How To Enhance Your Email Marketing Campaign With Video
Email marketing is not a new tactic. Consumers and corporations alike have been sending information instantaneously over the Internet for over a decade; the only difference today is that the probability that your email will be opened before any other has significantly diminished. These days, everyone is hesitant to give out an email address because no one wants to be a victim of spam. Even the people you are lucky enough to grab an email address from often opt out of the campaign if there is nothing of value in the emails you send. One of the most captivating elements of an email is video. Just like with a website, a video will keep your email recipient engaged for a longer period of time – hopefully keeping your message out of the trash and at the forefront of your consumer’s mind.
Instant Connection
It’s no secret that videos are the strongest form of marketing media on the web. If you want to grab your customer’s attention quickly and effectively, you have to use video. Put your message in motion and give your audience something to see and hear – something to play. If you want to generate more leads from your email marketing campaign, you have to improve your chances for conversion right off the bat. Make your video the primary reason for contacting your target market. Put it front and center so it’s easy to see and entices the opener to click right away and absorb your message instead of flagging it as spam.
The Best Format for Sending a Video
The biggest issue with using video in email – and the primary reason why so many businesses are hesitant to fully incorporate web videos into their email marketing campaigns – is compatibility with email servers. Previously, email recipients were required to have Quicktime, Flash, or another media player installed in order to play a video properly. Nobody wants to take extra steps to see what you have to say about your business. Additionally, spam filters on Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, and other servers are designed to kick back anything that is too big or contains unusual files and attachments. Luckily, web geniuses have developed a format that is highly compatible on many servers, browsers, and devices: HTML5. This new standard is supported by most email clients and enables businesses to deliver a video to a consumer’s inbox without the need for a 3rd-party plugin. With a little bit of code, your video can be viewed by anyone on any device, with very little effort.
Video files too big?
If you have a video that’s too big to send in an email, you’re probably not doing it correctly. You should not be sending original video files as attachments – especially in email blasts. You’ll slow everyone down and probably be flagged as spam in the process. The solution is web-hosted videos that are progressively downloaded as they are played. This means the viewer doesn’t have to wait for the entire video to load in order to watch it. The video loads and buffers as it is playing from a 3rd-party host like YouTube, Vimeo, or Dailymotion. This helps enhance that ‘instant connectivity’ discussed previously. No one wants to wait for your video to load; it should play instantly, and smoothly. If your video files are too large, export them at a lower resolution and upload them to YouTube or another video hosting website before embedding them in your email. This will improve deliverability, engagement, and conversion in your email.
If you are wondering what the best type of video to send to your consumers might be, you should take a look at your entire marketing strategy and find what’s missing. Does your target audience need to be informed? Entertained? Inspired? As with most web videos, the one you send in your email should be brief – no longer than 90 seconds. Create value with a video message that your consumer needs to see and hear. For more information about video marketing and using video to enhance your business, contact the team at In Focus Studios.
