Video Email Marketing: The Ultimate How-To & How-Not-To Guide

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Video Email Marketing -basics:

Within a span of a few years, videos in the marketing world and have now become an essential part of marketing strategy. From 78% of marketers choosing videos in 2015 to 92% in 2020, the study conducted by Wyzowl shows that the importance of videos in marketing is only growing.

In this article, we provide a definite guide for a video email marketing along with the dos and don’ts.

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Video Thumbnail for Video Email Marketing

A gateway to your content, using video thumbnails is the perfect marketing tactic to increase your click-through rates as it compels your viewers to click on your videos and discover more.

Dos:

• Add an image / GIF – A video thumbnail works well when it’s exciting and piques curiosity. With Hippo Video, you can customize by adding a single static point from the video as a thumbnail or let Hippo Video automatically convert the first few seconds of your video into a GIF. P.S.: If you’re using an image from your gallery as your thumbnail, make sure it’s of a high resolution.

 Example of using a video link in video email:

 Example of using video thumbnail in video email:

• Include your branding – Insert your company logo, change the color tone, add in texts, change the font, font size, etc. to match your brand’s identity helping you build trust and connect with your viewers.

Don’ts:

• Don’t attach the whole video – Many email clients such as Gmail, Outlook, etc. don’t support video attachment within their emails as it makes the email heavy, thus ending as spam. The solution to avoid any glitch is to host your video through a video marketing platform like Hippo video and use the unique thumbnail URL to link your video back into your website or landing page.

• Don’t create clickbait thumbnails that don’t represent the content of the video; always customize it to make it click-worthy.
  Don’t rush into getting the job done. Always double-check that your video thumbnails link back to your appropriate content.

Sending a video email campaign

Now that you have the thumbnail ready, the next step is to learn as to how do you send a video through email– Here are a few tips to keep in mind.

Dos:

• Enable autoplay – When a user clicks your video thumbnail, enabling your autoplay is a smart move as it will send them to your website, landing page or the video hosting platform where the video will be played automatically, thus saving them from having to click a second time to play the video.
• Include video captions – What if you send your video on a day your recipient forgot their headphones? Chances are your video will be watched with the sound turned off, as they don’t want to disrupt those around them. Therefore, always include video captions so that even viewers watching on silent will get your message.

Don’ts:

• Don’t send the video as an attachment – The simplicity of attaching video in an email forum such as Gmail, Outlook or Yahoo, etc. is attractive, but it falls short in offering engagement or driving clicks. This attachment method is limited with regards to the size restrictions as many enterprises have a 3mb email limit and exceeding this will cause the email to bounce back.
• Also, heavy attachments can land your email in spam and downloads are not secure. The workaround to this problem is to host your videos through video hosting platforms such as Hippo Video where you can record, customize and upload your videos to your desired email forums, all within the same platform.

Video email subject line:

A compelling subject line can play a crucial part resulting in increased open rates of your email. Did you know that according to research by CoSchedule, it is to be noted that 35% of emails are opened based on subject lines? So here are tips for creating clickable subject lines.

Do’s:
Since the subject line is the first thing your recipient will see, what better way to tell them you’ve attached a personalized video for them than mentioning

• video Inside> or < here’s a video> or < welcome video> in your subject line? Here’s statics from Hubspot to prove our point – Including the word ‘Video‘ in your subject line can boost your open rates by 19% and click-through rates by 65%.
• Grab the recipient’s attention by adding emojis to your subject lines to make it more engaging.
• If you’re sending a 1:1 email, you can add a personal touch to your subject line by including a name or a detail that you had noted down about them. E.g. “Hey, Mike! It made me think of you”. And if it’s a video email to a group of people, you can segment your email lists to tailor your messages based on information such as their country, city, state, address, etc. It will be useful when you’re sending a discount offer email or a location-specific campaign. E.g., “Save $150: [insert event name] early bird registration ends on [date].

