Personalization is vital to effective B2B marketing and The 2020 B2B Marketing Mix Report doesn’t show that changing anytime soon.
Video capabilities are more accessible than ever before, and allow you to make virtual eye contact with prospects and customers to address their unique needs directly. Some dedicated video services, such as Vidyard, can be integrated directly into Hubspot. This integration makes one-to-one email campaigns easy, and as an effective account-based-marketing strategy, it gives prospects a better sense of your company’s culture, character, and personality. Video emails are an outlet for fun, dynamic content that helps establish human connection—something that can be challenging to achieve in other tactics.
Video email campaigns show 5x higher open rates and 8x higher open-to-reply rates in prospecting.1 Those numbers are hard to ignore! So, we hopped into the Sagefrog Lab, where we test out new strategies, to craft our own video email campaign. In this blog, we’re sharing our process to help you develop an effective video email campaign that will grab the attention of qualified prospects and leads.
Your Video Email Quickstart Guide
- Gather Your List of Recipients
Before you record your video emails, you’ll need to know who you’re sending them to and what you’ll discuss. Segment a group of prospects that share similar needs. This way, you can write consistent yet tailored emails and scripts that only require you to swap out the correct personal and business details for each recipient.
Take time to learn about the individuals you’re contacting, their role in their company, and their businesses in general. You want to speak to the right people who have the power to purchase your solutions. If there are a few people in relevant positions at a given company, send emails to all of them.
- Plan Your Video Email Campaign
Help your future self by planning out your video email project from the beginning. Start by segmenting your potential video recipients, focusing on a relatively small group who share a common need. We suggest planning a workflow of at least three emails for each touchpoint.
Email Example:
Hi, [name]
I’m reaching out to you because I noticed that your website [describe issue]. I wanted to discuss some potential solutions, so I’ve recorded this short video.
- Keep Your Video Casual and Personal
Leave your formalwear at the door! Record your video emails in casual business attire. The point of these videos is to express the humanity of your business while providing useful, engaging content.
Keep in mind that the more of these emails you send to different prospects, the higher the chances of success. As you record your videos, they’ll quickly become more natural, and you’ll be more comfortable on camera.
Take all the time you need to perfect a script and your body language. Speak naturally, stay on topic, and make your point quickly and clearly.
- Include a Compelling Hook in Your Script
Email videos should typically clock in around the one-minute mark. Any longer and viewers lose interest. Show an understanding of your viewers’ needs and tell them how you can help right away.
Embedded Video Example:
- Record Your Video
Consumer-grade recording technology that’s available in just about every phone or laptop is perfect. We suggest using Vidyard. Rehearse your script enough to get a good idea of what you’ll say, but keep in mind that ideally, you’ll be recording a lot of these. You’ll likely get into a natural rhythm with your script. You might end up so comfortable in front of the camera that you’ll want to re-record your earliest videos after finding your groove!
- Follow Up to Your Video
The efforts you make to follow up with your prospects don’t have to be video emails—in fact, they don’t have to be emails at all. If you don’t get a response to your video email, you could call or send a postcard reminding your prospect that you’re available and ready to help. It’s up to you (and your marketing agency) to determine the most appropriate ways to stay in contact with your prospects.
If you offer free, relevant resources such as in-house reports, case studies, or blog posts, let your recipients know about them in these follow-up communications.
Follow Up Example:
Hi, [name]
I hope you’ve had a chance to watch the video I made for you. If you’d like to know more, here’s a link to our free [guide, eBook, blog post] that provides some further insight into [original issue]. If you’re ready to make improvements, you can reply directly to this email or contact me at [contact information].
Wrapping Up
Personalized video emails are a fantastic way to address several of the most important and effective marketing strategies and trends we’ll be seeing in 2020. Download The 2020 B2B Marketing Mix Report to see how email will be a part of most B2B campaigns and how personalized content will be critical to creating lasting connections with prospects and customers in 2020.
Ready to jump into your 2020 marketing campaign? Contact us for help crafting and maintaining an effective campaign that helps to further establish your business as an innovator and industry leader.
