Driving Email Engagement with Video

Eric Groves
Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:15:00 +0000

Do you like to watch videos online? You're not alone. According to comScore, the average U.S. Internet user watches 186 videos every month. (Yes, that's every month.) There are 100 million YouTube videos played on mobile devices every day. Video is everywhere.

And, video can be added to your email too, to help drive engagement with your subscribers. The caveat is that you don't want to embed the video itself in your message, because many email clients will strip out the code necessary to play the video correctly, resulting in a poor experience for the recipient. But you can easily put a thumbnail image and link to the video for playing.

Need proof that adding video to your email works? In a survey by the World Wide Marketing Council, 73% of marketers said that integrating video with their email marketing efforts increased their click-through rates. MarketingSherpa reported that video in an email can lift conversion rates by 50%.

In addition, video allows you to make a more personal connection with the reader/viewer or to demonstrate product features and uses that may be hard to explain through text alone. For instance, would you rather read how to grout tile or watch a video on how it's done? What's the more effective fundraising technique: A written plea or a video showing who will benefit from the funds raised?

There are lots of ways to use video content in your emails — and on Facebook and Twitter too. Here are some ideas (click on the links to watch the examples):

Thank your customers for their business or your volunteers for their support.

Feature a customer raving about your company, product, or service.

Share a cool company milestone.

Include footage from a recent speaking engagement.

Ask for feedback from your subscribers.

Share your expertise or provide tips for using your products.

Put the spotlight on your team to highlight your weird or wacky culture.

Review a book that your members or customers may enjoy.

Share highlights from a past year's event to promote an upcoming gathering.

Have your staff wish customers and members a happy holidays.

These types of videos can be produced for little cost and without the need for a key grip, gaffer, or director of photography. A simple Flip, Kodak, or a newer point-and-shoot digital camera can shoot gorgeous high-definition video. Editing software such as iMovie for the Mac or Windows Live Movie Maker for PCs can be easy to use for slicing and dicing your video, adding a little music (just make sure you don't violate any copyrights!), and getting the video posted online. Heck, if you have a newer Apple iPhone or an iPad 2, you can record HD video, edit it with the $4.99 iMovie app, and post it to YouTube without ever touching a computer. Services such GoldMail and VisibleGains can help you distribute and monitor how well your video is being received by viewers.

By posting your video to a service such as YouTube, you'll be able to easily post a link to the video via Twitter, share it on your Facebook Page, and embed it in a blog post or on your website. Viewers will also have the option to share your video in a similar fashion with their friends, followers, and readers.

Better engagement and click-throughs are two great reasons to try adding video to your next email campaign. And given how easy it is to produce this content, there's no reason not to try it.