Last post, I discussed current support and delivery methods for email + video. This time we're going to focus on some of the benefits and concerns and finish with a few closing thoughts. As I mentioned last time, please note that this blog centers on the technological considerations around email + video—the strategy around sending video in email (or not) is another discussion!
Benefits of email + video
Concerns regarding email + video
Moving to technical issues, browsers interpret animated .gif frame rates differently, so it's important to test and ensure your .gif appears as desired in all browsers. File sizes and bandwidth are also a concern. A typical HTML email message may be no more than 150KB, including images, but even a simple animated .gif can double the total file size. To carry this further, sending a 1 MB video to one million subscribers can demand significant resources, and adding send frequency to the equation means we must be cognizant of the effect video can have on web hosting and bandwidth. The lack of video standards also raises concerns with deliverability. ISPs and email clients have different standards when determining spam/junk/trash messages, and the lack of generally accepted practices makes testing even more important.
These concerns can certainly be addressed successfully, but these points show it's important to remember that adding video to an email program represents far more than simply a new content block to plan.
Conclusion
You can check out Part 1 of this series for info on current support and delivery methods for email + video.
Chris Studabaker
Supervising Consultant, Design Solutions
ExactTarget Campaign Solutions Team
Benefits of email + video
- Strong emotional appeal
- Highly engaging
- Personal, even user-generated content
Concerns regarding email + video
- Development cost and time
- File size and bandwidth
- Frame rate inconsistencies
- Deliverability
Moving to technical issues, browsers interpret animated .gif frame rates differently, so it's important to test and ensure your .gif appears as desired in all browsers. File sizes and bandwidth are also a concern. A typical HTML email message may be no more than 150KB, including images, but even a simple animated .gif can double the total file size. To carry this further, sending a 1 MB video to one million subscribers can demand significant resources, and adding send frequency to the equation means we must be cognizant of the effect video can have on web hosting and bandwidth. The lack of video standards also raises concerns with deliverability. ISPs and email clients have different standards when determining spam/junk/trash messages, and the lack of generally accepted practices makes testing even more important.
These concerns can certainly be addressed successfully, but these points show it's important to remember that adding video to an email program represents far more than simply a new content block to plan.
Conclusion
- Remember the message's primary goal
- Consider video in content hierarchy
- Know your audience
- Subscriber expectations
You can check out Part 1 of this series for info on current support and delivery methods for email + video.
Chris Studabaker
Supervising Consultant, Design Solutions
ExactTarget Campaign Solutions Team
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