Why you should use video to increase your open rates?

What are open rates?

Open rates are calculated by dividing the number of people who opened an email by the number of emails that successfully sent from the entire campaign. This means that emails that bounce and therefore did not deliver to a person’s inbox are not counted.

So what counts as an open email?

It’s expected that an open rate measures how many people open an email, though unfortunately it’s not quite that straightforward. Email Service Providers (ESPs) need to be able to track whether an email has been opened or not. Marketing platforms like Hubspot embed a single pixel into their email newsletter designs, and track that an email has been opened once that pixel loads. If the email recipient has settings that prevent images from automatically loading, it becomes harder to track whether they have opened the email or not.

When a user enables images and other content to load, we can be certain that they have officially opened the email. So, how do we make sure this happens, and why else should we all be using video in our email marketing strategies?

Use video in subject title to increase open rates

By using a CTA like “watch this video” in your email header, you’re giving a clear and engaging instruction to the reader. Videos that are quick, easy to digest and to the point make for enjoyable viewing. By using video in the subject title, readers that want to view the content will need to enable images and video to be displayed. This is a really effective way to boost open rates.

Video always boosts SEO

Google bots prefer video over any other form of content, and will push your landing page and relevant links higher up the search engine results pages (SERPs). Make sure your video content is accessible for all by including audio descriptions, subtitles and alt texts.

Videos are more likely to get shared on social media 

Using a video in your email marketing campaign is not the only channel you should host your content on. Though video can feel like a large upfront cost compared to static creative assets, it sees higher ROI due to higher engagement rates. Utilising your video across your email marketing campaign, paid social campaigns, website and social media will see a higher audience reach. Plus, people love sharing video content online.

Where do I start with making a video for my email marketing campaign?

Your video needs to be short, engaging and impactful. Be sure to have a CTA at the start or end of the video to generate conversions. The ideal duration will depend on the video’s purpose. If the content aims to inform or educate, try to keep it under 2 minutes. If the video is to entertain and convert a viewer, videos under 30 seconds tend to work best. As for the rest of your campaign, you can check out our optimal lengths for social media videos here.

Filming a video for your email marketing campaign doesn’t have to be expensive or over complicated. We love to use animation and motion graphics to deliver engaging content. Using video footage recorded in person can be more difficult to organise, or may not deliver the same quality as an animated piece. Live footage requires a location, film crew, camera equipment, director and actors.

At Tricks, we can craft an effective and memorable piece of content that can be expanded to fit the rest of your campaign all in our studio. Contact us to find out more.