6 Ways to Optimize Videos for Email Marketing
Videos are flooding the internet, creating much more visual online interactions, especially in the marketing and branding space. In fact, 8 in 10 marketers believe that video is becoming an increasingly important marketing tool, one that should be leveraged if a business hopes to grow in the coming years.
On the other hand, despite the emergence of many online marketing platforms, only one platform has remained stronger than most: email. Many years ago, tech experts and marketers talked about the downfall of email marketing, but to this day, it remains the most cost-effective customer acquisition and retention tool online.
When combined, video and email marketing seem to be the answer to email marketing obstacles, like decreasing customer engagement rates and low email open rates. Including the word “video” in the email subject line was found to boost email open rates by 19% and click-through rates by 65%.
So how is it done? It goes further than simply inserting a link to a video or just embedding a bunch of HTML codes. Email marketers call it “video optimization” and this post will walk you through the different ways you can implement it.
- Use high-quality footage.
Your video should meet customers’ quality standards for resolution, sound, and color. If you’re shooting your videos in-house, make sure to get a professional-quality camera that’s easy to use and control. There are also a couple of smartphones with cameras that have been optimized for professional videography, but a DSLR is still your best bet.
The example from Rama below shows an embedded video that discusses their latest product. When featuring a product that has many details and dimensions, it is important for your video to capture everything clearly.
Source: Really Good Emails
2. Keep it short and sweet.
On average, subscribers read their emails within a span of just 13.4 seconds. As such, they should be able to have a glimpse of your email and its featured video within those few moments.
When it comes to the length of your videos, try to keep it under two minutes, or chop it up and feature it by parts. Furthermore, those two minutes should already include a call-to-action that the viewer will be tempted to respond to.
If you can effectively communicate your brand and its proposition in just a few lines, you’ve mastered the art of engaging your audience.
The example below shows an email from Soapbox that features a short clip about its product.
Source: Really Good Emails
3. Embed, don’t link.
Typically, subscribers prefer emails with minimal links that redirect them
to other places. Your video should be embedded in the email, with a play button that they can click to watch right then and there. Once you’ve embedded the video, you should be able to select the perfect thumbnail that will catch subscribers’ attention and encourage them to hit the play button.
Source: Really Good Emails
4. Use alternative videos or video-like formats.
If you have limited memory for your emails, you can also opt to embed other kinds of videos, such as GIFs or cinemagraphs. Cinemagraphs are still images with one or two elements that move in an infinite loop. When seen in an email, they can truly capture the attention of the reader.
These video-like formats are also great for on-the-go subscribers, who may not have the time or the data allocation to watch a full-blown video.
5. Optimize for mobile.
And if you are truly optimizing videos for email, then it means making sure that the videos can be watched hassle-free on mobile. Mobile users still trump desktop users when it comes to video consumption, so you want your video to be easily accessible via all available smartphones and operating systems in the market.
Most email marketing platforms can optimize your videos, but you’re still responsible for creating an email that truly engages your reader whether on desktop or mobile.
The following email from Lego is highly readable on an iPhone X and the video is also playable direct on the email.
Source: Really Good Emails
6. Personalize.
Today’s most effective email marketing strategies use personalization to engage and build relationships with their audience. One cost-effective idea you can try is to do a short video interview with your company’s CEO. It can be a New Year’s video or a video to wrap up the year. Your CEO can also talk about an upcoming product launch or a new business direction. Since it’s just a video of an individual talking, make sure that the topic is highly interesting.
Wrap up
Videos have become an online marketing mainstay and will continue to attract customers in the foreseeable future. If you plan to use videos frequently, don’t forget these important reminders:
- Host the video on a dedicated and reliable landing page like Youtube.
- Let your customers control playback by turning off autoplay.
- Embed your video after the text.
- A/B test your videos.
As a final note, make sure that your video does add value to your email. The trick is to imagine your readers opening your email. Whether they decide to watch the video or not, the other elements of your email (including the thumbnail of the video) must be able to deliver your message clearly and elicit a response.
Author Bio: Ash Salleh is the Director of SEO at Campaign Monitor, where he works closely with content, copy, and analytics teams to improve site-wide optimization. Prior to his time at Campaign Monitor, he also provided SEO and digital marketing expertise at Zappos and Axiata Digital.
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