Joe Green founder of Causes equates it to - How does the flu spread? Gross but they don’t call it viral for nothing.
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:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
- 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.
Now that you are investing in email marketing and an emarketing strategy, how do you continue to get the best out of it?
Just turning up the volume is causing many subscribers to tune out. Whereas, companies that have campaigns that are targeted and personalized are finding their ROI is excellent.
How do you get there? Answer - segmentation and content that creatively utilizes it. Take a look at these numbers on the success of companies doing just that.
The Email Marketing Industry Census 2012, newly-released by eConsultancy and Adestra, finds that companies that carry out basic segmentation and testing are far more likely to be getting a high level of return on investment from their email marketing campaigns. 81% of companies who do regular testing for email marketing say their ROI from email is "excellent" or "good", compared to 72% for those who do "occasional" testing, 65% for those who do "infrequent" testing and only 37% for those who "don't test". However, the kicker is—so few companies actually do testing.
According to the research, only 31% of companies surveyed regularly test their email marketing campaigns. While the findings may be intuitive—testing yields better results–eConsultancy research director Linus Gregoriadis says this is the first year the six-year-old study has been able to quantify the link.
"This year, for the first time, we have shown that companies observing some basic best practices are reaping the rewards when it comes to ROI from email marketing." He adds that he hopes with the new data more companies will be inspired to adopt best practices. "Put simply, those simply performing 'batch and blast' techniques are less likely to see ROI benefits."
However, recent trends suggest that won’t happen. Other studies have also pointed to a link between segmentation and performance, but still email marketers don’t appear to be inclined to adopt these practices.
A report by Emailvision found that almost all US and European online marketing professionals believe it is very important (68.4%) or important (28.1%) to send targeted and personalized email marketing campaigns.
Yet for some reason, this does not happen. The Emailvision survey went on to note that only 1 in 5 actively personalize their email marketing content across all campaigns, and that the proportion personalizing content across all platforms is almost matched by the percentage not personalizing any of their email marketing (18.5%).
image via http://www.marketingvox.com
Email marketing offers a great opportunity for brands to increase subscriber satisfaction and retention, and drive results, if used correctly. There is no better way to understand and analyze what your subscribers want and enjoy better than split testing. The small changes that you can add to an email can make your emails go from SPAM fodder to an inbox star. An e-marketer must look at a multitude of different places in an email that can be tweaked to find the perfect combination.
An effective email campaign is targeted and tested. Targeted, to ensure the message is relevant for the recipient. Tested, to ensure the message is as effective as it can be within the constraints of the campaign. With so many different variables you can test, here are the top 10 tips for split testing email campaigns:
1. Subject lines. Subject line testing is the easiest way to increase your opens, clicks and conversions. Test different subject lines for different customer segments (e.g., use of personalization vs. non personalization, short subject lines vs. longer ones). Shorter subject lines are generally more effective (4 words/25 characters). However, what works with one segment may not work for another. Remember that your subscribers are busy and most likely have competing emails that promise to provide solutions to the challenges they’re facing. These people are just scanning their inbox subject lines. Since you only have a few seconds to grab their attention, it’s important to make your subject line as descriptive as possible and compelling enough for them to open it.
2. Headlines. All marketing messages begin with a headline that communicates an offer or benefit. Similar to a compelling subject line, which motivates recipients to open your email, you’ll want an equally enticing headline that motivates your subscribers to read your message. Take the time to write and test various (or at least two) headlines to see which one generates the best results. Also, try changing the font size…a larger font may be more effective than a smaller font.
3. Content/Offer. Test your content to find out what resonates with your audience. Since audiences are influenced in different ways by different types of content, identify what offers are likely to increase engagement and conversion from your subscribers (e.g., pricing, discounts, soft sell vs. hard sell, free shipping vs. discounted shipping, ebook vs. webinar, free trial vs. demo).
4. Calls-to-Actions (CTAs). Promote engagement with the content of your email to help extend your interaction with subscribers beyond their inbox (e.g., “Register Now,” “Tell us what you think,” “Watch the video,” “Learn more,” “Download Whitepaper”). Test which offers are most successful with different segments of your audience. Offer placement is a key area to look for improvements. Try moving the call-to-action button or text link up further in the email message. Determine if this simple change increases clickthroughs or decreases action due to its location.
Read the rest of the places you can split test here...
