Consumers crave personalized experiences. University of Texas researchers studied the appeal of personalization and discovered that consumers want more control and the ability to tailor their online media exposure to their preferences and specifications. With all the information and media available everywhere people go, thanks to mobile devices, they scroll through so much content that marketers need to cut through the information overload and deliver personalized messaging to capture consumers’ attention. In short, consumers are in control when they push play, and they want experiences that are completely customized to their unique wants and needs. Marketers are hitting a home run with video marketing, which is quickly emerging as one of the most effective formats for personalization.
The benefits of personalized video marketing are numerous. Some of the most appealing benefits include:
Take a look at each of the benefits of personalized video marketing below.
1. Personalized Video Marketing Drives Engagement
Marketers struggle to get noticed as they compete with thousands of others for consumers’ attention. Typically, people interact with more than 120 emails per day, and consumers have shorter attention spans 
than ever before, so marketers have to do what they can to catch people’s attention and engage them. Personalized video marketing is the answer because it reaches consumers on the personal level they crave, in a format that’s closer to a face-to-face encounter than many mediums, such as email and other forms of written content.
When consumers see a personalized video, they receive information tailored to them rather than impersonal content sent to thousands with the hope that a small percentage of recipients have a reason to be interested in the message. It’s easy to assume that a mass email blast isn’t personally relevant to you, but videos that are personalized are tough to ignore.
Seeing their name, a company name, images of their company throughout the video, and so on catches a consumer’s attention in a way that few other formats can. One company using personalized video in a campaign for inactive recipients found five times more people opened personalized video emails than a standard, impersonal email. Another company found that twice as many people engaged with personalized video and spent 62% more time on the campaign landing page. And, a third company found a tenfold increase in click-through rate and 231% more page views thanks to personalized video.
2. Personalized Videos Increase Conversions
Video is a highly sought-after marketing channel for increasing conversions; in fact, nearly 87% of marketers are using video for content marketing campaigns, but only about 25% use personalized video in email marketing campaigns. While email remains the top marketing method for reaching consumers, companies find that combining it with personalized video is a highly effective way to increase conversions. Email campaign platform Email Monks reports that using personalized video results in a 280% greater return than traditional email, especially because click-through rates improve substantially when video is included.
Personalized video also increases conversions because people don’t have to take as much time to watch as they do to read. We can process video remarkably faster than text, plus, video is simply more entertaining to consume. A few techniques for using video to convert leads include
- Inserting a lead capture form near the beginning of the video
- Using a custom thumbnail with a human smiling
- Creating a short video that is immediately entertaining
- Quickly instilling a sense of trust
- Sending personalized videos to prospects
- Merging video viewership data with marketing automation
3. Personalized Video Connects with Your Audience and Drives Sales
All marketers want to find the golden key to delivering the right content to the right person at the right time. Having the best 
customer data and insights makes it possible for organizations to win the customer experience game, and using customer data from all channels aids marketers in acquisition, retention, and building customer loyalty.
While some marketers assume that personalized video only is appropriate for use with existing customers, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Personalized video gives organizations the opportunity to connect with the audience and drive sales while acquiring new customers, “especially if the video is offered in real-time,” according to Charity Lotteries content specialist Barry Pirovano. Indeed, personalized campaigns drive sales when marketers do the following:
- Use a personalized video as part of an integrated plan rather than as a stand-alone item, especially during the acquisition phase
- Use data and insights to react to prospect behavior in the most relevant and appealing manner and as quickly as you can via personalized video
- Deliver personalized video immediately with a relevant message to make the prospect want to choose your product or service
- Remain consistent with your concept and mood; your personalized video needs to strike the right chord at the right time and have the same look and feel as other campaign assets
- Rely on personal elements to add relevance for the viewer and to enhance the call to action of the video
Personalized video is a powerful marketing tool that helps marketers cut through the clutter and connect with prospects and current customers. When you leverage the wealth of data and insights at your disposal, you can create unique, engaging experiences that increase conversions, drive sales, and foster customer loyalty.
Images via Pixabay by PublicDomainPictures and geralt
