As marketers scramble to integrate video into any and every marketing media they can, email has emerged as a focal point. In a Jan. 28 webinar from WhatCounts, an e-communications solutions provider, David Daniels, founder of the online consulting firm The Relevancy Group, and David Geller, founder and CEO of WhatCounts, discussed best practices for marketers to follow as they immerse themselves in video email.
6 trends leading to video in email
Daniels kicked off the webinar by setting the stage for how we've gotten to this point and why there's a market for video in email. Specifically, he cited six trends.
1. Communication convergence. Today's consumers have shortened attention spans, and they have more outlets than ever to communicate through. This has made targeting messages more difficult, Daniels said.
2. Video email. The demand is there, Daniels said. It's a matter of the technology catching up. In addition to video in email, the animation of images has also proven effective.
3. The complexity of email is increasing. There's a new challenge confronting email marketers each year, Daniels said, whether it be CAN-SPAM, deliverability, mobile and so on. Video is 2010's challenge.
4. Email measurement and analysis tools have merged across disciplines. Marketers are challenged by what to measure, and who should measure it.
5. Marketers need to be comfortable with change. In order to succeed as a marketer, you need to be masterful at change, Daniels said.
6. Embrace the benefits of being a marketer. Take advantage of the fact that failure is accepted — in the scope of testing and trial-and-error — for marketers. Test video in email to see if it works for your brand or not.
Email is a foundational component
Despite reports that social networking may someday replace email, the medium is still growing, said Geller. And video in email is one of the fastest-growing categories. According to Forrester Research, video in email can increase clickthrough rates by as much as two to three times. And time spent consuming video online will triple by 2013, according to the Solutions Research Group.
