Tag: Business

Strike a Pose Email Marketing!

Email Marketing is officially back in Vogue!  It has returned from the wilderness and is no longer the poor relation of social media marketing.

Forrester Research (2015) found that email marketing delivers up to 40% more return than all other social media platforms combined.  A strong statistic indeed.

If that’s not enough to convince you, here are some more reasons why your company should be investing in email marketing campaigns?

  • It is cost effective
  • Relatively easy to produce
  • Emails can be targeted
  • Provides detailed feedback
  • Helps build company relationships

So, how do you build an authentic email list?  For starters, never buy a listing.  It may seem tempting when you are starting off, but it’s hard to trust the quality of bought lists and you will increase your prospects of being labelled a spammer.

It’s far better, and more rewarding in the long-term, to organically grow your email list through website sign-up, social media promotion and encouraging sign-up at events and exhibitions.  Of course, offering incentives – such as discounts or pre-sale previews – also works well.  After all, who doesn’t love a bargain?

Some further statistics to keep in mind when designing your campaign is that 33% of emails are opened based on subject line alone – so be interesting, first impressions matter.  Almost 40% of emails are now opened on mobile devices, the screens of which, on average,  only fit 4 -7 words.

Communications Hub

MailChimp is my favourite email marketing service.  It’s used by more than 15 million people globally, so I’m clearly not alone.  It’s a great platform for designing emails, sharing online and tracking analytics.  Did I mention it’s also free?

So, email marketing is back and there’s no reason why your business shouldn’t join the party!  But before you do, here are some basic etiquette rules you’ll do well to follow:

  • Always get permission before signing someone up
  • Include opt-out/unsubscribe options within 2 clicks
  • Don’t use 3rd party lists
  • Be honest and transparent about who you are

Happy emailing #emailisback #digitalmarketing

Karen Twomey is a freelance PR & Social Media Consultant who specialises in online campaigns and social media training.   For further details check out her website www.communicationshub.ie

 

10 Week Social Media for Business Course

I’m delighted to announce I’ll be running a 10 week Social Media for Business Course in Mallow College of Further Information on Wednesday nights, from 7 pm – 9 pm, starting on 1st February.

Course Description

As a business, social media is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to reach customers and create awareness around products and services.  This course helps to understand the best social media platforms for your business, as well as the most effective type of content to engage users and enhance your company’s online presence.

Course Content:

The course will use a mixture of lectures and workshops to help build online confidence in a practical way.  The content covered will include managing online reputation, the best online platforms to promote business, how to create engaging content, how to save time using content calendars and online scheduling, effective blogging, creating email marketing campaigns and how to boost SEO through social media use.

This 10-week course will equip businesses and organisations with the necessary tools to expand their existing online presence, or grow a new one, through the implementation of a strategic content-led presence enhancing their online impact and, ultimately, engage more customers.  The course would also suit those interested or in the process of starting up a new business, as well as community and business organisations.

The cost is €130 and places can be booked online through the following link. For further info call Karen on 0877642575.

soc-med-icon-pic

Social Media Training Cork

Due to the success of our last Social Media for Business Course in Fermoy, I’m delighted to be running a further course on Wednesday 7th December from 7 p.m. – 9.00 p.m. in Fermoy Community Youth Centre.

As a business, social media is one of the easiest and cost-effective ways to reach your customers and create awareness around your products and services.  To ensure you are using the right platforms and the right content social media training is essential – your business will thank you!

This 2 hour social media training course will teach you:

  • The best online platforms to use for your business
  • How to create engaging content
  • How to save time by using content calendars and online scheduling
  • An introduction to blogging, email marketing and SEO
  • How to manage your business’s online reputation.

Places are limited and cost €25.00 per person.

Communications Hub will be running further social media training courses, as well as blogging, online reputation management, content marketing and content scheduling courses in the New Year.

For further details or to book your place call Karen Twomey on 0877642575 or email: karen@communicationshub.ie