Visual content is taking over the web. You can’t spend time on the net without running into loads of photos, gifs, memes, screenshots, infographics, and videos.
Visual Teaching Alliance found that 90% of the information transmitted to the brain is visual. When this is the case, it is no surprise that visual content exploded on the net as soon as web users had the tools needed to create user-generated visual content.
It has been proven that visual content improves engagement in almost all environments. You will get better engagement using visual content over text in a classroom, on social media, on billboards, and even in emails.
Incorporating videos in emails is one of the most effective ways you can incorporate visual content into your marketing campaigns.
With video, engagement with your email marketing materials will improve drastically and your users will even have an easier time understanding what you are trying to communicate.
Below are some ideas to help you increase your email response rate using video emails.
Incorporate a Video Thumbnail
Wistia did a series of experiments in 2017 that revealed that 40.83% more of their audience engaged with their emails when a video thumbnail accompanied their email messages.
Further, they found that 25% more people clicked on their email messages when they had video thumbnails.
Those are impressive figures when you consider the fact that even a small shift in the right direction in email open rates when dealing with a big list can turn a losing marking campaign into a winner.
It goes without saying that your email should have an actual video accompanying it. Using a video thumbnail is not a gimmick.
The video should be one of the first things someone sees when they go to your landing page. Having it above the fold on your web page is important if you want to reduce bounce rates or give your audience a good user experience.
Use Video for Personalized Sales Prospecting
Daniel DiPiazza of Rich20Something.com has one of the most insightful posts on how to succeed as a freelancer on sites such as Freelancer.com and UpWork (formerly Elance).
The most effective strategy he used to get clients was sending his prospects personalized video pitches. The videos were 90 seconds or shorter but they worked like a charm.
He was able to get $24,000 worth of freelancing jobs in a month using this strategy.
Sending personalized video messages can also work for you when you are prospecting using email.
In a crowded inbox, an email with a video stands out and helps you get noticed. Further, a personalized video shows that you care and makes it much easier to build trust with the people you are trying to sell to.
As a rule of thumb, when writing sales messages, you should avoid me-centric messages. The same rule applies when creating videos for clients. Make the video about the prospect and not you.
Data from SalesLoft reveals that 75% of late-stage prospects that got a personalized video ended up closing.
Using a video is particularly powerful if you are targeting decision makers in the C-suite. According to Forbes, 65% of executives have visited a vendor’s site after viewing a video. Further, 51% of executives under the age of 40 had made a decision to make a purchase after watching a video.
Understanding CTA When Using Videos
It would be highly prodigal to spend money and time running a marketing campaign and not include a call to action.
Without a call to action, your email readers won’t know what to do next. Even worse, they may not even comprehend the purpose of the video you have sent them.
Paying attention to how you use CTA in video emails is very important if you want them to click through to your product landing pages and buy something.
While videos are more engaging than written text, just a small percentage of people will watch a video to the end. If you were to include a call to action only at the end of a video, you would miss out on a lot of willing buyers.
Any copywriter worth his salt knows to sprinkle calls to action several times in a long form sales letter. Why would the situation be different when writing a video script?
You should include a call to action in the first few minutes of a video. Alternatively, you can tell your viewer that you have something for them at the end of the video and encourage them to watch till the end and then include a CTA at the end of the video.
Closing Thoughts
The general rules of running email campaigns still apply when you choose to send out video emails. Make sure that you understand email marketing best practices and correctly use them.
As usual, data is indispensable. Take the time to segment your audience properly and track all the metrics that matter such as email open rates and click-through rates. You’re going to need an email provider such as ConvertKit to help you out with this.
If you are putting together an automated campaign that will run for a long time, you should consider A/B testing different video thumbnails and settle on the one that yields the best result.