I recently read a good article by Paige O’Neill on how a video can boost Facebook fan engagement. But many organizations face a big dilemma: how do you create a world-class video that will earn you the respect of your existing customers and convince your prospects, on a small budget?
Until now there have been two options…
- Do it in-house
- Or hire an outside firm to do it for you
If you are going to use an outside firm hopefully you have a decent budget put aside for this project because creating a good video isn’t for the faint of the heart. If you plan to create the solution internally, you can give it a try, but often a bad video can do more damage to your reputation than no video at all!
This struggle has been a major issue for businesses large and small – until now! Now there is another option.
Check out Tubifi a hot new start-up based in Burlington, MA.
I could sit here and sing their praises, but instead I’ll just let this video they created for us do the talking.
Did you check out the video, what do you think? Please let us know.
If you need a makeover, a video can play a big part in conveying your image, brand and message in less than a few minutes. Email me back and I am happy to put you in touch with my friends at Tubifi.
Ok, admittedly when thinking of B2B businesses, "social" is not always the first thing that comes to mind. It's hard to pitch the use of social media marketing to companies whose customers are other companies, because, intrinsically their sales and marketing efforts take place through meetings, trade shows, and to some degree, their websites -- not through sites like Facebook.
But, that being said, businesses are made up of people and people are on social media: talking about their likes, dislikes, interests, and sometimes even talking about their business needs! In a recent installment of marketing blog "Business2Community", the article "How to Find Customers and Content for Boring Products" took a stab at ways to find content and "followers" for even the most (seemingly) anti-social businesses out there. Here's what they came up with…
Have you found other ways to engage as a B2B business or someone with a hard-to-hype product? Fill us in below in the comment section!
HTML, CSS, and coding - these words seem to be the scariest and costliest thing for marketers to hear, but HTML emails are the best way to get the exact email you want. The main idea to take away from the following article is: keeping a low image-to-text ratio and sending multipart messages are just two ways to keep deliverability high.
B2C: If you want to include images, videos, branding or a color scheme in your emails, you have to create them with HTML.
Some people don’t want to do that (and that’s okay). They don’t want to learn HTML or hire a designer; plus, they believe sending HTML emails will bring down their delivery rates.
If that’s you, read on. Creating HTML emails is just as simple as plain text (we’ll show you how). Plus, we’ve checked in with Laura Atkins of Word to the Wise, a leading expert on email delivery, for the straight story on hitting the inbox.
HTML & Basic Templates Make It Simple
When you create a plain-text email, you’re just typing words. You can do the same thing with an HTML message. Just use an email template – a pre-designed background you can type directly into.
Many email services provide them, or you might be able to get a few for free across the Web (here and here, for example). If you use AWeber, you’ll find hundreds of templates already available in your account.
Businesses have now well and truly grasped the benefits of using Twitter and Facebook for their emarketing strategy. Most big businesses tweet and many medium sized businesses do as well. There is no reason why small business can't use Twitter to boost credibility, find sales leads and boost their website search engine optimisation.
But as a small business, how do you use Twitter to get the full benefit?
Lets' take a look at some rules of the game that may help:
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Tweet often (at least once a day)
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Use hashtags to link your tweets to specific and relevant subject areas. This means your tweets will hit a ready audience. For instance if I tweet the following "Check out these killer #onlinemarketing strategies..." .By using the hashtag onlinemarketing now becomes a hyperlink. When people click this link they will be taken to the #onlinemarketing subject page where you will find lots of other online marketing ideas.
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Follow lots of people (because they will probably return the favour).
- Follow your competitors. This is important because people who follow your competitors are interested in what you both have to offer so they will see you have followed someone they have followed and then they are likely to follow you. Sounds confusing but it works.
Check out more rules that will launch you into the Twitter-sphere!
Are you using optimization in your emarketing strategy and email campaigns? Well know this, it works, and check out how HP proves it!
CHALLENGE
Hewlett-Packard faced the challenge many long-established B2B marketers have -- while its email list was large, it had many of those addresses in its database for a long time, and thus, engagement varied widely across the list.
In other words, many highly engaged recipients were getting drowned in a very large pool filled with long-time, but less engaged, subscribers. So HP decided to drain that pool in a targeted way to deliver more relevant content to the most valuable members of its audience.
