PERSONALIZED COMMUNICATION

Transcription

1 MARKETING By Rebecca L. Cooney, MSC Clinical Assistant Professor Washington State University marketing is the targeting of consumers through electronic mail ( ). Often associated with data mining, marketing can be used to impact consumers in a variety of ways. In general, marketing is a more evolved, digital form of traditional direct mail marketing. -Techopedia

2 PERSONALIZED COMMUNICATION is still the most used, most valuable and for the smart marketers, the most prized real estate on the Internet. - David Graham, Managing Director at Ether Digital

3 HOW MARKETING WORKS Deliverability 1. List development or acquisition a company s owned names list or one they purchase Segmentation Marketing Goals 2. Creative html layout and messaging + personalization 3. Distribution using an engagement marketing tool 4. Measurement and tracking open rate, click-thru, bounces, opt outs List Creation & Management MARKETING Analysis & Reporting Branding + Look & Feel SOURCE: SEO Optimizers

4 10 MARKETING BEST PRACTICES

5 Contact database -- make sure you have permission to send s to your desired target audience. Evaluate your distribution plan determine how often you will be sending s to select lists based on campaign objectives. Avoid spamming. Use an creation and tracking tool (aka client) for best results such as Constant Contact, Emma or Vertical Response Don t write in all caps Avoid spam words like free Use the autoresponder feature to provide timely response to customers who engage and request more information or have taken an action that warrants confirmation or thank you. Track metrics of user behavior and effectiveness open rates, click thru rates, forwards, opt-outs, etc. Create s in both html and text format (based on audience preference) Don t use symbols or characters Incorporate a call to action TIPS So how do you stand out amidst the ever- growing throngs of online marketers who are taking advantage of the current power of ? The solution is a simple idea to convey, though not always as easy to implement...give them value, or give them nothing at all." Kim MacPherson, contributing author at ClickZ

6 PROS AND CONS OF INCORPORATING EMBEDDED VIDEO IN S In 2013 Chad White, author at Litmus Software, Inc., predicted that video in will finally take off. Three years later in 2016 he has updated his statement to say that video in is still a very fringe design element because Apple discontinued support for Html 5 video, compressed video gifs work in only some of the current clients and Gmail now has an integration with YouTube. So, bottom line he says, video in is the epitome of a patchwork solution.

7 CHECKLIST Goals & Audience Optimize Inbox View Content Design Distribute & Monitor What is the main goal? Desired outcomes? Recipients? Who is the from? What receives replies? Apply key words in subject line. What info is most relevant? What is the CTA? Check for brand and message continuity. Include unsubscribe link. Is content viewable and functional? Test functionality and links. Confirm no images or links are broken. Add analytics code and tracking. Verify subscriber list is current. Run spam filter test.

8 1. Be brief (max. 50 characters) 2. Be personal (i.e. incorporate the recipient s name in the subject line) 3. Be specific (incorporate language related to goal in the subject line) 4. Be real (no false promises) 5. Be exclusive (create a sense of urgency with deadlines and limited time language) 6. Be timely (send s when subscribers are most likely to open them) 7. Be succinct (numbers are effective such as top 7 lists ) 8. Be inquisitive (ask a question in the subject line to draw subscribers in) 9. Be direct (if personalization is not an option use you language) 10. Be relevant (if an customer has already taken an action acknowledge it in the subject line) SUBJECT LINES BEST PRACTICES Not enough talk about the importance of brand in . Customers don t sign up for they sign up for your brand. - Bob Frady, Chief Marketing Officer at Maropost SOURCE: Olivia Allen, Digital Strategy Coordinator from Kforce

9 They never signed up (or don t remember signing up) s arrive too frequently Viewing issues contact is unable to see key images or video or there are issues in responsive design is cluttered or unprofessional Irrelevant content Unending sales pitches Content is boring, repetitive or uninteresting Tell customers that they are subscribing to an list by providing an opt-in checkbox on forms Let subscribers determine how frequently they want to receive communication Check the on multiple devices and platforms to ensure readability. Use templates that are well-designed and configured for html distribution Segment subscribers based on their preferences and campaign activity. Avoid constant sales s. Follow the 80/20 rule: 80% should feature helpful tips or strategies related to your industry 20% can be sales-related Give customers a reason to click through or take advantage of an opportunity. Provide coupons they can actually use, make it easy to sign up for something, AVOIDING THE OPT OUT Once you have a loyal customer or prospect you want to keep them. According to SuperProfile on any given day, the average customer will be exposed to 2,904 media messages, will pay attention to 52 and will positively remember only four.

10 Example Components: The Offer Headline > Subheadline (offer) > Call to action Html s are designed at varying levels of sophistication and quantity of content. Some are very short and sweet with limited copy, a photo and call to action. Others are more elaborate such as e-newsletters giving organizations much more real estate to work with and new opportunities to showcase products, feature testimonials or highlight offers and coupons.

11 Example Newsletter Components Headline/Masted Offer Intro Copy Section Titles Section Copy Call to Action (CTA)

12 MARKETING TOOLS Top Marketing Software Products from Capterra (2016) Campaign Monitor ActiveCampaign AWeber Marketing Desk.com SharpSpring client is a desktop application that enables configuring one or more addresses to receive, read, compose and send s from that address(s) through the desktop interface. It provides a central interface for receiving, composing and sending s of configured address(s). - Techopedia