Boost Your Email Marketing Campaigns with Some Video 'Va-Va-Voom'

Email marketing is a highly effective method of making regular contact with your clients and prospects. Striking images make a big difference to the overall appearance of your campaigns -- video can be the cherry on top. In fact, in a recent survey by The Relevancy Group, 55 percent of respondents reported a higher click-through rate when video was incorporated and 41 percent saw an increase in forwarding and sharing. A surprising number of those surveyed were yet to include video in their campaigns but a whopping 81 percent of them agreed that they were likely to be doing so imminently. We think it would be good idea to join them!

Why you should give video a try

Here are a few reasons why bringing your email campaigns to life with a fabulous little film is a spot-on suggestion:

• Inspire imagination. Effective videos instantly grab your recipient’s attention. A very short but highly impactful video can capture imagination fast.

• Appeal to emotions. Including a video in your email will give you a greater chance of connecting with your reader’s emotions, emotions that greatly affect the decision making process and buying behavior.

• Speedy delivery. Brains process visuals much faster than text. Visuals are processed around 60,000 times faster so you can include a lot more detail without having to write reams of copy that could be off-putting to your audience.

• Variety is the spice of life. It can be tricky trying to come up with new and compelling material every time you create a new email. Video presents more ways to add variety and introduce new dimensions to your newsletter.

• Distribution channels. A video is much more likely to be shared with colleagues and forwarded to friends -- hey, it might even get published elsewhere!

• Review those reports. With video, sophisticated analytics will help you to track who’s watching, how long they stick with it, and at what point they click away, perfect indirect feedback allowing you to sharpen up future films and drill down on your targeting.

• Be a little different. Not many businesses are doing it. According to a recent survey, only one quarter of marketing executives have used video in their email marketing campaigns. So take the chance to stand out as a forward-thinking, innovative small business.

• Cost-effective content. Video can be relatively cheap to produce, fitting nicely into a marketing plan that may be governed by a modest budget.

On that basis, it’s probably worth giving video a whirl! There’s plenty of ways you can include a short clip, a current promotion, a client testimonial, a product demonstration or a tutorial on how to get the best from the services you offer. All highly valuable stuff to absorb your audience and make a meaningful impact!

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• 6 Tips for Creating Social Media Videos That People Can’t Help But Click On