How To Make The Best Out Of Video Email Marketing

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Video is one of the most effective and engaging brand promotion methods, and its importance as marketing content continues to grow.

One study shows that 83% of marketers believe that video content is growing more important as a component of their content strategy.

It is poised to dominate marketing in the near future as it is effective across different platforms.

Source: Campaign Monitor

Brands are already establishing a presence in video-sharing platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and they are also incorporating video into otherwise traditional channels such as email.

Your business needs to learn and master video email marketing to stay relevant in the future.

In fact, using video email marketing now will have an immediate impact on your campaigns’ effectiveness.

One study conducted by SuperOffice found that using the word “video” in email subject lines increased their email open rate by at least 6%.

Other companies have also tried this tactic with varying levels of success.

Read on to find out why and how you should make the most of video email marketing.

1. Why should you use video email marketing in your campaigns?

A video marketing email is more than just an email with a video slapped onto it.

A video appearing in your marketing emails can help introduce your subscribers to new products or services.

You can also use video to welcome new subscribers.

However, from a marketing point of view, the image below says a lot about the power of video email marketing to convince potential customers to make a purchase or perform your desired action:

Source: Adelie Studios

What makes video such an effective promotional medium, especially when you use them in email marketing?

It allows you to present complex subjects in a manner that’s easy to understand.

It’s also more shareable and leaves a lasting impression on viewers.

Finally, video is more appealing to viewers than either text or static images.

When you add videos to your email, your click-through rate could increase by up to 300%, and using the word “video” alone can increase your open rate by 19%.

A product video, for example, is likely to attract more views than a still image of the same product.

2. 6 steps to converting more with video email marketing

While video possesses traits that give it an edge over other media, you can’t just add a video to your emails and expect your revenue to rise dramatically.

As with other forms of marketing, you need to be strategic with how you use video marketing emails.

Here are some steps you can take to maximize your conversions through video email marketing:

2.1. Define your goals

The influential book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People gives us a simple yet critical piece of advice: “Begin with the end in mind”.

You don’t just set off on a journey without a clear destination.

Otherwise, you might end up getting lost.

In marketing, a definite set of goals will allow you to create video content that works for specific purposes in marketing.

For example, are you trying to launch a business, announce new products, increase brand awareness, or educate existing customers?

Each of these will require different kinds of video content.

A how-to video will be of little use if your recipients don’t know anything about your brand, just as an introductory video will just go to waste if the intended recipients have been your customers for a long time.

In contrast, sending a product announcement video to your existing customers will spark their interest, especially if the new product has new features that address common customer pain points.

Knowing what you want to accomplish will help you come up with appropriate content ideas.

Define your goals, and everything else will fall into place.

2.2. Promote your local events

Local event promotion via emails has grown popular as it increases open rates, CTRs, and conversion rates.

When you add a video to your invitation mail and emphasize that the event is going to take place in a venue that’s close to them, it impresses subscribers and intrigues them into registering for your event.

For instance, HubSpot wonderfully promotes ''Inbound'', their yearly sales and marketing conference organized in Boston, by adding videos to emails.

These videos include footage of previous conferences that give their subscribers a glimpse of what they can expect in upcoming events.

Source: HubSpot Blog

When you include gripping video content from your past events, it taps into your subscribers’ fear of missing out (FOMO).

This powerful emotion stems from the need to always be aware of what’s new and what the future holds for them.

Your subscribers don’t want to miss anything, especially if it’s going to take place in their area!

Using a drip-email campaign with snippets of past events and the sights and sounds of the event venue is a great way to build FOMO.

Ending your drip campaign with a teaser for the upcoming event will then give your subscribers the push they need to click on “Register Now”.

2.3. Send customer story videos to your leads

Many marketers talk a lot about their products and services.

However, customers don’t always see branded content as credible.

Instead, they prefer testimonials coming from end-users just like them in the email copy.

There is no better way to present a client testimonial than through a customer story video.

Source: Really Good Emails

Just like the example from Trunk Club above, your email can start with a short intro to your brand and services and why your subscribers should sign up, followed by an invitation to click on the video.

This results in more clicks and views, which can translate to more conversions.

