How To Embed Video Into Your Salesforce Email Campaigns
Playable is fully integrated with Salesforce, making it quick and easy to add videos to your emails
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Step-By-Step Tutorial: How To Embed Video Into Salesforce Emails Using Playable
In this tutorial, you will learn how to create, embed, and send a Video Email using Salesforce and Playable, which plays automatically at the moment of opening the email – like these examples.
If you want to use an MP4 video specifically, or videos from YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, or other channels, you may prefer our other tutorials and video guides.
Prepare your email template in Salesforce
1. Create a new Salesforce email
Create a new email campaign within Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC), using the Content Builder, in the normal way.
2. Select a template for video
Using Content Builder to select a template best suited to feature your video and then click the Select button.
Add a Subject Line, Description, List, and complete all the steps as normal.
Finally, select the location to save the email campaign and then click the Next button.
3. Finish designing your email
Continue to design and add content to your email template in Content Builder as normal.
Drag & drop an Image Block or Text/HTML Code Block as a Video Placeholder. We will return to this in another step shortly.
Please note that video email delivers better results when the video appears at the top of the email, or above the fold.
Click the Next button to continue.
4. Connect via the SFMC AppExchange
Playable is available via the SFMC AppExchange. Hover over AppExchange in the top menu and select Playable from the drop-down list.
If using Playable for the first time, visit Playable’s AppExchange Page to add Playable to your SFMC account. For more details, please refer to our step-by-step guide, Accessing Playable via SFMC AppExchange. Once connected you can conveniently use Playable via your SFMC dashboard.
Import your video into Playable
5. Create your Playable account
If you are new to Playable you need to create a new account.
Once you are logged in you will see the Playable’s Welcome page, click Videos to continue.
Please note that Playable offers a 30-day free trial account to test drive the platform. After which you can upgrade your plan or purchase extra plays as required.
6. Upload your video to Playable
Create a title for your video, this will be used to locate it in the future in your Playable account and in reporting. Referencing the dimensions of the image position holder in the email template you can now enter the size (width) of the video content you are looking to create, or keep the optimum size as suggested by Playable.
You have 2 options on how to upload your video content to Playable:
- Copy & paste a URL of the video’s location – Playable accepts content from all the major hosting platforms including YouTube, Vimeo, Brightcove, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram.
- File Upload – Upload a file from your computer. All video file formats are accepted, including MP4, AVI, and MOV.
Once you have selected your video, click the Apply button to upload your video file.
7. Automatic video preview
As your video is uploaded Playable creates a 10-second preview. You can choose to use this version of the video or create your own version using our Online Editor.
If you wish to use the video created by Playable, select Click Action from the menu to continue preparing the video.
If you prefer to create your own version of the video select Editor from the menu.
8. Setting the default image
About 2% of recipients will not have the ability to experience video (or animated GIFs) in their email. These recipients, primarily old Outlook Desktop versions, will be shown a still image as they do currently. For more details refer to About Outlook Video Email.
Playable enables you to set this Default Image by selecting the Advanced in the Video menu. Then in Alt Image select to upload a still image or create one from the video.
9. Edit your email video
Having completed the configuration of your video it is now time to edit your video. To commence this click Editor.
Our Online Editor is designed to enable you to create a video clip from the full-length video you uploaded. It is this edit that will be played in your video email. In the Editor, you can crop the video to focus on key content and select multiple scenes to change the duration of the video.
As you are creating your video email the Editor will show you the total duration and allow you to preview the edits, and re-edit until you are happy with your final cut. Once you are happy with your edit click the Continue button.
10. Enhance your email video
You are now ready to add enhancements to your video, including Captions, Watermark, Endcard, or Footer. Simply select the enhancement you wish to add and follow the onscreen prompts to add it to your video.
You now have completed creating your video clip, so click the Compile button to continue.
Playable now compiles this video, creating multiple versions, which will be used to ensure each recipient receives an optimized video most suitable for their device, bandwidth, and connection.
11. Add a Call-To-Action (CTA) link
As the video is playing within the recipients’ email the option exists to include a Call-To-Action (CTA) link within the video.
To set your Click Action, add the link/URL of the destination page you want any clickers of the video to be re-directed to, and save it.
12. Preview & sample your video email
Preview how your video email plays in the major email clients by using the drop-down above the preview window.
You can also send a sample of your video email for internal review. Click the Sample button, complete the form, and hit Send. You can add a message to the sample. This is useful when circulating for internal feedback.
Once you are happy with the sample click Embed in the left-hand menu to continue.
13. Embed your video in SFMC
If you have linked your Playable account via the SFMC AppExchange you will see the Select Campaign button on the Embed page.
Simply hit the Select Campaign button to see a list of your recent templates. Select your video email template and hover the Video Placeholder, as per the previous step, and click to replace it with your video.
Please note, any content block which has a red glowing border, when hovering over it, can be replaced with the video.
Copy the Embed Code from Playable
14. Embed the video into your SFMC campaign
Alternatively, you can add the HTML Embed Code directly into the email.
To embed the video into your email template select SFMC from the drop-down list of email providers, on the Embed page.
The HTML Embed Code, optimized to SFMC, will appear below. Always use the latest Embed Code to ensure capturing all changes made to the video and settings.
Click the Copy to Clipboard button to grab all the Embed Code to paste it into your SFMC email template.
Paste the Embed Code into Salesforce
15. Paste the HTML into SFMC template
Return to your SFMC email template, from the previous step with the Text/HTML Code Block.
As you used the Copy to Clipboard button to grab Playable’s HTML Embed Code, simply paste it into the Text/HTML Code Block.
Then Save changes and continue to complete the email as normal.
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Salesforce Video Email - How To Embed Video In Email With Salesforce And Playable