The HP "Technology at Work" e-newsletter goes out to more than eight million subscribers across the world -- 50 countries and in 18 languages -- for both small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMB) and enterprise segments.
HP used two percent of its U.S. database to test dynamic email content based on user behavior and personas to increase engagement with its most devoted audience and this case study breaks that process down, step by step.
Cathy Howard, eMarketing Program Manager, Corporate Marketing, Hewlett-Packard, put it this way, "We are very careful not to spam subscribers, and very careful not to inundate them with emails that are just broad-based messaging. We want it to be an experience that is relevant and something that would be engaging to that subscriber."
CAMPAIGN
For the e-newsletter, HP has sign-up pages on its website, so the program is permission-based with some email recipients added to the list through sales reps’ recommendations for active prospects.
The portion of the email database that receives targeted dynamic content receives email that includes static elements everyone on the list receives along with special highlighted content that is based on that person’s behaviors and interaction with HP.
Read on to find out how they overcame their challenge here.
Blogging remains to be a constant way to get your brand out there. I found an article that highlights 3 major factors that you need to look at when you are trying to maintain your blog, and keep it in the spotlight - following the guidelines below will not guarantee a powerhouse blog, but they will keep your blog relevant and something people want to read.
via B2C: In September 2010, I wrote about the benefits of leveraging a blog for your personal brand. Going into 2012, it still remains to be a great way to shape and promote your brand online. The benefits gained from blogging can lead to great success, whether it’s to securing a job or becoming an expert in your field. Yet,what happens when your traffic begins to decline, your posts lack comments, or your content isn’t being shared?
If you’re an avid blogger or looking to begin, consider thinking about these three factors that could lead your blog to an untimely end.
Making your blog a diary. A great personal brand will tread the line between professional and personable – and the rule holds true for blogging. Your content should definitely reflect your uniqueness, but it shouldn’t reflect if you’re having a bad day at work. If you think writing about really personal endeavors can make a connection to your audience, it may backfire and repel readers from the blog they’re used to reading.
Not being aware of your content. Along with the benefits of blogging, I also wrote an article about how to identify your blogging niche. Regarding your content, you must remain aware of what you write and how you will be perceived, so that you won’t put yourself in a bad light. For example, if you’re applying to XYZ company, yet have posted criticisms about their products, you probably won’t get past the screening process. Blogging allows you to have an opinion, but carefully choose what you want to make public.
Not staying flexible. Though it’s important to create a plan, schedule, or even an editorial calendar for your posts, embrace variety in your blog. Trying to keep every post the same will not only limit your creativity, but also drive readers away from the monotony.
Blogging remains to be a great tool for personal branding. Stay relevant by watching out for these blogging mistakes.
Do you agree with these blogging factors? How do you keep your blog relevant to readers?
Divide and Conquer! Those words, made famous by Julius Caesar, can be utilized in today’s modern email marketing campaigns. Today it would be called Segment and Convert!
Segmentation Improves Results
Many ecommerce merchants rely on email marketing. But the results can be greatly improved if the emails are tailored to the specific circumstances of each recipient. For example, an email recipient in Alaska may respond differently than one in Florida. An infrequent customer typically requires a different message than a frequent one. And so on.
Segmenting emails based on the habits and circumstances of each recipient may seem difficult. But it's not. Most every email service platform offers segmentation options. Even the smallest merchants can benefit from it — as do the very largest.
The Basics of Email Segmentation
Date. There are purchase-anniversary dates, expected replenishment dates, birthdays, and holidays. We'll offer ideas for date-generated segments.
Geographical. Where recipients live can greatly affect their buying habits. There are different states, different countries and even different parts of a city, such as the location to the nearest retail location.
Past purchasing habits. Customers that purchase different products should receive different emails. In fact, past purchasing habits include the products, their prices, and the shopping traits that those habits convey.
Email activity. A recipient's prior email activity — such as opens and clicks — can indicate the need for a new subject line, content, and offer. We'll explain.
Effective email campaign tips are usually a bit more personalized that you would think, but there remain a few constants that will always help.
The online space has opened up creative avenues marketers could only have dreamt about.
While you’re thinking up the latest bells and whistles to make your emails stand out, consider a few simple steps that should form the building blocks of any successful campaign.
Quick wins can be gained from analysing the time you send your communications; finessing the sender address and subject line; and, most importantly, testing your messages.