2.4. Segment your customer base

While generating leads and building your email list is crucial to building your business, you also need to realize that not everyone is interested enough in your brand to actually make a purchase or subscription immediately.

This is where email segmentation, which is the process of dividing your email list with the end goal of sending targeted messages to specific segments, comes in.

Here are some email list segmentation methods you can use to boost your conversions:

Geography: Remember the example we cited earlier about an event in Boston? It will perform well among subscribers on the East Coast, but not those on the West Coast. Creating an email list segment according to user location will allow you to send different invites to people in different locations. In this case, you can invite West Coast subscribers to a parallel event in San Francisco instead
Cart abandonment: Many people don’t get to click on “Buy Now” for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with a dislike for your product. A cart abandonment email, featuring a testimonial video about your product, can help convince would-be customers to go back to their shopping cart and complete the transaction
Purchase history: Using your customers’ previous purchases, you can send product suggestions that they might find interesting. Adding videos to those product suggestions will increase your click-through rate

How effective is email segmentation in boosting conversions?

MailChimp reports a 90.79% increase in click-through rates compared to non-segmented lists.

When you combine the inherent appeal of video content and the precision of email segmentation, your email campaigns become even more successful.

2.5. Set up a video landing page with a strong CTA

Some marketers are hesitant about adding videos to their emails for two main reasons:

First, many email providers do not allow videos to be played on-screen
Second, they are worried about the size and quality of the video when it does get played. A video that takes over the whole screen will cover everything else, including links to your site

Both concerns are valid.

If you truly care about your reputation, it’s better not to add videos to your emails altogether than to add a low-quality video just for the sake of adding it.

However, you can work around it by adding a call-to-action (CTA) button that links to a video landing page.

Language learning app Rosetta Stone, for instance, understands that many people get discouraged from learning new languages because they feel it takes too much time and effort.

However, the video shows viewers just how easy it is to start acquiring a new language using the app’s natural approach to learning.

Once the viewer is done watching the video, they don’t sign up for a free demo.

Instead, Rosetta Stone invites them to “Select a Language”.

This CTA caption makes the user experience less of a software download or business transaction and more of a life-changing learning journey.

Regardless of where your customers are in the sales funnel, a video landing page can help you convince them to move on to the next step in the process.

Adding a strong CTA, like the one in the example above, will also add to your video ad’s effectiveness.

2.6. Embed GIFs in your email

People nowadays have shorter attention spans, and publishing long-form videos might work against you by making them the window before you get to your point.

Short-form videos, such as Instagram Stories, TikTok, and Snapchat are fast becoming more popular because it forces content creators to come up with condensed content or chop up longer videos into smaller, more manageable chunks.

In addition to being more engaging and comprehensible, shorter video content is better for email marketing because of message size restrictions.

Many email providers do not allow the delivery of emails larger than 5 MB.

This puts severe limits on the type of video content you can attach to your emails.

Instead of attaching full videos, why not try GIFs?

These catchy animated images can get your point across without the need for audio.

They are also a lot smaller than videos and allow you to present information more effectively than text.

For example, you can use GIFs to deliver micro-presentations or to show the benefits your customers can enjoy if they try your product.

Aside from letting you demonstrate your product, GIFs are useful for other marketing emails, such as birthday or holiday greetings.

You don’t have to be Monica Geller to appreciate a “Happy Birthday” email with a GIF from Friends like the one above.

Sending emails with GIFs will help you engage your customers and keep them loyal to your brand.

3. Conclusion

The competition for customers and subscribers has never been tighter, and while social media is fast gaining traction, email is still the top marketing channel for online businesses.

Adding video content to your email campaigns can help you boost customer engagement, conversions, and sales.

A successful video email marketing campaign is the result of a strategic process that includes defining your goals and segmenting your customer base for more accurate campaign targeting.

You can use different kinds of videos, including event recaps and teasers, customer testimonials, embedded GIFs, and video landing pages, to promote your brand.

When you plan your campaign thoroughly and constantly seek new boundaries to push, the potential is limitless for your brand.

Listening to your customers and knowing the type of video content they prefer will help you put together a strategy that results in higher click-throughs and conversions.