Tag: Communications

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

 

Why Video is now King

Move over Content, there’s a new King                  in town….

With video content now receiving up to 60% more online interaction than photos, it’s becoming a key part of content marketing strategies.

According to Cisco video will account for 69% of all consumer internet traffic by 2017 and video-on-demand traffic alone will have almost trebled.

In the U.S. mobile video ad spend is growing faster than all other digital advertising tactics.  EMarketer states that $7.46 billion was spent by companies on digital ads, an increase of 42% from 2014.

Social media platforms are reaping the benefits of this shift to video, with Facebook reporting 8 billion video views daily, while Snapchat delivers over 7 billion videos to users each day.  This represents an unbelievable growth of almost 50% in video usage on Snapchat in just 4 months.

In this era of information overload, video is naturally engaging and easy to digest.  It also delivers a message in a more personal way, evoking more passion and emotion, and creating better community engagement.

Here are some useful tips when creating video content:
  1. Be Passionate, not attention grabbing -your audience will know the difference.
  2. Be engagement-driven, not hit driven – communities are built on interaction, not selling.
  3. Think small to achieve big – creativity wins over cost of production.
  4. One size does not fit all – have a multi-platform video strategy.

Online video is set to continue its rise and will remain an important element in marketing and communications strategies going forward. 

Ignore it at your peril!

For further information on communications and marketing strategies for your business, contact us today.