1. "Test! Test! Test!” should be a mantra for all email marketers
Ensuring you hit your audience with relevant, personalised and timely messaging is crucial. Think of it like a driving test. All the theory in the world, the hours spent memorising the Highway Code, won’t help you when you’re out on the road.
The only way to pass that test is to practice.
In order to hone the effectiveness of email, delve into all the precious data you collect on the people you’re trying to reach, to provoke them into action.
Take insights from people’s preferences and purchase history (if available), and experiment with length and tone of subject lines, and different types of content.
Consider HTML, the length of copy, size and colour of images, embedded links and video. Even the choice of vocabulary and use of punctuation are important elements in avoiding the spam trap (don’t over exaggerate by using too many exclamation marks!!!!).
Continuous testing and data analysis will enable you to tweak your strategy for communication and additionally provide greater insight into your consumer segments and how they respond to your communications.
As a result, you can begin to segment your audience in more detail and refine and personalise the types of content you send them. It’s important to use the data to understand the likes and dislikes of individuals to boost brand advocacy.
You can have the cleanest lists in the world, never purchase lists, and have very genuine opt-in practices, but somewhere along that path you'll wake up one day and find your email is blocked by a blacklist.
Solutions provided in this article for a blacklisting event; one missing though is, "Get help from a pro."
via ClickZ: What marketers need to know today is that everyone gets their email stream blocked at some point in their digital communications career. You can have the cleanest lists in the world, never purchase lists, and have very genuine opt-in practices, but somewhere along that path you'll wake up one day and find your email is blocked by a blacklist.
There are hundreds of blacklists that come in all forms such as public ones like Spamhaus (one of the good guys), private ones that are run by some ISPs themselves, and others that are owned by anti-spam companies/appliances like Google Postini. With the public ones, you have the ability to see and address the blocking that is occurring more rapidly and transparently. With private blacklists, you don't have as much transparency or the ability to address the blacklisting in a quick fashion. However, all blacklists have the same goal - protect mailboxes from unwanted or dangerous email.
An emarketing strategy is something that every company needs to move forward in this technology and social media driven market. Budgets are tight in this economy and every company is trying to leverage online marketing techniques for the lowest cost. Even though budgets are tight, businesses are finally realizing that they need to loosen the purse strings on their marketing and learning to embrace what can be gained from email marketing in 2012.
via Small Biz: The world’s economic future in 2012 seems bleak, and could become even bleaker.
The debt crisis in Europe still has not been fully resolved. Greece is getting it’s financial affairs in order, but there are other problems within the European Union.
Italy, Spain and Portugal have to also get their economic houses in order.
France may well have future budget and debt problems.
If Europe has an economic slowdown in 2012 that could stop the United States’ fragile economic recovery.
That economic ripple from Europe could also slow growth in China and the rest of Asia.
Despite these dark economic clouds, business leaders worldwide will be spending more money in 2012 on email marketing and other online marketing.
“2012 Marketing Trends,” an international study done by StrongMail, found that 92 percent of the 939 business leaders surveyed plan to increase their marketing budgets.
According to Chris Marriott, vice president of agency services at StrongMail:
“While email marketing leads the pack in terms of increased of investment in 2012, the data also reveals that marketers need to overcome key challenges around data integration and resource constraints….Whether managing and optimizing existing email marketing programs or enabling integration with social media and mobile, there is a real opportunity for full-service email marketing providers like StrongMail to help companies get the most out of their interactive marketing investments in 2012.”
The survey also found:
60% plan to increase the email marketing budget.
via Small Biz: The world’s economic future in 2012 seems bleak, and could become even bleaker.The debt crisis in Europe still has not been fully resolved. Greece is getting it’s financial affairs in order, but there are other problems within the European Union.
Italy, Spain and Portugal have to also get their economic houses in order.
France may well have future budget and debt problems.
If Europe has an economic slowdown in 2012 that could stop the United States’ fragile economic recovery.
That economic ripple from Europe could also slow growth in China and the rest of Asia.
Despite these dark economic clouds, business leaders worldwide will be spending more money in 2012 on email marketing and other online marketing.
“2012 Marketing Trends,” an international study done by StrongMail, found that 92 percent of the 939 business leaders surveyed plan to increase their marketing budgets.
