by Martin Lieberman
If you had the option of reading an article or watching a video, which would you choose? As a writer/editor, I’d love for you to say an article, but I know you’d likely choose the latter. People love watching videos. That’s probably why, according to comScore, the average U.S. Internet user watches 186 videos every month.
For a business or organization, that statistic makes it almost a no-brainer why you’d want to use videos in your marketing efforts. Videos are often a more engaging way to communicate information. They allow you to tell your story in a different way. They allow you to put a more human face on your business or organization. They allow your voice to really come through. And they allow you to build a greater connection with your email subscribers.
Speaking of which, putting a video in an email can make your communications even more effective. In a survey by the World Wide Marketing Council, 73% of marketers said that integrating video with their email marketing efforts increased their click-through rates. In addition, a study by MarketingSherpa reported that video in an email can lift conversion rates by 50%.
It’s true. Want proof? Here’s just one small example.
Last week, we sent out the latest issue of our #CTCTSocial newsletter. In every issue, we include a link for people to give us feedback, but for Thursday’s issue, we decided to use a video to ask people for their thoughts. (You can watch by clicking that link.) As you can see, the video we used wasn’t some glossy Hollywood production. It wasn’t written by Aaron Sorkin or directed by Michael Bay. It was just me talking to the subscribers for 30 seconds. And guess what? It worked like a charm. We received an additional 10 responses over our average number.
I know that may not sound like much, but I think it speaks to the stronger connection I was able to make with readers. I’m no Brad Pitt, but I’m convinced that the more personal touch I added to the email was the reason why we had a better response rate.
If you’ve been holding back on adding video into your email marketing efforts, then now is the time to add your voice to the mix. We’ll even make it easy for you: This week, we introduced a feature that allows customers to insert a video screen shot into their emails. Readers will see your screen shot and click through to the video on YouTube, Vimeo, or Blip.TV (wherever it’s hosted). It couldn’t be any simpler to do this, and you’ll be able to see in your reporting data how effective this content is.
Why not try adding a video from one of those sites to your next email and see how it works? (Of course, you can also use the video on Facebook and Twitter.) Then, please share the results with me here or on our Facebook Page. And look out for future blog posts and Hints & Tips articles, where we’ll share great tips on what types of videos work best and how to produce them easily.
Have you inserted a video into your emails? Please share your suggestions and tips in the comments below.
