6 Ways to Use Video in Your Email Marketing
by Jassica Mendez
Email marketing is indisputably effective; in fact, you’d rarely find a digital marketer who can’t attest to its potential. From relative ease of production to massive Return on Investment (ROI), it’s among the best ways to market a business. However, not all email campaigns are equal; some succeed, generating leads and converting them, and others fail. So, should you be looking to refine yours, you may consider another powerful marketing asset; video. In this article, we’ll delve into 6 ways to use video in your email marketing effectively and, more importantly, smartly.
Laying the groundwork for effective video email marketing
But first, let us quickly establish a healthy foundation for email marketing. Incorporating video into any given campaign will only go so far without one, so let’s start with the fundamentals.
#1 Automating your email campaigns with CRM
First, should you be using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, it can offer tremendous assistance.
Initially, customer segmentation and lead management tools, in tandem with interaction records, can offer insights to personalize your campaigns – as we’ll discuss below. Then, and perhaps most crucially, you may use CRM to support your campaigns through its marketing automation features. There are many types of emails you should automate with CRM, such as:
- Welcome emails
- Lead nurturing emails
- Seasonal offers, promotions, and other customer retention emails
For the sake of text economy, we won’t delve deeper into these types here; the article linked covers them extensively.
#2 Personalizing your emails through customer insights
Then, you may use an array of tools to personalize your emails through customer insights. In this regard, consider such tools as:
- CRM
- Heatmaps
- Google Analytics
- Social media analytics tools
- Other third-party analytics tools
In addition, consider such avenues for customer feedback as social media comments, reviews, surveys, and so forth. You may combine these with keyword research insights should you be engaging in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for maximum effect. In conjunction, personalizing your entire customer journey, from emails to landing pages, should offer a great User Experience (UX) and alleviate the confusion that might deter customers.
#3 Setting up landing pages – with video
Finally, having touched on landing pages and SEO, you may use video in your email marketing through your website. Chances are you’re already using landing pages for different stages of your sales funnel – and email campaigns can leverage them. Wordstream argues that it is an excellent use of both, citing an example from Scorpion Legal Marketing:
A page featuring a man in a suit that reads “legal marketing with proven results”.
In this example, emails direct recipients to the above landing page. There, they’re greeted by a video, as well as 2 Calls to Action (CTAs). This, they argue, is an effective way to “push [leads] further down the sales funnel.”
Using video in your email marketing – is it worth it?
Now, you may rightfully already be using video to promote your business on social media. That’s indeed demonstrably effective, as visual content does communicate information faster and captivate more audiences. However, can the same principles translate into emails? Put differently, is using video in your email marketing worth the trouble?
Wyzowl’s Adam Hayes, writing for HubSpot, argues that yes – and he has the data to prove it.
An infographic on the question “does your business use video as a marketing tool?”
Alt-tag: An infographic on the question “does your business use video as a marketing tool?”
Marketer perceptions aside, he also cites three tangible, key metrics, among others:
- “87% of video marketers reported that video gives them a positive ROI.”
- “84% of video marketers say video has been effective for generating leads.”
- “78% [of video marketers] report that video marketing has improved their company’s bottom line.”
Thus, we may safely argue that video marketing is definitely worth your time and effort.
6 ways to use video in your email marketing
That said, however, the question remains; how can you use video in your email marketing, specifically? In no particular order, here are 6 ways to do so.
#1 Don’t embed it
Starting with the fundamentals, it should be noted that most major email clients don’t support video playback within emails. This includes, notably:
- Gmail
- Yahoo!
- Outlook
Thus, embedding videos is out of the question. However, you may circumvent this restriction quite easily. The process is simple:
- Grab a screenshot of your video player
- Embed it in your emails
- Use the image as a link to your video
The benefit of this approach is twofold; one, you’re alluring leads into viewing your video through the screenshot. Two, you can then use the email body to add valuable text to frame it.
Finally, as showcased above, you may use this approach to direct your leads to your landing pages. This way, you won’t be directing them to YouTube, for example, but to where they may more likely convert.
