To Send or not Send? Video in Email Best Practices

We are all aware of the steep competition for a subscriber’s attention in today’s inbox. Forrester Research has estimated that US consumers would receive more than 9,000 commercial email messages per year by 2014. With so much competition for recipient engagement, email marketers need to stand out by focusing on meeting the needs of their audience with relevant, impactful messages sent at the appropriate time.

“Video in email can increase click-through rates by as much as 2X – 3X,” says David Daniels, a former Forrester Research analyst. Video offers a powerful medium for expression and persuasion. It can be used to convince a prospect of the benefits of a new product or offer, humanize a brand, generate excitement, educate/inform or emotionally connect with your audience.

Video is just like any other email content decision you’ll have to make when determining what to send. You must test and segment and make sure that you are sending to subscribers that value video. Identifying these subscribers can be accomplished by segmenting based on:

• Previous video email opens
• Previous video email clicks
• Subcriber's mail client support for videos

Keep in mind that you’ll want to use video to add value to the subscriber’s experience. Video should be saved for special circumstances when you have a story to tell. Don’t use video in every email you send. Improper use of video can actually drive up complaint and unsubscribe rates.

Stick to these best practices and you’ll be more likely to drive key metrics like: open, clickthrough and conversion rates:

• Segment subscribers who have previously watched video or opened emails featuring video.
• Use the word “video” and highlight the nature of the content of the video in the subject line. Create clear expectations upfront.
• Incorporate your video so that it’s above the fold in the preview pane.
• State the value of the video content in the email copy. Why should your subscribers watch this video?
• Turn the sound for auto-play videos OFF in the email client by default. Unexpected sound may be unwelcomed and inappropriate for a subscriber’s surroundings. Offer up a link that reads “watch with sound” for those that want to view the video with sound on.
• Use images that tell a story without sound. Don’t always rely on the audio being there to relay your message.
• Keep it short. Many of the most effective promotional videos are 45 seconds or less in length.
• Incorporate multiple platform links. Also include the “view on webpage” functionality.
• Don’t use Flash. Email clients strip out anything with a script which could be a virus or malware.
• Encourage the sharing of the video. Did you know that video is the most shared media online?
• Test, test, test. Test not only on desktop software, but also the iPad, iPhone, webmail client, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, etc.

So, have you tried incorporating video in your emails? If not, maybe it’s time to consider and measure your levels of engagement. Follow the best practices above and hopefully you’ll see 2x-3x increases in clickthrough rates.  Stayed tuned to the Bronto Blog, for a follow-up post of techniques on how to incorporate vidoes and great examples of video usage in email.

Emily Keye
Marketing Strategist at Bronto