The e-commerce sector is growing exponentially, such that Forrester expects, based on the trend in recent years, that in 2020 (in just three years) sales made on mobile devices will be worth 252 billion dollars, which would represent a 119% increase in just five years. In 2015 alone online sales of over 115 billion dollars were made via mobiles and tablets.
For the e-commerce and retail sectors email marketing is a powerful tool, as it makes possible direct communication with potential customers, showing them a product that they can purchase with just a few clicks.
Video furnishes these types of campaigns with added value, as it is a format favoured by the public, transmitting a great number of emotions.
The videos most commonly used by Viewed clients in such campaigns feature experiences, in which the product is not just displayed. Rather, the emotional values associated with it are also transmitted; i.e. if a clothing brand is sold, the video shows not just the clothes, but portrays people happy with them, thereby unconsciously associating happiness with the brand, or a particular garment.
Tips for the perfect campaign
1. Segment, and segment again
The biggest problem e-commerce merchants face when it comes to communicating involves the large number of products found in their catalogues, and the failure to properly segment their databases. Many e-commerce businesses do not invest enough time segmenting their databases, and direct the same campaign at different kinds of people. Segmentation is vital for an e-mail marketing campaign to work. If, for example, a fashion brand offers clothes for men and women of different ages, and sends content on apparel for women who are 40 to customers who are 20, it not only squanders sales, but can also cause them to get off the mailing list.
2. Cross-selling through video email
Something that works well with Viewed customers are transactional emails. There are e-commerce companies creating short videos of each of their products, and when someone buys a product, they send a video email featuring a product related to it; for example, if a user buys a dress, they send a video email featuring matching shoes.
3. Highly visible video
The highlight of a video email (although it might seem obvious to point this out) must be the video. There have been campaigns that have failed because the video was not placed in a prominent position. Some brands have placed videos in the middle of their emails. What can happen in this case? If the user does not scroll down, he never even sees the video, and the campaign is weakened.
Another reason that campaigns are not as successful as had been hoped has to do with the length of the video. A study conducted by Animoto indicates that people respond better to videos lasting 60 seconds or less.
4. Video and template, in synch
Another tip we give our clients is that they cannot expect a brand video to close sales. If they are looking to close sales, they must present the product in the video, and, below it, include a CTA leading directly to a purchase platform for the product.
5. CTA leading to the product
Whether it features a video or an image, if the CTA leads to the page in general, and not the specific product being displayed, you may lose the sale.
6. Date and time
There are lot of different themes and content in e-commerce, and for each there is an ideal launch date and time, but if the video email will be launched during working hours, it is a good idea to mute it (which can be programmed when creating the viewed.video campaign) or to use soft music, or customers are likely to close the email without ever viewing the content.
If it is launched outside working hours, however, it is advisable to include audio to catch the recipient's attention and strengthen the video's message.
7. Responsive, always responsive
As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, sales through mobile and tablets in this sector have amounted to some 115 billion dollars. And Spain is not far behind. Transactions via smartphones and tablets saw a 49% increase in the first half of 2015, which means that our country grew more in this respect than other areas in Europe, like Scandinavia, and France. With Viewed, making your video campaigns responsive involves just one easy step.
8. Subject
Don't forget to include "Video" in the subject line so that recipients don't overlook your email when checking their inboxes. Just by adding this word, the opening rate increases by up to 10%.
9. Name of sender
An item that your recipients pay a lot of attention to is the name of the person sending the email, so we recommend that you choose one that inspires trust, depending on the segment to which the email is addressed. Avoid using info@, noreply@ or communication@, as these senders tend to condemn your emails to the spam box.
10. Social buzz
Give your campaign a shot in the arm by taking full advantage of the inclusion of the video in the email. Remember that video is the most shared type of content on social networks, so let your recipients become "evangelists" of your brand by placing social network buttons in the email. When you buy your plan, just tell us via email that you want social networking buttons, and we'll add them for you. Make it go viral, thanks to video email!
