Video e-mail marketing is the new trend in internet marketing. It is rising in popularity very quickly. This should not be surprising when you consider the significantly greater impact of video over audio or print. Video engages all of the senses, compounding the impact of your message. This seems to make the decision to include video e-mail marketing in your internet marketing strategy very simple. Video is a great way to tell your story or showcase your products. There are, however, other things to consider.
There is increasing interest on the part of marketers to make greater use of this marketing tactic. In a recent study of small and mid-sized businesses, REELSEO found that about 80% of those surveyed will use video e-mail marketing in 2010. Further, of those surveyed, 64% said they expect video-email marketing to produce a significant increase in conversion rates. In another study (by GetResponse) more than half of the internet marketers surveyed said they believe the greatest benefit of video e-mail marketing is increased click-through and conversion rates.
There are several basic considerations before you decide if you should use video e-mail marketing.
1. High Quality Video Only
Video clips are a high-impact and highly memorable impression of you and your business or organization. A boring or low-quality video makes you and your organization appear to be doing things without adequate planning and forethought. This kind of negative impression on potential customers or clients can do more harm than good. If you cannot produce a video that will represent you and your organization in a good light, you probably should not use video e-mail marketing yet.
2. Right Format and Encoding
It is important to use the latest and greatest video file formats for your video e-mail marketing. You also need to encode the video file correctly. As you undoubtedly know, it is very frustrating to try to view a video clip and discover that it cannot be downloaded or it cannot be viewed on your equipment. Using outdated file formats or the wrong codes can make your organization seem to be out of touch with advancing technology. This might mean you will need to get some professional help to format and code your video correctly before you attach it to an e-mail or embed it in an e-mail.
3. Start with a Video E-mail Marketing Strategy
It is very easy to aim at nothing and hit it. Like other types of internet marketing and lead generation, video e-mail marketing needs a strategy. You need to have goals in mind before you start producing video clips and emailing them to people. Each video you produce should be created to generate a specific response in viewers and that response should lead them to respond to your call to action. Your video e-mail marketing strategy needs to consider the following:
- Who am I trying to reach with this video?
- What is my goal in creating and distributing the video?
- What response and action do I want from recipients?
- What formatting and coding will be used?
- What other information needs to be provided in the e-mail?/li>
- How does this video fit into my larger marketing strategy?
4. A Strong Call to Action
Just like every other campaign or message you produce to market your business or organization online, video e-mail marketing needs to incorporate a strong call to action. Marketing messages always need to provide a clear indication of what you want viewers to do and how they can do it. The call to action also needs to be a logical response to the content of the video. Even if you intend the video to be informational, lead your viewers into a desired action.
5. Shorter is Better
Keep in mind that the people who receive your video e-mail marketing messages have not signed on for a major epic motion picture. Keeping your video short, focused, engaging, informative, and clearly leading the viewer to a response is the goal. Underscore the call to action in the text and provide a clear link to your landing page.
Video e-mail marketing has natural characteristics that make it a natural for providing information about your brand, your business, your products or the services you offer. Video testimonials are a great use of the technology, as are product demonstrations and the like. Plan your campaign, produce a quality video and support it with text and a good call to action. The click-through and response rates from your video e-mail marketing will thrill you.