Guest Articles

The Why, When, and How of Video Email Marketing

By Editorial Staff

An average person receives more than 121 emails every day. So, as an email marketer, it becomes important for you to make your email stand out amidst the other 120 emails lying in your subscriber’s inbox. This is where video email marketing can come in handy.

What is video email marketing?

Video email marketing is a robust strategy that makes use of embedded HTML5 videosⁿ. It works with a play button as a link to a video, thereby increasing the subscriber engagement.

Videos aren’t only engaging and entertaining but also give you a chance to communicate with your subscriber base effectively and instantly. In fact, including a video in your email can increase the open rate by 6%. That’s the reason 92% of marketers consider videos as an important part of their marketing strategy.

Video email marketing statistics graph

Why use video email marketing?

Are you still wondering if you should incorporate videos in your email marketing campaign? Take a look at the various benefits of video email marketing that can make your business top-notch.

1. Accelerates click-through and open rates

The word “video” in a subject line has the ability to enhance open rates by 19% and click-through rates by 65%. In short, it makes people more curious to know what’s inside and consider the information displayed in the video important. Also, if you include a video in your email, you can decrease your unsubscribe rate by 75%.  And if that’s not enough, an email with a video has 96% higher click-through rate than those without videos.

2. Garners a lot of attention

Customers pay more attention to moving pictures than static images. So, when you include a video in your email, it increases the reading time of the subscribers. As a result, customers tend to analyze such emails precisely and accurately.

3. Facilitates better understanding of information

Our brain is wired in a way that it processes visual information instantly. This, in turn, can help a customer absorb all the information you want to convey when you include a video in your email. That’s the reason 54% of consumers look forward to more video content from a brand or business they like. Moreover, with 80% of people remembering what they see as compared to 10% of what they hear, it becomes all the more imperative to work towards including video in email.

4. Works towards trust-building

Video email marketing works wonders in building trust while establishing a connection with your subscribers. Simply put, a video gives your brand a personality. As a result, your customer base gets a feeling of a person or the team it is dealing with.

You can build trust by creating free and useful video content for your target audience. You can even go a step ahead and share your personal stories or give a sneak peek of your office. Your genuine approach will help you earn people’s trust easily.

5.   Boosts SEO and social media shares

Do you know videos have the ability to generate 12 times higher social shares when compared to both texts and images? Hence, it becomes clear that video email marketing works effectively in improving your search engine rankings. So, if your videos are engaging, it will get shared across all the social media channels, thereby increasing your visibility and credibility.

6.   Video has the ability to go viral

If your video is relevant and has the ability to resonate with your subscriber base, it can start trending in no time. Once it gets viral, the sky will be the limit for your brand.

How to include video into your email campaign?

Now, since you know how video email marketing can benefit your business, the next step is to know how to add videos in your email marketing campaign.

1. Start by embedding videos in email

Videos can be embedded directly into the emails through HTML5. Embedding a video means that your subscribers should be able to play the video within the email itself, without having to leave their inbox. Though it ensures a greater user experience, not all email clients support embedded videos. According to Email on Acid, clients that support embedded videos make only 62% of the total market share. Here’s a list of the email client that support embedded videos in the inbox:

  • Apple Mail
  • Outlook on Mac
  • iOS Mail
  • Samsung Mail

Opt for embedded videos only if you have a large number of subscribers who use the above-mentioned clients. See how Lego has made use of embedded video promoting Volkswagen Beetle.

Lego successfully embedded video into their email marketing campaigns

View the live email HERE.

2. Incorporate a static image with a play button

You can use a play button on the top of a static image to link to video content. It is supported universally across all the email clients. You can do so by linking the image to the hosted version of the video. Do it the way Monica Vinader does in its email template.

Monica Vinader uses a play button to link video content in email marketing

3. Incorporate a GIF of the video

You can make use of animated GIF to give an illusion of video in emails. It is supported across all the email clients. See how Kate Spade takes a humorous take by creating a GIF that depicts that their handbags are as tasty as cupcakes in its custom email template.

Kate Spade uses gif as a form of video email marketing

4. Make use of an animated play button

An animated play button links a static image and an animated GIF. Harley Davidson made good use of an animated GIF in its play button to garner the subscriber’s attention. It was designed in a way that compelled users to click-through and play the video.

Harley Davidson uses a combination of gif and video in their email marketing

5. Use CSS animation to give the effect of a faux video

A faux video makes use of a series of static images to give an illusion of a moving image. It is done by combining image sprites with background images while incorporating CSS keyframes to move the image. See how Adidas does it like a pro.

Adidas uses short form video email marketing through gifs

When to use video in email marketing?

After getting detailed insights into how to add videos in email, the question arises when is the right time to use video in email marketing? Let’s take a quick look at it.

1. Go for a product introduction video

If you are looking forward to introducing your new products or services, opting for video email marketing can be the key to your success. You can either make a short video or incorporate a sequence of short videos cut from a longer one.

2. Make way for tutorials

It is already mentioned that the human brain processes visual messages faster than the textual ones. So, if you wish to explain a complicated process instantly and with ease, include a video for the same. See how Awesome Merch makes good use of a static image as a link to the video which explains its manufacturing process.

Awesome Merch makes good use of a static image as a link to the video

3. Include creative celebration emails

Videos work a great way of making holiday and birthday email campaigns creative and attractive. So, spruce up your creative side and make the most out of videos to make your celebration emails brighter. Here’s how Uncommon Goods leverages it with its Valentine’s day email.

Video email marketing fits great for celebration marketing

Wrap up

Including a video in your email marketing campaign can be a great way of engaging, entertaining, and connecting with your customer base. Moreover, with 64% of subscribers more likely to purchase a product after watching a video online, you can benefit a lot from video email marketing if you leverage it the right way.

So, go ahead and use the power of videos to boost your email marketing campaign and increase your subscriber engagement.

Author Bio: Kevin George is Head of Marketing at Email Uplers, one of the fastest-growing custom email design and coding companies, and specializes in crafting professional email templates, PSD to HTML email conversion and free HTML email templates. He loves gadgets, bikes, jazz, and eats and breathes email marketing. He enjoys sharing his insights and thoughts on email marketing best practices on his blog.

This article was written by Kevin George

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