The Ultimate Guide to Video and Email

In this blog post:

Video & Email Solutions

Video & Email Obstacles

Video is king, there’s no way around it.

It’s the Tesla of marketing, ruler of the seven kingdoms, the end-all-be-all of content. It sells better, conveys better, and it’s found better.

In strategizing any sort of video efforts for your brand these days, it would be difficult to escape sending personalized video to your customers and prospects. After all, personalized video has a 16x increase in click-to-opens and a 4.5x increase in total/unique click-throughs (Vidyard).

If you’ve attempted sending videos via email, you’ve probably run into an important question: What’s the best way to send videos? Email and video have an interesting relationship, and they don’t always get along. Here are some obstacles you may run into…

Size Matters

A big problem arises when Gmail’s message limit is 25MB per email (that includes text and attachments) and a typical 2 minute video recorded with an iPhone 7 is about 220MB. The math doesn’t add up for sending video via email. It’s important to mention, most private servers have similar size limits.

We took it a step further and tried sending a one-minute video recorded with an iPhone 6 (lower quality). Here’s what we got…

We were able to send an old 40-second video recorded on a iPhone 4, but this is what happened when we tried to open the attachment…

Stop Spamming Me

Anytime an email is sent with an attachment, Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) try to prove it’s not spam. They’ve become very weary of attachments and there’s good chance it will get blocked by spam filters, especially when sending to private servers with tight security. If it does get past the gates, your video still has to get past the recipients that are opening it, all of whom are wary of downloading large file attachments from people they don’t know.

“As with most computer viruses, victims are often first targeted with a fraudulent email. If hackers can get victims to open an email and then download an attachment, then they can infiltrate their computer—and any computer associated with that computer’s network.”

— A Devastating Type of Hack Is Costing People Big Money, Time Magazine

The YouTube Blues

While YouTube is a great tool that helps tremendously with sales and marketing efforts, it still has its obstacles if you plan on actually sending the videos you’re producing. The biggest YouTube complaint we hear is the time it takes to upload a video and fill out the required information, and don’t forget you still have to write a corresponding email.

It’s no secret YouTube wants people to stay on their site and keep watching videos, understandable, but this means they don’t really care that you’re trying to sell a vehicle. It’s safe to assume your competitor’s ads and “related videos” of similar vehicles will be queued up and placed next to yours. Not to mention, the YouTube black hole of distractions like Carpool Karaoke and kittens playing tennis.

So, what are the best solutions?

File Sharing

Services like Dropbox (also WeTransfer, YouSendIt) provide a place to store and send files. Everything is done from their respective sites and your recipients receive an email directly from the third party service.

Although they get the job done, receiving an email from these companies can be intimidating to customers, and there is a learning curve. It may not be intuitive for your end user, but typically instructions are provided with the email on how to download the file(s). After clicking “View File”, recipients are then prompted to create an account.

Video Email Service

Now, we’re little biased on this topic but using a video email service has become the standard for any company that’s looking for ROI with video. Here’s why…

  • The ease of use. For both the sender and receiver, this is by far the easiest and most efficient way to send and receive video. Pre-designed and branded email templates allow for a speedy process, while still supporting the video with a personalized message. The scope of work for the sender only depends on video production, because that’s pretty much all you have to do… Record. Send.

“I’d say it takes less time to send a video with Authntk than it does to compose a proper email.”

— Chris Beaton, Sales Manager Steele Chevrolet
  • There’s no sending of large files, the video usually streams through an HTML5 player. The downloading and transferring is all done on the service providers end before the email is sent.
  • Most video email services now include an SMS package, which gives you the option to automatically text the recipient your video, along with the email. 75% of millennials choose texting over talking (OpenMarket).
  • Imagine not worrying about which videos to delete to save space or if you have enough storage for a new recording. With a video email service, your videos are stored and saved forever on their servers… easily recalled at any time, and no storage required on your end.
  • Performance reports are huge perks of email services. They allow you to see open rates, who has viewed your videos, and when.. An invaluable tool that can steer your video marketing strategy in the right direction.

No matter where you are in your video marketing process, it’s never to late to try out one of these solutions, your customers will thank you for it! 

To experience an Authntk Video Email example right now, click here.

For more information on Authntk’s Video Email Service, contact us here.

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