According to Chris Marriott, vice president of agency services at StrongMail:
“While email marketing leads the pack in terms of increased of investment in 2012, the data also reveals that marketers need to overcome key challenges around data integration and resource constraints….Whether managing and optimizing existing email marketing programs or enabling integration with social media and mobile, there is a real opportunity for full-service email marketing providers like StrongMail to help companies get the most out of their interactive marketing investments in 2012.”
The survey also found:
60% plan to increase the email marketing budget.
55% plan to spend more on social media.
37% plan to increase spending on mobile & search.
More than two-thirds of businesses plan to integrate social media & email.
47% plan to increase investment in using email to drive growth in social media such as Twitter & corporate Facebook.
One-third plan to increase spending mobile marketing.
29% will increase spending on mobile apps.
20% will increase spending on SMS alerts.
In this day and age, most people check their email on their iPads, cellphones, and smartphones - because of this all of our clients want to know what they can do to make their emails mobile friendly. We work with each client to taylor their email campaigns to look fantastic across all email platforms, including mobile devices. In lieu of a personal consultation with an email marketing agency, check out some basic tips to help make your emails more mobile friendly. Via WebTraffic ROI: E-mail marketing, with 92% of the U.S. internet users sending and reading e-mail, according to Pew Internet and American Life Project, it’s a no brainer.
Right? Yes and no. E-mail marketing no longer reaches your audience the way it used to. People used to sit at their Gateway desktops every night, dial into their Netscape and check e-mails while watching Family Matters.
The story is now a bit different. One in five marketing e-mails is opened on a smart phone. This changes a few things for your e-mail marketing campaign. Though you may have to modify a bit, you can and should make it work in your favor.
Give Your Newsletter a Mobile Lift
More than ever, it’s now important that you design your newsletter in a way that can be read easily on a smart phone.
As more people get into smart phones, studies show it has become the predominant way to check e-mail. Comscore said that 70.1 million U.S. users check their e-mail via smart phone every year.
Luckily for you, as smart phone technology grows, so does the phone’s ability to properly display a regular e-mail. Simply changing the coding and creating a narrower design may be enough.
Provide Interesting Snippets
There is a certain amount of scan and move on that happens when the e-mail immediately pops into someone’s inbox. People are most likely to read your business newsletters while they wait to get their hair cut or meet with someone. Thus, by getting your most important information into the intro clip, you can avoid the immediate deletion.
Then later, while they are watching TV on the couch, or sitting in traffic, they’ll take the time to click through the full article.
Offer Discounts, Coupons, Etc
Now that you know you’re readers are often out and about while checking e-mail, take this opportunity to get them shopping. Offering coupons that can be used right off the smart phone will make their decision to buy your product much easier.
This in turn gives them more incentive to buy. Scoutmob, a growing mobile application, offers their deals directly off the smart phone, giving users easy access to the coupons. I once went to a restaurant simply because Scoutmob offered a deal I couldn’t pass up. With easy access I was in and out.
Make it Convenient to Complete Online Transactions Later
When someone is lazily reading through your e-mail before a meeting, it isn’t likely that they’ll make a purchase from their phone. Online purchasing holds a large spot in the e-commerce world, 80% of people in their early thirties to mid forties make frequent online purchases, according to FifthGear.
However, this has yet to take hold on the mobile platform. On the newsletter, provide your customer care phone number in a click to call manner, give them access to their “shopping cart” to buy later, or allow a sharing feature to make it easy for them to share products.
E-mail marketing still holds an important spot in every company’s business marketing plan, as it should. We are seeing, though, that it’s time to shift the model a bit.
As with everything, technology is changing the way your customers function, which means you must make a slight shift as well.
To read the article on their website - please click here
Facebook is a major part of any company's social media portfolio - it benefits you and your company to be up to date on the latest and greatest features. We have all watched how Facebook has transformed over time from college based social media site into a real outlet to drive business and connect with fans/clients. The timeline format that Facebook has rolled out is just another step in connecting everyone, as it's proving itself to be a fantastic tool to track that client/business interaction over time. via InformationWeek: Social networking site hints that its Timeline feature may soon be available for brands. Here are some things to consider about Facebook Timeline and the value it could add to your business' social networking presence.
Currently, the Facebook Timeline format--which replaces profile pages and is basically a chronological scrapbook of your life--is available only for personal pages. Facebook has hinted that Timeline will be available for brands at some point in the future, but the company has not announced anything explicitly.
