Dive Brief:
- GetResponse released its latest Email Marketing Benchmarks report with data based on almost 2 billion emails sent by its worldwide clients from to March to May 2017. One of the more interesting results was on embedded video in email. The tactic isn't overly common because of tech considerations but, breaking it down by platform, Vimeo outperformed all others including Google's YouTube. Vimeo beat YouTube in open rates (47.35% compared to 31.9%) and clickthrough rates (12.5% compared to 5.56%).
- Marketers should keep in mind that YouTube was far-and-away the most popular format for embedded video, so it's possible that a smaller number of email marketers with greater finesse helped drive Vimeo's success. Because not all email service providers are compatible with embedded video, animated GIFs and thumbnails linking to videos are more popular, but embedded video is expected to play a big role in the future of email marketing, according to Mateusz Ruzik, customer education team manager at GetResponse.
- Two other aggregate findings include emails sent on Thursday had the highest open rate (23.13%) and clickthrough (3.52%), but Wednesday was the most popular day to send email. The best time of day to send messages was 4 p.m., with the highest open rate (25.13%) and clickthrough (3.82%).
Dive Insight:
As video's role in marketing grows considerably, few channels have remained untouched by its influence. Email might seem the outlier here — eye-catching subject lines and teasers might still be the greatest drivers of key performance indicators (KPIs) like open rates — but GetResponse's findings indicate video can be a powerful driver of engagement.
YouTube, being both early to the digital video space and backed by the massive resources of Google, has quickly become a market leader here, but Vimeo can clearly help savvier email marketers bolster their messaging as well. Even then, marketers should be careful to ensure their email design and any embedded media is responsive and intuitive to use, especially as mobile phones with different screen sizes start to command more of consumers' attention.
Marketers wary of producing and integrating full-fledged video into their email campaigns might lean on GIFs and other fun, easy-to-use formats that are less technologically demanding. Research from Return Path released in June found the use of emojis in subject lines — an area also examined by GetResponse — can help trigger higher response rates compared to more traditional copy, for example.