Don’ts:

• Don’t let your recipients miss out on opening your video email. Add the word ‘video’ in the subject line and Instead add the word ‘Video’ in the subject line and reap the benefit of your efforts.
• Don’t use a generic subject line.
• Avoid too many exclamation marks and other symbols in your subject line. Keep it clean and professional.
• Avoid lengthy subject lines. Keep your sentences to 5-6 words max.

Choosing the type of video in email marketing

Webcam vs screen recording

When creating a video email, choosing between a webcam and screen recording can be confusing, we understand. Follow the pointers below to help you decide which one to choose, based on your requirements. Incase your webcam is not working or you’re facing trouble with webcam, you can do a webcam test here.

Use screen recording for

• Customer ticket resolution/explainer video – The goal is to solve issues your customers face with your product/service, so a screen recording with audio narration is the ideal choice.
• Training / Onboarding videos – When emailing a training/onboarding video for your recruits or existing employees about your products/services, use a screen recording with audio narration.

Use webcam and screen recording for

• Demo call – During a demo call, it is best to go for both webcam and screen recorder as the SDR or A.E. can share their screen to present the demo and have a face-to-face conversation with the prospect simultaneously.

Use webcam for

• Updating company events – Hosting an event? Update the details such as the subject of the event, the venue, etc. by shooting a quick video by using a webcam and send it via video email.
• Interviews with industry experts – Conduct interviews with industry thought leaders on topics that best connect with your customers using a picture-in-picture video format via webcam.

Animated videos or whiteboard videos

• Animated videos, whiteboard explainers, corporate ad films, etc. add a fun and exciting way to help get your product/service inside your customer’s mind without seeming too pushy. All you need is a creative video shot by professionals after which the marketer can import it and use it for video email marketing.

1:1 vs 1:many video email marketing

While many will be aware of a personalized email vs a bulk email, it is difficult when choosing the scenarios of using one versus the other. So here’s a breakdown:

1:1 video email marketing

In 1:1 video email marketing, your outreach is specific and is focused on a person or a small sample user group or customers or prospects but not more than 20-30 recipients.

1:many video email marketing

While this format should still feel personal to the recipient, you create a template and have a broader targeting. The goal here is to create awareness for your product/service. Another place you can use 1:many is when you’re sending your email through an automation tool such as a follow-up video email after someone booked a demo with you. E.g., an video email like “Hi, I’m Alice, and I’m going to be the person you’re going to be meeting with for the demo. Can’t wait to talk to you”. 

Choosing video email marketing delivery

Now that your video email is ready, which type of email delivery will you choose? Let’s have a look at each.

Email marketing

If you’re a small to medium-sized business and has a customer base of not more than 40-50 users, prospects or customers, use email clients such as Gmail, Outlook, etc. as it helps businesses reach customers quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively. Using a platform like Hippo Video, you can create your video email and upload your Excel or CSV files to add in your contact list. 

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

This system manages all your company’s interactions with your current and prospective customers. CRM is essential when you’re sending 1:many videos via emails or bulk emails to your existing customers. It also gives you a complete view of their history with your business, which you can use to create a personal connection. There are many CRM softwares you can opt; namely, Hubspot, SalesForce, Zoho Desk, Freshworks, Freshsales, etc. to name a few. 

Sales or Marketing automation tool

This tool helps send bulk lead nurturing campaigns at timely intervals and can be used in the lead awareness stage. Mailchimp, Campaign Monitor, Active Campaign, Hubspot, Outreach, etc. are a few tools for which you can opt. It also helps you analyze email performance and collect lead data. 

Tracking your video email – assessing the success of your video email marketing campaign

With Hippo Video, it’s hard to miss out on any details concerning tracking your video performance. Right from how many emails you attached the video to which recipient opened your video email, the watch rate and how many times recipients have viewed your video – you can know it all. The analytics derived from the platform helps every team; right from a sales rep who can use the data to plan prospect follow-up or engagement to a marketer who can get MQLs, surveys, and feedback through the video. 

Conclusion:

Video email marketing is here to stay! While emails give your videos a better reach, videos make your emails click-worthy. So hop onto the bandwagon and add it to your email marketing strategy and witness skyrocketing results. 

Do you do video email marketing? Tell us below!