An interesting study commissioned by Mashable examined how users view Facebook Timeline and other revisions to social networking sites. The study, conducted by EyeTrackShop, compared the old Facebook profile page with the new Timeline. The study found that Facebook Timeline cover photos get noticed first, that Facebook ads get noticed more in Timeline than in the old profile format, and that personal information gets more attention in Timeline.
Clint Fralick, VP of client services at Boston-based social media agency Pandemic Labs, sees potential value in Facebook Timeline for business.
"As concept/metaphor, Timeline's value for businesses is the historical perspective it lends to the interaction between business/brand and Facebook community," said Fralick. "Previously, the date a brand was created and the date a brand got started on Facebook were completely separate, and brands' Facebook lifetimes always seemed to be incomplete. Brands didn't use Facebook in a chronological way, like regular users, and users couldn't do with brand pages what they so often do with friends: skim through old posts/photos, remember past good times, etc."
Fralick thinks businesses can benefit from Timeline even before they can deploy it for their own brands, via the residual effects of what users post on their own Timelines.
"Users filling out their own Timelines will generate a large number of stories organically that are linked to brands," he said. "Large fashion/lifestyle brands, for instance, are going to benefit from every person who uploads 10-year-old photos and goes on a thorough tagging/dating mission."
Alison Kimszal, an analyst at business and technology consultancy DefinedLogic, said Facebook Timeline would enable companies to tout their histories and provide improved navigation. "If Timeline is enabled for Facebook pages, it will allow companies to give a graphical representation of their company history--when the company began, significant milestone events over the years, photos, and videos," she said. "Timeline has also improved the navigation of profiles, allowing users to easily browse via months or years."
However, while experts can see some potential value in Facebook Timeline for brands, they also see drawbacks--most notably, interference with current Facebook apps and the potential for distraction. "There will be several drawbacks regarding brands that currently have Like Gates, Tabs, and other apps installed--Timeline will affect the way these currently function," said Kimszal. "Another drawback would be that customers who are used to the way brand pages look now may not like the new Timeline on the page."
Fralick agrees that Timeline could affect brands' existing Facebook apps, and notes that it might distract from what he sees as most important for businesses on Facebook--"posting simple, quality content and talking to their communities."
If Facebook Timeline becomes an option for businesses, what they need to keep in mind when deciding whether to implement the format is that Facebook is about engaging users with relevant content, said Kimszal: "The more relevant posts, photos, and videos are, the more consumers will engage with your brand."
Learn more here...
Photo courtesy of Facebook
Our platform has implemented an amazing new A/B Testing feature in each account in the past year. This feature has helped our clients decide which email campaigns are doing the best - from subject line comparison to send time, this feature gives tracking information you can use. In addition to testing your email campaigns, it's also a great idea to test out your landing pages. B2C.com has compiled a short list of the top tips for effective testing---A/B testing is one of the best ways to raise your landing page conversion rates and overall online marketing ROI. A/B testing or split testing is a testing method where a control landing page is compared to a variety of test pages. Testing landing page experiences against one another with A/B testing offers the opportunity to create and test wildly different things – think in terms of testing apples and oranges.
Here are five tips to help you effectively plan and run landing page A/B tests:
1. Know your testing type
Just like how investors have varying degrees of risk tolerance, marketers and organizations tend to have predispositions or cultural norms that affect testing. Do you just want results, or do you want to know exactly where those results are coming from? The upside of testing two widely different landing pages is that you can find big winners, but you can also find big losers. If the two pages are completely different however, you won’t know for sure why a page won or lost. There isn’t a right or wrong answer, but deciding whether you want that knowledge or just the results will affect your testing plans.
2. Create a test plan
The best results and insights come from tests that are carefully planned and hypothesized. This doesn’t mean that you should spend forever planning out a test; it just means you should fully understand what you’re testing and, even more importantly, why you’re testing it. Getting a plan in place that defines objectives, traffic, baseline results and your next steps will help keep your testing program on target even when results get crazy.
3. Statistical confidence
Run tests until they reach statistical confidence. Even though you may have what looks like a clear winner right out of the gate, wait until a test reaches statistical confidence before declaring any victors. Landing page testing is typically tested to somewhere between 80-99% confidence, depending upon a variety of factors. With LiveBall, ion’s landing page management platform, you can choose your level of confidence and let LiveBall automatically declare a winner, or you can evaluate real-time testing gauges to declare winners yourself.
