The Role of Video in B2B Email Campaigns

Some view methods of communicating with prospects and customers that have earned a bad reputation as things to stay away from. But that also means a poorly-applied method could be a great opportunity—if your marketing team knows how to handle the tool in a professional and secure manner.

A prime example is a marketing email campaign. When people think of email, the knee-jerk reaction is that marketers only send spam.

You can’t blame them given all the off-target emails and those with obscure messaging that we receive. It also doesn’t help that email is a primary channel used by cybercriminals. Prospects and customers are sometimes afraid to open and click any email they receive from an unknown source.

Related: Writing Better Subject Lines for Tech Buyers

At the same time, your marketing team can’t just rely on SEO to bring prospects and customers to your website and social media platform. You also need to push messaging through email campaigns that leverage the right tools and deliver secure content your audiences will trust.

Embedded Videos Enable Effective Email Marketing Campaigns

Perhaps the best way to overcome the challenge of getting audiences to open your marketing emails is to use videos embedded into your messaging.

When done effectively—by speaking to customer pain points—videos increase email open and click-through rates while also capturing your audience’s attention more effectively. A study by Campaign Monitor recently found videos boost email open rates by 19% and click-through rates by 65%.

The key lies in how you deliver videos. As with every email, it starts with one of the basics: the subject field. Connect to your audience with a problem you can solve or an opportunity you can help them capitalize on.

If you mention the email contains a video in the subject field, you’ll greatly increase your chances of getting people to open the message. Then, the content within the email needs to be short and sweet—nothing more than a 1-2 sentence intro with three bullet points to tell them what the video conveys.

The video itself should also be short. No longer than two minutes and preferably less than one. If recipients launch the video and see it’s five minutes long, they likely won’t want to watch any of it. Consider a short teaser video that whets their appetite and gives them options for more information—perhaps a longer video or links to other marketing assets, such as a white paper, datasheet or blog.

Even if a reader does not click through to another asset, the short video allows you to at least make an impression. And that just may bring them back later on!

To create the video, it’s best to use one of the leading video platforms, which gives you the option to embed the video within the email. That increases its chances of being watched as opposed to just including a link—the embedded thumbnail works much more powerfully as a mini-billboard compared to a long string of characters.

Implementing Security Measures Is Key

As mentioned earlier, it’s also critical that your campaign audiences believe your emails are secure. Even if the subject field attracts their interest, fear of a link with malware will prevent them from watching your video.

This aspect of email marketing comes down to trust, which may depend on your brand reputation. As a starting point, consult with your IT team on the best way to secure your outgoing emails.

One effective tactic is Domain Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance (DMARC). This protocol ensures only brand-authorized emails reach intended recipients by preventing unauthorized cybercriminals from targeting audiences with malicious emails that can include phishing links, malware, sender spoofing, or suspicious attachments.

When adopting DMARC, the deliverability of email increases by an average of 10%.

Another way to build trust in the security of your videos is to rely on a platform for embedded video with strong brand recognition, such as YouTube and Vimeo. Others with solid reputations include Dailymotion,

Facebook, Wistia, and BombBomb. People feel more comfortable when they see you use the services of these companies.

Bringing Viewers Into Your Sales Funnel

Video will enhance any email campaign, but it’s particularly effective for building momentum for events and product launches. And if you need further convincing, consider these statistics:

• 69% of consumers prefer to learn about a product or service through video
• Videos in email lead to a 200-300% increase in click-through rates
• 90% of users say product videos help in the decision-making process
• Using video generates up to 66% more qualified leads per year

Videos can also be used within email signatures as a way to promote your company culture.

Listen: Tech Marketer Episode 10 — Engaging B2B Newsletters

Moving pictures accompanied by music draw in and grab the initial attention of viewers much more so than plain text or a PDF. And as your videos get viewers interested in how your products and services can solve key pain points, you can then direct them to additional assets—and hopefully, a conversation that brings them further into your sales funnel.