Videos are to marketing campaigns what a catalyst is to chemical reactions - a performance booster.
Videos are the new cool. Whether it is social media or e-learning, we all rely on them to get information, – don’t we?
Similarly, embedding videos in emails gives your reader a chance to understand your email better and provides a break from textual information while increasing their chances of retaining messages.
Research reports that 47% of businesses included videos in their email marketing campaigns.
So, if you’re an email marketer looking for reasons and methods to add videos to your emails, then you’ve come the right way because, in this article, we have mentioned why, how, and when you should embed videos in your emails.
So, let’s get started.
Why Should You Include Videos in Emails?
People may think embedding videos in their emails is just about making them presentable and fun, but that’s not it. In reality, it comes with many advantages, and we have mentioned some of these below:
Boosts engagement
Pause here for a while and ask yourself if you received an email with a video embedded in it. Won’t you stop to play and check what it is about?
You sure will!
Interactive email elements, like videos, instantly grab attention and increase engagement. In fact, adding the word “video” in the subject line can boost engagement by up to 6%.
Hence, embedding videos in emails increase click-through and conversion rates. And they also significantly draw people’s attention to open up and respond to them.
Helps in understanding
Word around the street is that videos have become everyone’s new favorite teacher. They help us in processing information better and remember it for longer.
You’ll be surprised that 96% of people watch videos to understand a product or a website because our brain processes visual information better than textual.
So it’s a great idea to add videos in your emails to explain a new feature or to introduce products. Additionally, a video can answer the queries of your customers as well.
Saves time
Undoubtedly, our lives are getting busier with every passing day, and we want to get information quickly - videos help people in this manner.
It helps you get to the core of the message quickly and decreases the time taken to register this information.
Hence, adding a video saves a lot of time for your readers, and they would prefer an email with a video embedded in it.
Before You Select a Video, Remember:
A heads up.
Make sure you select the right video before learning different ways of embedding it in emails.
We have highlighted certain qualities and attributes that you must consider before selecting your video:
Goal of the video
The video in your email is one factor that determines the success of your campaign, so be clear about the intent and goal of your video.
Be clear about what kind of message your video is going to send to your audience. Is it going to introduce a product, explain a feature, or just another promotional video?
The goal of your video will help you decide how you want to add it to your email. For instance, if your goal is to increase the video’s ratings, then it’s better that you don’t embed it directly in your email, and it should get redirected to a new tab.
But if your goal is to explain a specific feature, it’s better to embed it within your email and save your users time.
Relatability
Make sure you don’t create or add videos solely to interact with people. The content of your video must be relatable to your brand and campaign.
To enhance your brand's image through video content, begin by selecting a video editor with no watermark, ensuring your videos maintain a professional and uncluttered appearance.
Try to add elements in your video that represent your brand; it could be the colors of your campaign or a specific style that your brand follows. Apart from being relatable to your brand, it should relate to the textual content of the email as well.
You wouldn’t want people to think that you added a video completely off guard, would you?
Properties of the video
There are four important properties or characteristics of videos that you must remember before embedding them in an email; length, file size, quality, and number. This is also something you can achieve with the help of a video editing software.
To begin with, let’s talk about the length of the video. Try to keep the video short and precise, so your readers don’t get bored and leave the page.
Another important thing to keep in mind is the file size of the video. Emails don’t support heavy files, so if your video is of large file size, there is a high chance that the email provider won’t support and play it.
When it comes to quality, there is only one rule, i.e., NEVER compromise on quality. Make sure the video is high definition and complements your brand because a poor quality video will give off a very unprofessional and careless image of your brand and also agitate your reader.
Lastly, adding one video to your email might seem wise, but adding a series of videos attracts your reader more. So you can add a series of videos to attract more engagement. But do that very rarely. People don’t have much time to spend on an embedded video.
4 Different Ways to Embed Videos in Emails
Adding a video to your emails may have many advantages, but it also comes with a spot of bother, i.e., not all email clients can support embedding videos directly in your emails.
Regardless of this, embedding video is more beneficial than attaching videos in email. Because if you attach a video in email, it will redirect your subscribers to the video’s landing page or youtube.
Whereas, if you embed video in email, your subscriber will be able to watch the whole video within the email without leaving the page. Hence, if you’re an email marketer and you’re planning to add videos in email, make sure you embed it, instead of attaching it.
So let’s have a look at the different ways of embedding videos in emails;
As static images with URLs
One way to add a video to your email is through static images.
Select a static image or a screenshot from the video you want to add to your email. This picture or screenshot should be taken to create a thumbnail. Add a play button in the middle of the screenshot/image, so your reader understands it’s a video.
Whichever image you choose, make sure it’s relatable to the video and grabs the reader’s attention. Now link your desired video’s URL to this image.
This way, when your reader clicks on the static image linked with the video, s/he will be redirected to the new browser, and the video will start playing. This method is universal, and all email clients support it.
This email by Beautymint.com shows an email with a video in the form of a static image.
As GIFs
Another way is to add a GIF of the video. We all know how famous GIFs are and how they attract people. By adding GIFs to your email, you can create a mini version of the video that you want to add.
For creating GIFs of your desired video, you can use video to GIF convertors like Imgflip.com, EZ GIF, or Filmora.
Select the starting and ending points of the video to create a GIF and download them. After creating the GIF, embed it within your email and add an attractive and interactive Call To Action (CTA) button that has your desired video URL linked to it.
Once your audience clicks the CTA, they will be redirected to watch the full video. You can see how Adrenaline Travel used an animated GIF with a play button to attract its readers.
