2 kinds of marketing videos you should send in newsletters

You know that video is a powerful communication tool but perhaps you’re wondering how you can use video in newsletters to better drive sales with new and old customers. In this post I’ll be walking through two types of marketing videos you should send in newsletters, giving an outline of ways to use them and who you should be sending them to.

1. The explainer video

Usually when you think of a company video, it’s probably related to an explainer video of some kind. The classic “How it works” video. This kind of video is something every company should use because it has the ability to communicate how your product or service works without leaving too much room for interpretation. Now, the reason why explainer videos work so well is because they tend to do what pages of text cannot: they keep people engaged and entertained in a richer way than text.

One of my favorite entertainer videos of all time comes from Xero. Check it out:

Ways to use the explainer video

There are a couple of levels that an explainer video can be used. In it’s most basic form, the explainer video can be used to give an overall idea of your product or service. That’s what the video from Xero does. Alternatively, the explainer video can also be used to introduce new features or product lines. We did this recently to introduce our new free image gallery to current users. Instead of creating another explainer video for our entire platform, we simply created one that highlighted this new feature.

The benefits of using an explainer video

Given that an explainer video can keep people engaged in a richer way than pages of text can, the benefits of using an explainer video are pretty straight forward;

• They clarify your product or service

Probably in a shorter amount of time than reading a set of instructions.

• They increase your conversion rates

Explainer videos can increase your conversion rates in one of two ways. The first is that they make the consideration period for potential customers shorter since a video can explain a product or service quicker and better than text can. So, for example, someone who watches your explainer video is going to know if your product or service is right for them faster than if that same person read through a bunch of  explainer text.

The second way explainer videos increase conversion rates is because it can retain people that would have bounced from your web or left your mailing having seen the explainer text.

• They boost your sales

The combination of the two points above work together to boost your sales overall. After all, if people have a better idea of what it is that you do coupled with knowing that information faster, then it’s very likely they’ll convert to a sale faster than if your explainer was done without the use of a video.

Who should you send this video to?

Since the explainer video assumes that someone doesn’t know how your product or service works, it’s a good idea to send this video to lists of potential customers and not your current customers. Sending it to current customers risks making them feel patronized, and that you don’t think they have a proper grasp on who you are. The exception here is if you are creating smaller, bite-sized explainer videos on new features or products that would benefit current customers, such as our own example above.

Another segment that could benefit from seeing your explainer video could be customers that have ‘expired’ (they stopped buying from you a long time ago). In the time that they have since left you, your product or service might have changed in a way that now meets their needs. Sending them an email with the explainer video might be an excellent way to reintroduce them to your brand and re-engage them into the sales funnel.

Related: [VIDEO] Campaign building: from newsletters to conversion

2. The testimonial video

Testimonials go a long way in proving that you are the brand people should choose. Most companies already have a testimonials page on their web but producing them in video format will make them even more powerful.

Ways to use the testimonial video

On the most basic level, testimonial videos can be used to transfer written testimonials into video format. But don’t let this limit your creativity! Testimonial video are also a great way to highlight specific features that can help frame why certain businesses or people might choose you. Slack did this very well in their video which doubled up as both an explainer video AND a testimonial video. Check it out:

The benefits of using a testimonial video

• They add a human, emotional connection

Unlike the explainer video, the testimonial video is always centered on the feelings and opinions of another person outside the company which adds a human and emotional element that sometimes is hard to find in an explainer video. This connection is what drives us to either trust the brand (or not)

• They are cost effective

Unlike an explainer video, testimonial videos can be made without expensive animations, actors or script-writing.

Who should you send this video to?

The testimonial video assumes that someone is familiar with your brand and what you do but are currently in the consideration period. Essentially they need a little help deciding and the testimonial video is aiming to push them over the line into your arms. Knowing this, the testimonial video is something you should be sending to potential customers, preferably those who are further along in the sales funnel rather than those at the top of the funnel.

Testimonial videos can also be used to upsell to current customers. For example, if you have a testimonial for a particular feature or service, this could be sent to current customer that are not yet using that service.

A quick note on how not to send videos in newsletters

I just want to make it very clear that regardless of what kind of video you are sending and who you are sending to, it’s very important to attach videos as a link to your emails. You can do this by linking a call-to-action, text or by linking a thumbnail preview just like in the example below:

Source: Big Image Systems

Related: How to create irresistible call-to-actions

If you upload your video directly into a newsletter, you risk getting caught in spam traps and harming your overall deliverability. Different email clients (Gmail, Apple Mail, Outlook) all have different ‘rules’ in what emails they let into an inbox. Those that include a video file are more often than not sorted as spam or junk of some kind. So give yourself the best chance at deliverability and link your videos with a preview image.

This post was inspired by an awesome post over on MarketingProfs which covered different video types for websites.