Embed Videos in a Salesforce Classic Email Template

Because Salesforce Classic email templates do not support embedded video players, you can simulate the appearance of a video by creating a linked thumbnail image. When a recipient clicks the thumbnail, their browser opens the video at the URL you specify. Follow these steps to prepare and insert the image into your Classic Email Template.

Steps to Embed a Video Thumbnail in a Classic Email Template

1. Take a screenshot of your video and crop the image to the video content, removing any on-screen controls.
2. Find an image of a play button online. Look for one with a transparent background.
3. In a photo editor, overlay the play button image on the video screenshot, typically centered.
4. Save this composite image as a single image file.
5. Upload the image under the Documents tab. For reference, see Upload and Replace Items on the Documents Tab https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=experience.docs_upload.htm&type=5.
6. Once the image is uploaded, right-click it and copy the Image Address.
7. Edit the desired Classic Email Template and navigate to the location where you want the video thumbnail to appear.

Inserting the Linked Image in the Template HTML

In the HTML source of your email template, insert an anchor tag that wraps an image tag. The anchor href attribute contains the full URL of your video — for example, a YouTube or Vimeo link. The img src attribute contains the image address you copied from the Documents tab in step 6.
The resulting HTML structure links the thumbnail image to the video URL so that clicking the image opens the video in the recipient's browser.
Note: The above method applies only to the Custom (without using Classic Letterhead) email template type. You may add style parameters to the image tag as needed for sizing and alignment.