Tips for Video Embeds | HubSpot, Blogs, Emails, and More

These days, a good content strategy really demands a variety of types of content. One of the types that has grown recently is video content. I realize not everybody is super quick to get video into their content (let alone develop a good strategy for folding original video creation into their content creation workflow). As a result, here are a few good tips for embedding existing videos into your HubSpot-powered content; webpage, blog & email.

To begin with, as I've mentioned in the past, where your video is hosted can make a big difference in what is available to you for embedding. YouTube is, by far, the most easily recognizable place to host a video, and therefore quite common. There are other options, however. I won’t go into the various advantages and disadvantages here for using YouTube vs. another hosting platform like Wistia, as I've covered those in other posts.

Suffice it to say that, once you know where your video is hosted, there will be options for embedding that are specific to that platform. The same is true for where you are embedding your video. This example is specific to HubSpot-powered contexts, but could easily apply to another Content Management System (CMS) like Ektron or Episerver, though each platform could have unique ways of rendering those embeds.

Embedding Videos in a HubSpot Page/Blog

Usually, your video hosting platform will give you an easy embed code snippet that can be added to a page or blog post. In terms of HubSpot, adding a YouTube video can be as simple as adding the YouTube URL itself rather than adding a snippet of embed code.

Doing that allows HubSpot to have some automatic rules apply for how the video behaves (like how it responds to being viewed by different devices or browsers). HubSpot also allows for other video hosting platforms to embed, but that would be using the embed tool which is in a different part of the same interface to insert content.

It is also possible to use the embed interface to get a YouTube video into your page/post in HubSpot. There are some caveats specifically for using that method, especially in terms of the way that it responds to different types of devices.

There is one more variable to consider when embedding (at least from YouTube) video into your page or post no matter where it lives. Especially when you are going through the process to create an embed code for the video, you want to make sure you are creating the embed code with some specific embed options.

These days, YouTube has some functionality that will keep the content coming after the video you've embedded has finished. That can be a great thing if the next video in the queue happens to be another one of your videos, but it can be a bad thing if the video is objectionable, runs counter to your brand, or is for the competition.

The first line of defense against this is to de-select the check box for "Show suggested videos when the video finishes".

Embedding Videos in Email

If you've ever sent an email to a list of individuals and included an image, only to have someone in that email chain make note that they can't see the image, you know the problems inherent in making videos appear inside an email. HubSpot answers the question this way:

"Due to spam and security reasons, video is not supported in email across some major email clients…"

That doesn't mean that you can't include video as part of your email content strategy. In fact, some data from Wistia points to greater open and engagement rates for emails that include video elements as part of the content.

Usually this occurs in one of a few ways. You can add a URL to your content with a page that has the video (either a YouTube or some other hosting service page, or a page that has an embedded video), or you can insert an image (PNG, JPG or possibly a motion focused GIF) into your post that looks like a video player and links to the video as a click-thru from the email. Either way, the video itself does not play inside the email message.

There is a glimmer of hope for that to be more possible in the future, and for Wistia clients, some of your email recipients may already be able to view your Wistia videos inside the email message.

Wistia uses HTML5 video embedding options in their workflow, so if you open that option up, the (relatively) small percentage of users who have an email client and operating system that allows for it will see the video play in the email message. Other users will just be guided to a page with the video as above.

If you are interested in adding video to your content strategy, you should take advantage of the monthly roundup I produce that pulls a lot of current information about video into one place. You should also reach out to us if you are interested in having a partner help you with your content strategy in general. Questions? Let us know in the comments below or over social.