content.
This way, not only are you letting your potential viewers know the email includes something they like, but you also get them in the right mindset for the message you are about to bring across.
Promoting the video content inside your emails in this manner will make them that much more irresistible, as shown by its effect in boosting click-through rates.
What’s The Best Way to Include Videos in Your Emails?
Now that you know professional video content can set your email campaign apart from the rest, and that you should use it front-and-center, let’s talk a bit about the how.
Even though your first thought might be to embed videos directly into your email, doing this isn’t practical. Embedding video in emails requires HTML5 compatibility, and sadly only about two-thirds of email clients support it.
Apple Mail is the only major email service who does, while Gmail, which holds around 26% of the market share, does not. Neither does Outlook (6%) nor Yahoo (2%)
So, to enhance the chances of your video being seen, we are going to avoid embedding them directly in the email and, instead, we are going to simulate said embedding while redirecting clicks to a landing page with your video.
First, create a landing page where your video will be displayed (ideally one with CTAs and lead capturing mechanism in place.) Then take a screenshot of your video, choose an enticing frame and make it so the play button is visible. Take that image and embed it to your email and make it so that clicking it will redirect to your video’s landing page. It’s that simple.
Tips to Improve Your Video Email’s Effectiveness
By now you have a solid sense of how effective the combination can be. That’s great! But before you go, we wanted to take the opportunity to share with you a few more tips to keep in mind as you develop a strategy that helps you convert using videos and email.
- Keep You Email Videos Short: while the same principle applies to most marketing videos out there, it’s particularly important in terms of video emails! Whether it’s a live-action piece of your company’s sharing a piece of news, or a new product video ad, you want to keep your video to two minutes or less.Most people have a limited amount of time to go through their emails every day. So, the quicker you are at getting your message across, the better chances you’ll have for recipients to engage with the whole piece!
- Add Personal Touches: everyone wants to feel acknowledged, and the people behind your email list are no different! You’d be surprised by how small details, like adding a subscriber name to the subject line of the mail, or conducting yourself in a more casual manner in the video can motivate people to follow through and reach out after engaging with your piece.
- Copy first, Video Later: as powerful as videos can be, emails have traditionally been a written medium, and that creates some expectations you shouldn’t just throw out the window! It’s often advisable to at least open up your email with a line or two of text; ideally, something that prompts people into clicking the play button.
That way, you can have your cake and eat it too! Delivering your core message via text in an enticing way, while expanding upon it memorably through your video. Just keep in mind to keep your text short, compelling, and to the point. - Capitalize on the clicks: Beyond CTAs, there are other ways to leverage your viewers’ attention. For example, if you are hosting your videos on YouTube, you can use their end card function to immediately suggest another relevant piece of your content, getting more for a single view. Which opens up a lot of possibilities for video-series powered sales funnels.
Wrapping Up
In a time where content oversaturation presents a real issue, anything you can use to help your campaigns to stand out is an asset you just can’t afford to ignore. Therefore, using video isn’t so much a smart alternative right now, as it is a reliable way to make sure your email marketing efforts remain fresh, relevant, and effective.
As you prepare to start renovating and improving struggling email strategies or plan to launch a new one, make sure you do so with the right foot and take advantage of the incredible power that only video can bring.
Do it right, and you won’t be disappointed with the results!
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