Integrating Video into Emails, Part 1

With 55 percent of people watching videos online every day and 78 percent every week, using video as part of your email marketing strategy is a great way to increase brand awareness, create lead generation, and get subscribers to engage.

However, before you start throwing videos in every email, Yesmail suggests first determining your end goal with your subscribers. What specifically are you hoping to accomplish?

There are factors to consider:

  • How will this video enhance the viewer experience? Based on what you know about your subscribers, is video something they want to see? Also, is video the best way to communicate this particular piece of information? If the answer to either question is, ‘No,’ then don’t use video in your email.
  • How much time do you need to communicate your message? Keep in mind that viewers have short attention spans, so the longer the video, the less likely it will be watched in its entirety. A report by Movable Ink showed that 40 percent of people spend 0-3 seconds reading email on a mobile device. Anything over 15 seconds and the percentage drops to 34. Make every second count.
  • How will you define success? Use metrics to measure if your email’s desired results were reached. Three to pay attention to are:
  1. Click-through Rates: Including the word ‘video’ in your email subject line increases your click-throughs by 65 percent!
  2. Conversion: Look at how many conversions (i.e., an open, a click, or a purchase) your video email campaign generated compared to your average email.
  3. Call-to-action: See how many subscribers did what you asked them to do in your email’s main call-to-action button.

Remember, presentation is everything, so carefully consider where you position the video within the email and that it complements your content and call-to-actions. Check back next Tuesday, when we’ll discuss best practices for using video in emails. Tell us in the comments if you’ve had success with this concept.

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