The success of YouTube shows us that people like videos. Viewers send links to their friends: who needs an advertising agency? Whilst email marketing software will tell you how many of your customers clicked through to a video, only you can say whether the investment is worthwhile.
Few could fail to be impressed by the quality and sophistication of some of the videos on YouTube? The days of footage filmed on a mobile phone being acceptable are long gone. If you want to put your brand up there then you need to give the process some thought.
You must have a reason for including video over and above it just looking nice. There is the problem that many email service providers will block an email with embedded video, rendering all your efforts worthless. Currently the best bet is to use a hotlink, perhaps a picture of the subject of the video although it is perhaps best not to use a poor quality frame. Your email marketing software will tell you how many people have clicked on the link.
There is no doubt that many people see video as entertaining and informative. A still of a sunset is all very well but how much better is a film of two people dancing while the sun sets spectacularly behind them?
The second thing you need is a target, something to show whether or not your efforts are worthwhile. Measurement, as always in the world of email marketing software, is everything.
The number of hits a YouTube video receives is a crude estimation of how many people noticed your logo. One option is to host the video yourself on a micro-site. You will have more control over the way it is presented and there will be no intrusion of another logo.
If you subscribe to a number of email marketing lists you will know that few companies include a video, even as a link. However a number of e-newsletters carry them, mainly in the form of a link to a YouTube URL. This tends to show that they may have mileage.
Costs of course will be important to you and here things start to become difficult. A camcorder is cheap enough and can produce video of a quality that has to be reduced for YouTube, and herein lies the problem.
It is unfortunate that videos have to be edited, a time-consuming business. The candid look takes a lot of skill to appear authentic. If it looks as if it is straight out of the camera many people will ignore it.
If you want to steal a march on your competitors by including video then by all means give it a go. Nobody can tell you it is not worth the effort but, by the same token, evidence of its usefulness is also missing. You are on your own.
Why not try a one-off, with a specific reason in mind. Your email marketing software will tell you if it is worthwhile. If you, like the rest of us, want to stand out from the crowd, an exciting, perhaps intriguing, video might well be the way to go.
About The Author:
Janes Haniton is a freelance writer and an email marketing specialist. He suggests using email marketing software for best of the online marketing benefits.
Admin
Marshal Hubs
Priyanka Srivastava
John Stephen
2 comments