Small-to-midsized business (SMB) marketers are highly enthusiastic about the prospects of video email, according to [pdf] a recent study by GetResponse.
The “Email Marketing Trends Study” shows that a sizable majority of SMB marketers plan to use video email this year and think it holds great potential.
Usage Rates Will Skyrocket This Year
When asked if they used video email in 2009 and plan to use it in 2010, only a combined 15.7% of respondents said they used it last year. However, more than 80% of respondents plan to use video email this year, with 11.9% saying they used it last year and will increase usage this year. Only 0.8% of respondents said they used video email last year and will decrease usage this year.
Video Emails Seen as Conversion Tool
Almost 66% of respondents said video email can result in significant or moderate increases in conversion rates. Only 5.1% don’t think video email has any influence on conversion rates, with 28.9% unsure.
Branding Not Seen as Video Email Strength
When it comes to the different uses of video email by small businesses, 28.8% of respondents consider training courses as most effective use of video email, with product demos, product offers, and customer testimonials taking the next three places, respectively. Branding came in fifth place, barely ahead of “none.”
Click-through Benefit Seen
Fifty percent of respondents said that video emails can increase click-through rates and drive customers onto landing pages. Only 4.7% of email marketers do not see any benefits from using video emails. Despite branding’s poor showing among potential uses of video email, 36.8% of respondents to this question said video email can enhance brand image.
Video Email Grows, May Have Hidden Costs
The video email marketing marketplace will reach $7.2 billion, by 2012, according to a December 2009 report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). As reported by MarketingVox, despite the benefits of the technology, the IAB cautioned marketers not to rush into crafting such campaigns without taking into account potential hidden costs that could easily offset any lift in conversion rates video email technology provides.
These additional considerations include:
- Video and deliverability services are often not email service providers themselves. Rather, they partner with many of the leading ESPs as an added service, which means marketers can count on paying up to $10 CPM on top of what the ESP is paid.
- In order for the video to play within the email, it needs to be hosted somewhere, and there may be a cost attached to that. There may also be an extra fee for using the video player within email.
- CPMs will vary depending on list quality, size, number of segments, and other factors. It is important to consider the sheer targeting power of email, and the current willingness of advertisers to pay a premium for video advertising.
About the Survey: The GetResponse “2010 Email Marketing Trends” survey was conducted online from January 27 to February 5, 2010. The survey was taken by more than 200 SMB email marketers spanning a wide range of industries and five continents.
