How to Add Video to Klaviyo Email Campaigns for E-commerce

Adding video to Klaviyo email campaigns is a crucial strategy for e-commerce merchants looking to boost engagement and drive sales. While you cannot directly embed a playable video file into a Klaviyo email due to varying email client support, the most effective and widely supported method is to use a compelling video thumbnail that links to your hosted video content.

This approach ensures broad compatibility across email clients and devices, allowing you to add video to Klaviyo email marketing effectively. It provides a consistent experience for your subscribers and maintains email deliverability.

Why Direct Video Embedding in Email is Problematic

Many marketers wonder, "can you embed video in Klaviyo email?" The short answer is that direct video embedding within an email is not reliably supported by most email clients and can actually harm your email deliverability. Major inbox providers like Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail often strip out embedded video code or mark emails containing it as potential security threats, potentially sending your messages straight to junk folders.

Instead of the video playing directly within the email, recipients would either see a broken element, nothing at all, or your email might not even reach their inbox. This is why attaching a video to an email directly is also not a viable solution for marketing purposes.

How to Add Product Videos to Klaviyo Emails: The Practical Approach

The best way to add video to Klaviyo email campaigns is by using a static image (often a thumbnail with a play button overlay) that links directly to your hosted video. Klaviyo streamlines this process with a dedicated Video block.

Step-by-Step: Using Klaviyo's Video Block

Here’s how to effectively add video to Klaviyo email using their built-in feature:

1. Host Your Video: First, ensure your product video is hosted on a reliable platform. This could be YouTube, Vimeo, or your own dedicated shoppable video platform like Byvano.
2. Copy the Video URL: Once your video is live, copy its direct URL.
3. Open Your Klaviyo Email Template: In your Klaviyo account, navigate to the email template where you want to include the video.
4. Drag and Drop the Video Block: From the sidebar in Klaviyo's email builder, drag a 'Video' block into your email template.
5. Paste the Video URL: In the video block settings, paste your copied video URL into the designated 'Video URL' field. If you use YouTube, Klaviyo often automatically generates a thumbnail with a play button.
6. Upload a Custom Thumbnail (if needed): For videos hosted on platforms other than YouTube, or if you prefer a custom look, you can click 'Select image' to upload your own compelling thumbnail with a play button overlay.
7. Adjust Appearance and Link: Customize the block's appearance, including toggling the play button on or off and adjusting padding. The block automatically links the thumbnail to your hosted video.
8. Test Your Email: Always send a test email to yourself and check it across different email clients (Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail) and devices to ensure the thumbnail displays correctly and the link functions as intended.

Creating Engaging Thumbnails and GIFs

The thumbnail or GIF you use is your email's visual hook, prompting recipients to click and watch your full video commerce content. A strong thumbnail can significantly increase click-through rates.

• Static Thumbnails: Design a visually appealing static image that represents the video content. Including a prominent 'play' button icon on the thumbnail is a widely recognized visual cue that encourages clicks. Consider using a keyframe from the video or a custom-designed graphic that teases the video's value.
• Animated GIFs: For a more dynamic preview, consider using a short, looping animated GIF. GIFs can showcase a few seconds of your product in motion directly within the email. However, keep GIF file sizes under 1MB to prevent slow load times and potential deliverability issues.
• Accessibility: Always include descriptive alt text for your images and GIFs. This ensures that even if images don't load, recipients understand the content, and it also aids users with screen readers.

Optimizing Your Video Content for Email Success

Beyond the email itself, the video content you link to also plays a critical role in driving conversions for your Shopify or WooCommerce store.

• Keep Videos Concise: Attention spans are short. Aim for engaging, concise videos that get straight to the point, especially for product demonstrations or feature highlights.
• Clear Call-to-Action: The landing page where your video is hosted should have a clear call-to-action (CTA). If you're using Shopify shoppable video, ensure products are tagged directly within the video, allowing viewers to click and buy instantly.
• Mobile Responsiveness: Ensure your video player and landing page are optimized for mobile devices, as a significant portion of email opens occur on smartphones.

Maximizing Impact with Shoppable Video Landing Pages

When you link a video thumbnail from your Klaviyo email, the destination should be an experience designed to convert. This is where shoppable video platforms excel.

Instead of just sending customers to a basic YouTube page, consider linking to a product page on your store that features an interactive shoppable video. Byvano's shoppable video platform allows Shopify and WooCommerce merchants to import their TikToks, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, tag products directly onto them, and embed interactive widgets that turn social content into on-site sales. This creates a direct path from email engagement to purchase, making every click more valuable.

Why Store Owners Choose Byvano for Video Commerce & Social Scheduling

Byvano offers a dual-purpose platform designed to empower e-commerce merchants with both robust social media management and powerful video commerce capabilities:

• One dashboard does two jobs: it schedules social content AND turns the same video into a shoppable video on your store with tagged products, eliminating the need for separate apps.
• Byvano schedules and publishes posts, Reels and Stories to Instagram professional accounts, and text, photo, video, Reel and link posts to Facebook Pages, from one calendar with drag-to-reschedule. There is no cap on the number of posts you can schedule. For example, you can schedule Facebook Reels alongside your other content.
• Analytics are included, not an add-on: track reach, reach rate, video views, engagement rate, audience demographics (country, age, gender), and hashtag performance. These insights help you understand which content performs best on platforms, allowing you to refine your overall social media strategy and integrate your best-performing content into your Klaviyo emails.
• Built for online stores: Byvano works seamlessly with WooCommerce (via a plugin downloaded from byvano.com) and Shopify (early access), allowing you to tag products directly from your existing catalog.
• Every Byvano feature is free until March 17, 2027, with no credit card required. After this launch offer, a Free plan remains available, and paid plans are flat monthly prices ($29 Starter, $99 Growth).

For merchants seeking the best instagram scheduler or a comprehensive best social media management tools for ecommerce, Byvano provides a unified solution.

Common Mistakes When Adding Video to Klaviyo Emails

To ensure your video emails are effective, avoid these common pitfalls:

• Direct Embedding: As discussed, trying to directly embed video code will likely result in a poor user experience and impact deliverability.
• Poor Thumbnail Quality: A blurry, unappealing, or irrelevant thumbnail will not entice clicks. Invest time in creating a high-quality, engaging image.
• Broken Links: Always double-check that your thumbnail links to the correct, live video URL. A broken link leads to frustration and lost opportunities.
• Ignoring Mobile: Sending emails with unoptimized videos or landing pages for mobile users will lead to high bounce rates and poor engagement.
• Overly Long Videos: While your email can link to a longer video, for marketing purposes, aim for concise content that respects your audience's time.
• Neglecting Analytics: If you're using a scheduling tool for Instagram, you already know the importance of tracking. Don't forget to track clicks on your video thumbnails in Klaviyo and monitor engagement on your video landing pages to understand what resonates with your audience. For example, if you bulk schedule Instagram posts, you'll be able to compare their performance with how videos perform in email campaigns. You can even use your instagram reel scheduler tool insights to identify top-performing content for your email strategy.

By focusing on these best practices, you can successfully integrate video into your Klaviyo email marketing, enhancing your customer engagement and ultimately driving more sales for your e-commerce business. Planning your content ahead, for example by following a guide on how to schedule a month of social media posts, can also help ensure a consistent flow of fresh video content for your email campaigns.

Official resources

• Shopify Help Center: product media (images, videos, 3D)
• Instagram Help Centre: Reels
• web.dev: Core Web Vitals