Using video in emarketing campaigns

Video will get your message across quicker than any content. It's engaging, quick to provide your key messages and an effective way to grab the attention of your subscribers.

Video messages offer a range of benefits for email campaigns including:

• Improved SEO - online videos will usually improve your ranking on Google and will be more popular and get more attention and are more likely to be shared on social media platforms.
  
• Getting your brand viral - you've all probably viewed a video which has gone viral.They are not always the most technical vids or have the most awesome content, some of the simplest videos will go viral, and you can tap into this phenomenon when you send a campaign embedded with a video.
  
• Greater impact - videos include vision, sound and text, which is triple the impact as opposed to your standard eMarketing - which is a big opportunity for marketers.

But what's the best way to include video in your eMarketing campaign?

Sending video in emails can be a little tricky, and embedded videos can be super effective if done well, or fall flat if there don't work for the recipient.

For best results you might want to consider the following:

• Use good equipment - while the content and message may be simple, you will want to ensure that you are shooting the video with good equipment so the vision and sound quality are top notch. You may also consider using apps which provide filters, zooming and other features as well.
  
• Be punchy - don't waffle on, some of the best videos in email campaigns are short and to the point. Around 30 seconds to 2 minutes is plenty of time, your subscribers probably won't watch long videos so keeping it interesting, and brief is a great idea.
  
• Test it before you send it - make sure it works across all social media channels first and foremost and secondly share it will honest colleagues who will offer constructive feedback.
  
• Don't use autoplay - subscribers prefer the option to click and play when they are ready. Videos that autoplay are annoying, and if you have your sound up can be a little shocking
• Videos can be imbedded in the email, which will mean they will show an image with a play button which is linked to a hosted site or the landing page of your website.

I won't go into the nitty gritty of the 'how to embed videos'. If you're looking to do this and haven't done it before, it's best to do a search of the email program you are using, whether it be MailChimp, AWeber, Constant Contact, Infusionsoft or others, and they will usually have blogs or step by step outlined of how to add videos to a campaign.

Best news is, you don't need to be a web developer to add a video, it is fairly straight-forward and can be done by anyone with an understanding

Video will enhance your marketing campaigns and will inform and entertain your audience and stand out from the standard emails and text in your subscriber's inbox.