#2 Retarget leads
Another way to use video in your email marketing is to have video inform your email copy. How? Consider Adobe’s Marketo, for example; you may use it to reach out to visitors who view your videos. This way, you may use email marketing for retargeting leads and getting them back into your sales funnel.
This practice takes the aforementioned foundation into account. If your website analytics reveal visitors who watch videos and leave without finishing them, Marketo can address this. It does so by automatically sending these visitors an email, reminding them to finish watching. Should you be using CRM, you may replicate this tactic for existing customers yourself, taking additional insights into account.
Finally, this tactic is also remarkably effective as regards engagement. Vidyard notes that this kind of email personalization yielded a 144% increase in Click-Through Rates (CTR) in the linked article. That’s certainly impressive and quite effortless at that.
#3 Upsell to existing customers
Next, you may use video to upsell existing customers in your email marketing, benefitting your revenue. This tactic does primarily work for existing customers, however. Citing Marketing Metrics, OptinMonster says:
“The probability of selling to a new prospect is 5-20%. The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70%.”
A graph on the probability of selling to new prospects versus existing customers.
Still, this practice should warrant your consideration, as much of any business’s revenue comes from existing customers. Yes, it does not generate leads as email campaigns might often do, but it does offer substantive benefits.
Be that as it may, why does adding video to such emails help upsell? The primary reasons are:
- Recipients are more likely to open your emails
- Visual content makes emails more engaging and enhances CTR
What’s more, through CRM’s lead segmentation, you may further enhance your chances of success, reaching out to qualified leads. Similarly, you may even consult customers’ purchase histories for more accurate product recommendations – and successful upsells.
#4 Enrich your newsletter
Another excellent way to use video in your email marketing is to enrich your newsletter through it. There is an absolute slew of ways to do so, so let us highlight some notable examples:
- Product announcements. Plain text can certainly suffice for product announcements, but video can elevate them to the next level. Consider how much more creative freedom you have with videos and how engaging they are compared to plain texts.
- Company culture. If you’re using videos to showcase your company culture, such as through employee stories, they may fit your newsletter perfectly. You may even use this opportunity to drive traffic to your YouTube account, Facebook profile, or wherever you host them.
- Industry round-ups. Finally, you may not produce many videos yourself – or any at all. Even then, you may use popular videos within your industry as part of round-ups. Then, you may use the email body to add your thoughts or even dedicate blog posts to them, which can amount to landing pages themselves.
#5 Market your events
Similarly, you may be using emails to market your events. This tried-and-tested practice has demonstrable merit, whether you’re organizing local, in-person, or digital events. And of course, adding video to such emails can only make them more effective.
To do so, consider the two main types of video you can use to complement your event emails:
- Past event footage and recaps. Few pieces of content can allure potential attendees as effectively as these types of videos. What’s more, such videos have meager production costs.
- Promotional videos. These traditional videos do require more resources, but they, too, are decidedly effective. Treat these as you would any other promotional video, and let them entice attendees, new and old.
In both cases, combining the power of visual content with the reach of email should benefit your events immensely.
#6 Promote customer stories
Finally, you’re likely well aware of the power of customer stories. This type of social proof is nigh irreplaceable, and it’s why customer reviews are invaluable. People trust their peers, and a shared positive experience can inspire confidence in your product, event, or brand itself. So, why not use video in your email marketing to leverage customer stories?
The most notable example of this practice in action is case studies and endorsements by others within your industry. Consider, for instance, a happy customer that’s within your niche and has been helped by your product or service. Turning such a story into a video would surely not be easy, but it would be undeniably effective. That’s not just because of the aforementioned benefits of the video itself, but also because these videos humanize your brand. They’re another person’s living testament to your proposition’s value – one your emails can promote to significant effect.
Conclusion
To summarize, both email marketing and video marketing remain undeniably effective marketing strategies. In turn, if you use video in your email marketing you could get increased effectiveness. While there is a vast array of options to do so, hopefully, the six ways outlined here should serve as a good starting point on your way to video email marketing success.
For more information check out this extensive blog from ThreeColts.
