The average person receives over 100 emails every day. When you’re competing with 99 other emails to get your recipient to engage and respond, it’s up to you to find a way to stand out in the inbox. One way to do this? Learn how to send a video through email.
People pay more attention to video material than any other type of content, and for a good reason: videos are more engaging. They not only grab people’s attention, but they also keep it. Consumers who watch a video remember 95 percent of the message instead of remembering only 10 percent when having read the message. So if you’re trying to reach a specific audience and keep your message top of mind, video content is the way to go.
But if you’ve ever tried sending large files via email, you know it can be a pain. There are better ways than dragging and dropping an enormous video file and waiting for it to send. In this post, we'll go through the fundamentals of how to send a large video through email, as well as ways to make it stand out. So whether you’re looking to build a strong corporate culture or starting a new marketing campaign, read on to learn how you can amplify your message with video.
Benefits of Using Video in Email
Before we start getting into how to send a video through email, let’s look at why you should. While you may already know that video content is king, here are some undeniable benefits of using videos in email marketing.
Adding video increases email engagement
Increase the number of conversions and click-throughs with engaging video content. The impact of video on email conversion and click-through rates is significant. In fact, emails that include a video have a 96 percent greater click-through rate than those that do not.
Emails with videos are unique and memorable
Put yourself in the shoes of your audience: if you opened an email, would you rather see a big block of text or a fun and engaging video? As we mentioned at the beginning of this post, people are much more likely to remember content they watched in a video rather than text that they read. Another reason video is so memorable is that it tells a story in a digestible way, something that appeals to every single one of us. In fact, video content leads to 97 percent purchase intent and a whopping 139 percent brand association.
Emails with videos are more personal
In today’s market, consumers are becoming increasingly skeptical and you need to create a sense of trust and authenticity. The best way to do this is to create personalized videos about who you are and what you do. Learning how to send a video through Gmail or any other email provider is critical for any brand awareness marketing campaign. Using videos to develop trust and establish a relationship with your audience gives your brand a face and a personality. Additionally, try to create video material that is valuable and free for your target audience. You'll be seen as trustworthy and authoritative, fostering more trust and a willingness to invest in your services in the future.
Videos increase SEO and social media shares
Everyone knows that effective SEO and social media practices are crucial for an online presence. The effect of video email marketing on your search engine results is a significant benefit, as well as organic social media traffic. Engaging videos are far more likely to be shared on social media, raising your brand's visibility in search engines. While social media participation isn't a ranking factor for Google, it does help to enhance the effects of other ranking variables. Your content will be more visible as a result of social sharing and the more people who see your material, the better.
Videos save time
People are busy, and most prefer to watch a one-minute video than read a long-form essay for 15 minutes. Videos can quickly convey your main point while grabbing viewers' attention and simplifying even the most complex concepts. By pairing engaging visuals with a quick overview of your product or a description of your services, you’re much more likely to reach your busy audience than if you sent a regular text email.
When to Send a Video Email?
Now that you know why to include videos in your emails, let’s talk about when to do so. Here are a few common examples when learning how to send large videos in your emails is worth the effort.
Personalized Invitations and Special Occasions
Let’s go for another walk in your audience’s shoes. Sure, it’s nice to receive an elegant e-vite to an upcoming event or webinar. But you’re much more likely to engage with and be excited about a video invitation. And this isn’t just because videos are more engaging. A video invitation feels more personal, while e-vites are sent out as one large group email. This also goes for video messaging at work and celebrating special occasions, such as birthdays or work anniversaries. Send a quick video celebrating your colleague's ten-year work anniversary or send a “Happy Birthday” video to your loyal, long-time customer.
Demo a Specific Product Feature
What better way to show people how your product works than actually showing them? When you send out a quick demo video of that feature you’re combining engaging video material with in-depth informational content. For example, if your software has a new capability like tracking or in-depth reporting, perform a quick walkthrough in your video to show customers exactly how it works. Best practice: end your video with a compelling call to action.
Convey Customer Experiences
There’s nothing people trust more than word-of-mouth marketing. They want to hear from real people who have used a product or service, and they want to hear their honest experience. Put together a video of loyal customers talking about their experiences and what makes your services unique. Using a video to illustrate a current customer's experience is an excellent approach to market your services or products. It's sincere, personable, and reliable.
