If your business is using any form of email marketing, you’re probably well-acquainted with the challenge of making sure your voice is heard through the babble of the average prospect’s inbox. If you’re tired of seeing abysmal clickthrough rates, and even worse open rates, keep reading—because there’s an easy way to increase click-through rates, conversions, and brand awareness that you're probably not taking advantage of
The answer is video.
Did you know that “studies have found that just including the word “video” is enough to increase email open rates — by a whopping 7% to 13?” Or that, “Wistia, a video software company, found that using video in e-mail led to 300% increase in email click-through rates compared to emails without video?” Those are some pretty impressive statistics.
The truth is that video has power. Not only is it the most engaging form of content on social media, but it can also be a huge asset to your email marketing strategy, too. As humans, we’re training ourselves to read less and experience more. And for that reason, it can be far more effective to limit email copy to short, digestible chunks, and then let your videos do the heavy lifting.
So, how do you take advantage of this trend? Whether you’ve been using video in your emails forever and simply want some suggestions for improvement, or you’re looking for some simple ways to get started, here are a few of our top tips for utilizing video in email
#4: Focus on Quality
Just because anybody can create a simple video with their phone camera, doesn’t mean that you should just drop your latest Instagram story in your next email blast. Creating great videos doesn’t have to be hard or expensive, but a little bit of effort goes a long way. Last year, we compiled a guide for creating personal video, and while it was targeted primarily to individuals, much of it can be adapted to fit any form of business. Check it out here: https://blog.verb.tech/best-practices-for-personal-video. Envato also has a video marketing guide that can serve as a great introduction to using video marketing in general—you can find that here: https://elements.envato.com/learn/video-marketing-guide/
#3: Map Out Your Metrics
In order to see if email video marketing is really working for you, you'll need to have a clear view of your analytics. Take some time to nail down your most important email marketing KPIs so you can compare them before and after implementing video. We suggest focusing on open rates, click-through rates, and bounce rates to get started.
#2: Get Creative
Your videos don’t have to be boring! In fact, this is one medium where it’s best to let your creative juices flow. The more out-of-the-box, the better chance you have of piquing your recipient’s interests enough that they’ll want to engage. So, ditch the boring “how-tos” and sterile informational dumps. Instead, think about what kind of videos you WANT to watch, and then consider how you can bring that content to life. Hubspot highlights some great ideas in this post: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/video-email-marketing
#1: Use VerbMAIL!
While the previous suggestions are all important ways to make sure you get the most out of emailed video marketing, but our number one tip is the most important. And sure, we might be biased, but we think it’s going to change the email marketing game forever.
Until now, embedding video in email has been largely controversial. Some email providers don’t allow it all, and email marketing experts have been split on its effectiveness. Part of the problem is that video marketing has traditionally been a one-way form of communication: you talk “at” a prospect and then hope you’ve made enough of an impact to inspire them to take the next step. We’re changing that with our revolutionary product, verbMAIL.
verbMAIL enables you to create and send interactive videos directly from your Outlook account in just a few clicks: Simply select the verbMAIL add-in while you’re composing an email, choose whether to record or upload a video, add interactive buttons, and send!
Interactive videos inspire action while the receiver's interest is at its highest—verbMAIL recipients can schedule a demo, view a product listing, open a PDF, link to social accounts, and more, all without ever leaving the video.
For instance, instead of simply sending a few-sentence review of your company’s newest product, you can make a video showing it in use, adding interactive links that allow the recipient to make a purchase or view an information sheet without navigating away. It’s a totally new way to enhance communication and encourage recipients to take advantage of your CTAs.
Key Features of verbMAIL:
- Send videos directly from Outlook from your personal video library or create a new one for each customer
- Add interactive buttons in just a few clicks
- Place calls to action directly within your content--whether that’s asking for a response, scheduling a meeting, sending a white paper, checking out a quote, or more
- Get notified when someone watches your video
Get ready to experience the future of email—we think you're going to love it! In fact, you can download verbMAIL right now from the Microsoft App Store. It's the easiest decision you'll make today, so give it a try!
About the author:
Wife, supermom, foodie, and talented critic, Heather Hanson, is a skilled veteran in copywriting, editing, creative writing, and social media outreach. She brings a lot to the table with Verb and has been recognized by our company as our National Treasure.