By: Christina Galbornetti, Director of Creative Services | V12 Group
The digital space is paving the way for marketers to better communicate with their customers like no other medium today. Videos, like those seen on YouTube have become a top tool and technique for engaging an audience online. It’s as close to a television ad you can get, without the big investment, not to mention it’s a more engaged interaction since viewers take the time to actually click on digital media to take action. Now, we’ll cover some of the do’s and don’ts of integrating digital trends into email…
DO: Use videos in email to engage consumers
Online videos can provide viewers with key information to help educate consumers, spread a message, or build a brand. Avoid the temptation to build a video just to launch a series of emails, but rather plan on implementing a video strategy that has a reason, benefit, or other intriguing promotional spin to engage and interest customers on a deeper level. Think of a one-to-one conversation you’d most want to share with a consumer and you’ll end up building a thoughtful video campaign with purpose. Then, you can weave that into upcoming email campaigns.
Using video clips within an email is a trend that many marketers will find useful in 2012, however most email service providers will not support embedded videos within an email. Additionally, embedded videos add a lot of back-end coding that is likely to get blocked. So, the alternative is to use a screenshot image of the video so that when the reader clicks on the ‘play’ button, they will be directed to a new landing page to watch the hosted video. This actually gives you the added benefit of tracking click activity.
The first step is to post your video to YouTube. Copy the full URL of your video page, and this will be link to be used in the email. Then you’ll want to create a static screenshot of your video to use as a .jpg or .gif image. Next, insert the image with the video url into the html creative.
Lastly, DO keep the videos short and sweet.
DO: Use videos to tell a story
Marketers today strive to make a connection with their customers to instill brand identity, value and loyalty. Campaigns that go viral which are passed and shared from consumer to consumer are by far the most successful. (AKA, the Super bowl commercial everyone is talking about the next day) So find a story within your brand, and tell it well.
Kmart recently did a video series on their entire denim line with a behind-the-scenes look at how Kmart fashion execs choose the design, the fabric, and overall fit. This tactic is a perfect example of how you can sell jeans without selling jeans. It also reinforces the fact that there are actual people behind the company who care about how you look and feel in your clothes. That personal level of attention fosters brand loyalty and can easily turn a prospect into a customer.
You can watch a sample here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Tugr4jMbVI&feature=autoplay&list=PL87D5EDC8AB9ED73A&lf=results_video&playnext=2
DON’T: Use Flash in emails to make them more appealing
Flash animation provides a visual appeal that looks sharp and cutting edge and we’d suggest using it on a landing page. BUT, email is not the place for Flash content since email clients will not support it. Not to mention that a good portion of the population using iPhones and iPads will completely miss out on your message since it’s a well known fact that those devices do not support Flash technology. Keep it simple and provide your recipients with relevant content in an easy-to-read format.
DON’T: Use animated gifs in prospecting emails
Animated gifs are described as files that flip two or more images to display a simple motion. They are a popular way to grab the reader’s attention and are more widely used around the holiday season in an attempt to stand out in a crowded email inbox. We’d firmly agree for CRM based-email campaigns that animated gifs, when used properly, will surely lift engagement and boost response.
However, animated gifs should be avoided in prospecting campaigns. It’s widely known that Outlook will not render them at all and more importantly, they add to the overall file size of the email. Many email clients will filter and block excessively large emails so using animated gifs raises the likelihood your email may never be delivered…so the risk is not worth the reward. Not to mention, animated gifs are slow to load on mobile devices. IF, you can minimize the file size and it makes sense to use an animated gif within a creative, it’s worth testing usage and performance.
Conclusion
Marketers are constantly looking for cutting edge technologies to boost email response, unfortunately the ISP’s keep pace with those trends making it more difficult for prospecting emails to overcome filters. Using digital media is one tactic to test, but the goal of enhanced targeting is first and foremost in delivering relevant and effective campaigns that users find valuable.
