Automated Marketing

 A few years ago your company could consider their first tweet, blog post, or facebook "like" a milestone. Now, you're automating messages, running contests, measuring social media engagement and tying it all back into your analytics and reporting tools like a well oiled machine. You've succeeded in what you'd set out to do in building out your social channels, and setting up an effective online marketing strategy and community.

Now what?

First of all: congrats -- this is a great problem to have. For those of you who aren't there yet (most of us,  don't worry!), there are still some great long term goals worth considering including in your online marketing mix here for you as well. 

As FastCompany outlined in their recent article "Your Company Has Social Media Nailed. Now What?" -- having a rebuttal for the "We're all done, coach" mentality can help prepare your teams for future goals, opportunities, and even unanticipated threats. Go ahead, read on here.

Drip campaigns take the set it and forget approach - which may seem a bit counter-intuitive when it comes to being proactive with subscribers and clients, but hear us out. They are the best way to keep a subscriber engaged over time, while not worrying about how many emails you have to send out. There are however tips and tricks to having a great email drip campaign. 

I came across an interesting list of don'ts when it comes to drip marketing - and getting started. This is a list of 10 things to avoid for every excited marketer embarking on a new drip marketing journey on a newly acquired marketing automation platform. Afterall, tools are as good as processes defined and decisions made by the people behind it.

1. Don’t keep dripping the prospects who are sales ready
2. Don’t overlap the lists for different drip marketing tracks
3. Don’t over-drip a prospect to annoy him/her- don’t give a chance to hit unsubscribe
4. Don’t make the drip marketing template ‘salesy’ in content
5. Don’t drip a contact who is not even remotely interested- don’t give a chance to hit spam
6. Don’t repeat messages/themes in drip campaigns
7. Don’t repeat HTML rich emails
8. Don’t make it impersonal- as drip campaign is a series of emails, it is easy to get lost
9. Don’t make a list too long – segment your list and have multiple drip marketing tracks
10. Don’t just send a ‘Thank You’ email in drip campaign- attach interesting content to engage further

I think that the list above are great things to avoid to keep your campaign fresh, and to really use a set it and forget to your benefit. It's all about making a subscriber seem that you are genuinely interested in them - and that you actually want their business, and not just to spam them.

Check out some of the drip marketing campaigns we have put together for our clients here.

Behavioral triggered email, based on action (and non-action) of your customers, often yields much higher open and click through rates than non-triggered email.  So, it makes sense to get the most out of it.  Here are some ideas for doing just that. Using customer behavior effectively in every aspect of your email-marketing program can help lift your results from "so-so" to "spectacular."

Behavior triggers highly relevant emails that reflect what your customer actually does, such as opting in, purchasing, browsing your website or downloading a file. But you must know where to find and collect the data and integrate it into triggered email messages. Before you take the next step, study up on these rules of the road that will help you make the most of your behavioral data:

1. Capture behavioral data everywhere. You know already that you should track what your customers do online, whether it's in email, on your website or in your social networks. Now, think beyond Web and email, though. Offline and mobile channels can yield data gold via call-center interactions, response to direct mail, check-ins, coupon redemptions or event attendance.
    
2. Turn your email message into a dynamic content platform. Transform your emails from static promotions to dynamic, relevant messages with product reviews that reflect either past purchases or customer recommendations, social-media posts and other online activity. Integrating offline data can trigger emails that match content to customer activity, such as following up on store visits, issues handled at the call center, email opt-ins or abandoned carts.
    
3. Marry data to action with automation. Effective behavior-based messaging requires a marketing automation platform. These technology solutions integrate with third-party CRM, analytics, ecommerce and other systems and add features such as contact scoring. Messages are triggered automatically in a series of “tracks” based on if/then statements.
    
4. Solve your biggest business problem first. Instead of making incremental changes, decide what your greatest challenge is and how to solve it with behavior and automation. Don't worry about being perfect right out of the gate. You can always refine your abandoned-cart reminder later. When you ask the C-suite for the resources you'll need, emphasize the financial gains or business goals this behavior and automation approach will deliver. Show the big picture -- and save the details for the case study you'll write when you succeed.
    
5. Think in terms of series and programs, not stand-alone messages. You'll generate better results from behavior-based messaging when you expand a one-off email into a series -- or better yet, tracks that respond to additional recipient behaviors.
    
