Video in Email Marketing: Advantages, Challenges, and Integration Tips

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

As marketing grows more and more digital and complex, there is no question that videos are currently one of the most powerful forms of content to use. They are capable of telling an engaging story and passing along information in a short amount of time. Due to this versatility, they can be used across many types of marketing, such as email marketing. In this guide, we’ll lay out the benefits of using video in emails, talk about the challenges of adding them to the emails, and take you through a step-by-step guide to embedding videos in your emails.

Advantages of Using Videos in Email Marketing

1. Enhanced Engagement.

Videos generally improve engagement rates. A video in an email adds appeal and causes the recipient to spend more time reviewing the material. Emails with video get higher click-through rates than average, mainly because of their enhanced visual and auditory appeal, which tends to make the material more memorable and persuasive.

2. Improved Conversion Rates.

Including videos in your emails can lead to higher conversion rates. Whether it’s a product demo, a customer testimonial, or an offer, video conveys your message better and helps the recipients convert. Video is dynamic, and it helps to better communicate your value proposition which serves to convince the recipients to buy a product or subscribe to a service.

3. Increased Click-Through Rates.

Oftentimes, video thumbnails within an email could serve as a strong incentive for the user to ‘click-through’ to the actual video – more so than a static image or text, which may or may not be as enticing for the recipient to engage with your offerings. When combined with strong calls to action, the use of compelling video thumbnails could help improve your email outreach efforts.

4. Stronger Emotional Connection.

Video can also connect more emotionally to your audience. Because you can embed your brand’s personality and values into the imagery, the music, and the voiceover, this type of content might create a stronger relationship between you and your audience, one where they’re more likely to remember your brand and respond to your emails.

5. Better Information Retention.

Videos are a great way to increase the retention of information by presenting it in a dynamic way to your recipients. A video helps your audience understand and remember your message better, especially on complex topics or product demonstrations where visual explanations can enhance comprehension.

Challenges: How Videos Can Affect Email Deliverability

1. Compatibility Issues.

Compatibility is perhaps one of the most crucial challenges of embedding videos in emails. Not all email clients support video playback directly within the email, which means that there will be issues in video rendering and playback on different platforms and devices. In this case, it is important to use fallbacks, such as static images with a play button that would link to a video hosted on a landing page.

2. Increased Email Size.

Having videos embedded directly in your email can easily increase their size, which could slow your email load time or even land you in the spam folder. This is why it’s a good idea to utilize video hosting instead, which involves embedding either a video thumbnail or GIF that links out to the hosted video so that email size is manageable while still providing a rich video experience.

3. Deliverability Concerns.

Email deliverability can be impacted by various factors, including the inclusion of videos. Some email providers and spam filters are sensitive to large attachments or embedded content, which can affect whether your email reaches the recipient’s inbox. To improve deliverability, focus on optimizing your video content and ensuring that your email adheres to best practices for email deliverability. To ensure your emails reach your recipients’ inboxes, it’s crucial to test your deliverability and optimize your video content accordingly.

How to Embed Videos in Emails

Choose the Right Video Hosting Platform: Select a reliable video hosting platform that provides an easy way to share videos. Popular options include YouTube, Vimeo, and Wistia. These platforms offer features such as customizable video players, analytics, and integration with email marketing tools.

Create a Compelling Thumbnail: Design an engaging thumbnail that captures the essence of your video. This thumbnail will be the visual indicator for anyone who receives your video, and it should include a play button to induce clicks. The thumbnail should be appropriate to the video content and visually appealing.

Use a Video Screenshot with a Play Button: Since not all email clients support embedded video playback, use a high-quality screenshot or a GIF of your video with a play button overlay. Link the image to the hosted video on your site or landing page. That way, your clients can still see the video even if it doesn’t play directly in their email client.

Optimize Video Size and Format: Keep your video files optimized for web viewing. Compress the video to reduce its file size without losing quality. Choose a format that is widely supported, such as MP4, to ensure compatibility across different devices and email clients.

Test Across Different Email Clients: Test how the video content will look in different email clients and on various devices before you send out the email campaign. This will make sure that, wherever it lands, your email will still deliver a consistent experience. 

Moreover, to ensure your email delivers a consistent experience across all devices and email clients, try our HTML checker.

Conclusion

Adding video to your email marketing strategy can provide more engagement, higher conversion rates, and an emotional connection to your audience, while also having some drawbacks including compatibility, email size, and deliverability. By following the best practices on how to embed video and optimize your content, you’ll be able to leverage the power of video to improve the results of your email marketing.

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