Boosting Email Campaigns with Customer Videos

Why are videos so integral to marketing campaigns? Well, the reason is simple, videos have shown to increase the open rate, click-through rate and even the conversion rate once on a merchant site.

In a 2020 report, Cisco noted that adding the word “video” to the subject line of an email increases its open rate from 7% to 13% .  And a Campaign Monitor report revealed that adding a video to an email can double the click-through rate and reduce unsubscribes by 26% . We know that 60% of consumers prefer to watch a video than to read a product description, so why not incorporate User Generated Content into your emails to increase customer engagement.

In terms of conversion, consumer video also performs very well . All the more so when it features other consumers. Did you know that 88% of Internet users trust customer videos as much as word of mouth. By embedding this type of video in your emails and on your e-commerce site, you can increase your conversion rate from 17% to 57%. This is what we observed in A / B test on merchant sites like Eram or Cdiscount .

Consumer videos impact all of your metrics: open rate, click-through rate, unsubscribe rate and even conversion rate once on your product pages.

Now that you know the benefits of User Generated Content, let’s discuss how best to utilize them.

Here are some pro tips to optimize your emails with video:

• Mention the existence of the video in the subject line of the email : As explained previously, including the word “video” increases your open rate from 7 to 13%.
• Include video customer testimonials to reassure your prospects: video is the ultimate reassurance because its almost tangible. It humanizes your message and gives credibility to the opinions of your customers.
• Send tutorial, “How To” and post-purchase videos to guide your consumers: this helps your customers use the product and reduces your after-sales service workload. Even if they require a small investment in time to produce them, they are reusable in the long term.

• If you can’t embed an autoplay video in your email, consider GIFs: If email content size is an issue, condense your video into a short GIF. A short snippet of your video in GIF format can be used as a teaser to get the recipient to click. It will always be more effective than a text link “ Discover this video by clicking here! ”.

To summarize :

• Long dissociated from email, video is making a comeback to create more interactive, more human and more effective campaigns.
• Video can increase the open rate (+ 13%) and click-through rate (x2) of an email.
• Consumer videos impact all of your metrics: open rate, click-through rate, unsubscribe rate and even conversion rate once on your merchant site.
• Mention the existence of the video in the subject of your email to increase your open rate!
• Embed an animated GIF to tease the video if you can’t embed it directly into the email.
• Create a smooth experience between your email and your video landing page. Too long loading time will cost you dearly because Internet users do not want to wait.
• Take advantage of the video format to be creative and humanize your communication.