Problem:

A client with an educational site approach us with a challenge. They were developing a new line of video content and their members weren't watching them. In the meantime, their content team was continually producing videos and this was creating a huge backlog of content that wasn't providing value. The reason why? Members weren't aware that the new videos existed.

What We Did

In reviewing the client's situation and goals, we discovered that most members returned to the site by clicking a link in the daily or weekly newsletter. We suggested to the client that this would present an ideal opportunity to present new videos as they were created. We were optimistic that this would be effective, but rather than leaping immediately into a project pitch we proposed a tiny test.

We updated two of their upcoming newsletters to include images linked through to recent videos. We used profile pictures of speakers from the videos because research shows that people are more likely to respond to images of people.

We measured the click through rates of those emails compared to historical averages. In one newsletter click through rates were 30% better and in the other they were 50% better.

Once we had reduced the risk by establishing that this solution was effective we delved into how the client could implement it. The challenge the client faced was that they relied upon a small army of contractors to create the newsletters and videos. Contractors worked on different schedules and our client wanted the quickest and most consistent way to make sure the videos were being put in front of members.

We proposed programming a custom component that would enable the client to integrate videos being managed on their website into their newsletter list management software. All the client had to do was choose videos from an available pool and match them to scheduled newsletters. This would enable them to continue to use their existing processes and easily orchestrate the video inclusion from their website into their email list.

The Result

Within 30 days of completion, views on video content had climbed by 15%. Forwards of emails had doubled and tripled in some cases as members shared videos with people in their network. Read through rates for the emails also improved across the board.

Within 90 days, we were able to show that click through rates from newsletters had doubled as well. Not only that, but readers had been exposed to 450 videos that the team had created – on track for 1,350 videos annually. That enormous backlog of videos was finally getting in front of members. The client's feedback was that it was one of the most successful projects they'd undertaken that year.