6. Generate multiple follow-up messages from a single message triggered by demographic data. March brings me a shower of birthday emails and offers. So far, though, nobody has sent me any follow-up emails urging me to act on my offers before they expire. Add behavior-based tracks that are triggered by recipient action and non-action to your event- and demographic-based messages such as anniversaries and birthdays.
    
7. Design for the platform or message context. People use their smartphones to scan QR codes. So, if someone scans your code for more product info, be sure the follow-up email you send is also designed for the customer's small screen, not a 21-inch desktop monitor. Also, consider the message context. A cart-abandonment email should convey a friendly sense of support, not the message that Big Brother is watching everything your shopper does online.

Read the rest of the rules here.

The beauty of automated behavior-based messages is that once you set them up, you never have to push the send button. So while you are on the golf course or lying by the pool, these emails are flying out the door and producing results.

ListEngage, an interactive marketing agency based in Framingham, is seeking a technology-driven specialist to implement large scale email marketing campaigns. Applicants should have at least 6 months experience with a major Email Service Provider, preferably ExactTarget. This role will help onboard new clients onto the ExactTarget email marketing platform and will involve a complex understanding of data management, automated programs, and 3^rd party SaaS applications.

The ideal candidate will have:

· In depth knowledge of Email Marketing and SaaS platforms including automating programs, creating triggered emails, managing data.

· Proven track record of working with large teams to provision and implementation email marketing software.

· Working knowledge of HTML beneficial. Experience with SQL and relational data is a plus.

· Ability to manage multiple projects at a time and demonstrate great time management skills.

· Excellent problem solving skills coupled with great interpersonal skills (verbal and written) and an ability to explain complex technological projects to marketing and non-technical teams.

· A team-player attitude and a willingness to take on projects that land in lap and may not always fit your standard “job description”

· Experience with API programming, and/or programming languages (MS.NET, JAVA, PHP) is welcomed, but not necessary.

Candidates with experience with ExactTarget will be given special consideration, however, candidates with other ESP experience (Cheetah Mail, Silver Pop, Constant Contact, Responsys, Vertical Response, etc.) and candidates with a web/technological knowledge and an enthusiasm to learn and adopt the appropriate skill set in “record time” should not hesitate to apply.

Will consider remote candidates if extremely well-qualified.

What should you do to apply?
Please provide cover letter, resume, references, and salary requirements to: jobs@listengage.com position will be considered on a rolling basis.

Want to connect and learn more about us?
Follow us on Twitter @ListEngage
Become a fan on Facebook.com/ListEngage
Read our blog (ListEngage Blog)

1. Segment: Segmenting your subscriber list based upon demographics (ex. the state the subscriber lives in) helps to craft content-specific emails and can increase both your click through rates and open rates.
    
2. Start a “Welcome Email” Campaign: If someone has taken the time to share their email with you, don’t leave them stranded, waiting for your response. Sending a welcome email to a newly engaged subscriber is a win-win: they’ll know what to expect and you’ll validate their email address!
    
3. Use Drip Campaigns: Develop a plan, create your well crafted emails, hit start and sit back. (Disclaimer: if it were really that easy, we’d be outta work… but you get the picture.) This automated way of reaching out to leads is an easy and time-tested way to convert!
    
4. Analyze Tracking/Metrics: Many companies don’t pay attention to their email tracking information. Take a moment to review the tracking on your previous campaign before you hit send.
    
5. Combine Social Media and Email Marketing: Duh. Need we say it again? Make your social links visible and shareable – and go forth!
    
6. Make a Marketing Calendar: Don’t bombard your customers 3x in one week, and then stay silent for 2 months straight. Strategically plan out your social media and email marketing ideas and consider how to approach things like holidays, notoriously “slow” times, or Ends of Quarter.
    
7. Grow Your Email List: Opt-in forms aren’t just for your website anymore: Facebook fans, white paper readers, subscribers’ friends, and blog viewers should all have an easy way to sign up too!
    
8. Clean Your Current List: Clean out unsubscribes, and root out any undeliverables – for re-engagement campaigns also look for inactive subscribers who just aren’t benefiting/interacting with your campaigns and consider sidelining them as well.
    
9. Experiment (A/B Testing): Don’t go with the very first idea you have. Try a few out: switch the text in your call-to-action button, or change the color of your newsletter. You never know, a little change may help conversions and ROI in a big way!
    
10. Give your Newsletter a Makeover: Do something different. Gather feedback from your subscribers on what they’d like to see in the future and (pardon the pun) deliver!