As CSS animations
If videos with static images and GIFs were to have a child, it would be videos with CSS animation.
Technically, you can add such videos the same way you add them in the static image, but in this case, the play button will be animated to attract your audience’s attention.
The benefit of using CSS animation is that it compels your reader to interact with you because of its catchy and vibrant display.
However, there’s a drawback to this cool hack. Email clients like Gmail, AOL, Yahoo, and Outlook (except macOS) don’t support CSS animation, so you can only use CSS-animated play buttons for email clients that support it.
You can see one example below:
As embedded videos (HTML5)
Embedding videos directly into email is not a piece of cake. You need some technical expertise and advanced coding skills for this purpose, since you can embed videos in emails using the HTML5 code only.
Also, HTML5 is pretty advanced and recent, so all email clients don’t support embedding videos within emails. We’ve mentioned the list of email clients that support embedding videos in emails below for reference.
If you follow this method of embedding videos, you rule out many people from your mailing list who can view your video. So, this technique comes with its own pros and cons.
Here’s one such example from LEGO.
Email Clients That Support Embedding Videos in Emails
Like we mentioned earlier, embedding videos in emails is not supported by all email clients.
So, here’s a list of email clients that support embedded videos in emails. You might find this insightful.
Source: Email on Acid
5 Content Ideas to Use For the Videos You Add in Emails
We’ve discussed why embedding videos in emails is a good idea and how you can embed them. Now let’s talk about some content ideas to use in your videos.
1. Tutorial videos
Tutorial videos can provide your customers with knowledge about your product or services.
It’s an excellent way to educate them and clarify any questions or concerns they might have about the usage or features of your product or service.
2. Highlights from an event
Every company hosts numerous events and seminars, and not everyone can attend them.
So, you can send highlights from that event and give your subscribers a glimpse of what they missed. Videos like these will also excite them to attend your events in the future and create a positive brand image.
3. Feature your new product/collection
One of the best ways to introduce your new collection or product is through videos. These videos can include all the features or solutions that your product or service is offering.
Videos work wonders at engaging your subscribers, so there’s a high chance that they’ll not only watch the whole video but also take the required action, like signing up or purchasing.
4. Testimonial videos
Social proof is a very influential and beneficial tactic of email psychology. Therefore, adding testimonial videos to your emails is a good practice.
These videos can feature your subscribers who talk about how they benefited from your product, praise its quality, and recommend other subscribers to use it.
5. Messages from leadership or employees
Lastly, you can also include videos featuring messages from your company’s CEO or other team members.
Videos like these are excellent for email branding and building stronger connections with your email subscribers.
Messages from your company’s CEO or employees can include their success stories, relationship with your brand, your company’s vision, or how they plan to provide their customers with better solutions or products.
How to Easily Embed Videos in Emails With Unlayer
Wondering where you’ll find an efficient and reliable tool that’ll allow you to embed videos in emails seamlessly? Well, look no further because the answer is right here.
Unlayer allows you to embed videos in your emails in just five simple steps.
Step 1:
Go to Unlayer’s website and sign up.
Step 2:
Next, you can go to Unlayer’s library and pick a pre-designed email template or create your email from scratch by clicking on start designing.
Step 3:
Once you enter the editor, drag and drop the video icon towards the email template that you’d like to create.
Step 4:
After you drag and drop the video icon towards the email template, click on that video icon, and its properties will display in front of you.
Then add the link of the video that you want to embed in this email. Once you do so, this is how the video will appear on your email template.
Then enjoy customizing the rest of your email template according to your choice.
Step 5:
Once you’re done designing, preview your email template for its responsiveness and then export it to the ESP of your choice like Mailchimp, HubSpot, Constant Contact, etc.
Wasn’t that simple and quick? Then sign up now and embed an interactive and engaging video in your email right away!
Best Practices for Embedding Videos in Emails
Oh, wait! Remember these hacks before you start embedding videos in emails.
Try to add the word “video” in your email subject line.
Try to experiment by creating and sending a series of videos.
Add texts to your videos for more clarity.
Don’t use videos in every other email; it kills the charm.
Avoid adding low-quality videos.
Add a descriptive thumbnail, so people know what they are clicking on.
FAQs for Embedding Videos in Emails
We have answered some frequently asked questions related to embedding videos in emails. Hope these might answer some of your queries as well.
Q1. Which file format should you use in the videos you embed in your emails?
Ans. It’s recommended to convert your videos to mp4 before you embed them in your emails.
Q2. Why shouldn’t you embed videos in emails?
Ans. There are two reasons why you shouldn’t embed videos in emails. Firstly, all email clients don’t play embedded videos, and some have a fallback. This means there’s a high chance that all of your subscribers will not be able to play the video you embedded in your email.
Secondly, embedding videos in emails reduces the chances of engagement on your YouTube profile.
Q3. Does embedding a video in a cold email increase the chances of landing in the spam folder?
Ans. Yes, since the purpose of a cold email is to build a connection rather than promote a product, using videos will risk the chances of your emails landing in the spam folder.
Q4. Is there a good email marketing platform that allows you to embed videos in emails?
Ans. Renowned email marketing software, Hubspot, and email design tool, Unlayer are highly recommended if you want to embed videos in emails.
Wrap Up
We’re certain that now you know everything about embedding videos in emails.
One thing is for sure no matter what way you choose to embed videos in emails; they will get you a great ROI and instantly increase your audience’s attention span.
So what are you waiting for? Get started now.