What Makes a Good Video?
So, you’ve decided that sending emails with videos is definitely the way to go. But now you need to actually make those videos. Next up is what makes a video compelling and engaging. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when learning how to send a video through email.
Use an Animated Preview
If you send your video as a lengthy URL link in an email, people are less likely to watch it. The fastest method to alert readers to a video in your email is through a graphic or animated preview GIF. Because video is a visual medium, it's only natural to use visuals to market it. Furthermore, graphics are more likely to stand out in a cluttered inbox.
Use Good Lighting
The lighting in your video is crucial. You want a light and airy feel, not a dark and hard-to-see video. Getting the right lighting might be challenging if you're new to video production. After all, the way we process light versus the way a camera lens processes light is very different. Furthermore, you must direct the light in the proper direction.
The good news is that you don't have to be a lighting expert to achieve outstanding results. Check out these tips to get the best lighting for videos.
Include a Clear Call to Action
You can make the best video in the world, but it would fall flat without a clear call to action at the end. A call to action isn’t simply a way to leave customers feeling motivated and energized about your product — it’s showing them clear steps on what to do next. Without a clear call to action, customers may want to purchase your product or sign up, but not know how. If it’s not totally obvious what the next steps are, potential customers are much more likely to leave your site without taking action. Always be sure to include a clickable call-to-action button so that customers can quickly and easily take action.
Tell a Story
A common mistake in video marketing is that companies often focus on checking all of their marketing boxes (the product, pricing, etc.) but they often overlook the viewer. People love stories, and they’re much more likely to engage with and remember your video if it tells a compelling story. So get creative because it won’t only be more fun for you, it’ll be more fun for your audience and pay off in the end. Keep in mind that your video’s tone should match your branding and be relevant to your audience.
Run an A/B Test
Video is similar to other forms of media. It must be exciting and valuable to the audience to drive engagement. However, video is frequently treated differently from other marketing content, and video trends can fluctuate quickly. A/B test by shooting or creating more footage than you need and cutting it up in different ways. One video will consistently outperform the others, which will be your winner.
How To Send A Video Through Email With Loom
We’ve gotten through the why, when and what of emails in videos. Now it’s on to the final step: how to send a video through email. Gone are the days of long load times and massive files causing your other applications to crash. You can now quickly and easily send videos with Loom. Loom's easy-to-use screen recorder lets you record your screen and yourself simultaneously, edit the video, and send it out within minutes. Loom can either be downloaded or used via our free Google Chrome extension. Here’s how to start sending videos Loom:
Download Loom or Install The Chrome Extension
Create An Account
Upload Or Record A Video
Preview The Video
Copy The Video Link
Add it to your email
Press send
How to install the Loom Chrome Extension
Open the Google Chrome web browser and click the “Add to Chrome” button on the main page to quickly add it to your browser. You'll be asked to add the Loom extension to your toolbar. You can begin on the Loom Home screen by:
Logging into your Loom account and select "New Video" from the drop-down menu
Clicking on the Loom icon in the toolbar.
After that, you'll have three options for recording a video:
1. Screen and camera record: If you want to be visible on camera while presenting your slides, this is where you can record yourself and do a tutorial using your screen as well.
2. Screen-only tutorials: For tutorials when you only have your screen and no picture in the corner talking to the camera. This option is ideal for creating content centered on slides and information on your screen that you wish to offer to your clients.
3. Camera-only videos: These are recordings that you wish to film of yourself.
How to Send a Long Video through Email
Choose one of the three choices shown above and press the Start Recording button to record your video. You'll be given a countdown starting at three to give you a moment to get ready. After you've completed recording, press the green check button on your screen to be directed to your Loom account, where you may edit your video by trimming the beginning and end with the Trim edit tool.
Once your video is recorded, Loom immediately produces a URL for it. On the right-hand side of your screen, you'll notice a large blue button that reads Copy Link.
After copying the video URL, paste it into your email. A thumbnail image of the video is instantly embedded in your email. Then, when you send the email to your subscribers, they'll be able to watch the movie from inside their inbox.
That's all there is to it! Now that you know how to send a video through email, it’s time to start communicating on a deeper level. Sign up to amplify your message with Loom today.