4. Be bold
Beware of the never-ending A/B test! Alternatives that are too similar may not deliver a statistically significant result within a reasonable period of time, sending your testing into a state of paralysis. When you find yourself in a test wave that appears to be a statistical draw, call it as such and move on. Every time you form new test idea, take a step back to look at the alternatives and ask yourself whether you are testing something of significance.
5. Innovation then iteration
A/B testing is a powerful method for increasing conversion rates, but you can get even better results if you plan a test with two phases: innovation then iteration. Start by testing bold, innovative landing pages with A/B testing and then refine the winning page with multivariate testing (MVT). Think of A/B testing as a way to find diamonds, and MVT as a way to polish them.
Using these five tips, you’ll be ready to plan effective, valuable landing page tests. Happy testing!
Image: piyato / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
With the marketing mix becoming much more varied - as online technologies mature - and previously separate marketing channels become far more integrated, it easy is to get caught up in the latest trends and lose sight of the things that make business to business marketing successful.2011 saw social media rise to new heights and it was inevitable that it would soon be adopted as a core business tool. Social media marketing in many ways reinvigorated firms' online marketing efforts and allowed them to refocus their aims on producing far-reaching campaigns that spanned a plethora of different platforms. It was this 'all inclusive' attitude towards social interaction that set the pace of marketing in 2011, which is why we saw firms returning to tried and tested methods - like B2B email marketing - but using them in fresh, integrated and innovative ways.
While there were a number of new tools also pushing their way into the mainstream - such as online video and the rapidly growing platform of mobile marketing - it is clear that underpinning all this innovation were familiar techniques and methodologies. While content was to remain king for 2011 web-based marketing strategies, data was the cornerstone of B2B marketing - in particularly, segregated, up-to-date, highly-organised business lists.
It is this underpinning of sound business data and insight that meant so-called 'traditional' marketing platforms - like email - remained extremely popular. This looks set to continue in 2012 with email marketing is set to undergo something of a resurgence and staying high on the agenda for digital marketing specialists.
Interestingly, one of the key reasons that email will have such as successful 2012 is because of the rise of new methods of communication which were previously seen as rivals - namely social media and mobile. Far from undermining email as a rock solid business to business marketing tool, social media and the rise of smartphones and tablets have, in many ways, made it far more useful to the marketing professional.
For starters, access to email has become both instant and continuous. People can check there emails 24/7 using any number of new technologies - you can even gain access to it through your TV and mp3 player. This 'always on' view of email has cemented its reputation as the all-pervasive communication tool of choice. Its benefits over and above social media marketing are clear. It is targeted - if you have the right business data to underpin it - it can be easily personalised and it is easy to measure the success of it. What's more, with the clever use of new technologies, it can be far more responsive than it has been in the past.
So what will the key goals be for the email marketing professional in 2012?
First up, businesses need to get the targeting of their marketing messages right. Email marketing is ubiquitous and millions of messages will simply go unread or be blocked by spam filters - particularly as a result of poor email design. This means the data used for your mailshots needs to be high quality. It is no use going into 2012, spamming potential clients and customers from lists that have out-of-date information on them. Businesses will need to start using their B2B marketing data lists more intelligently if they are to boost email penetration rates.
Secondly there is the design. Many messages are deleted because they don't display properly or cause inboxes to malfunction. Email design will continue to be a hugely important factor when it comes to business to business marketing. With the rise of mobile technologies you must also consider smaller screen resolutions if you intend to run mobile email marketing campaigns.
Read more here...
This a busy time of the year at ListEngage as we undertake lots of e-marketing activity on behalf of our clients — but as 2011 comes to a close we want to extend our warm thoughts of gratitude and holiday cheer to all of you who make our work worthwhile.
At ListEngage we have a simple mantra:
Stay ahead on the cutting edge of e-marketing and help our clients achieve higher ROI as a result of everything we do.
To the extent that you've used our products, services and interacted with our team, we hope this rings true.
Looking ahead into 2012, I am very excited about a number of new product and service capabilities, some exciting partnership announcements that are all designed to help our customers maximize the use of their digital marketing initiatives.
To our clients, partners, and friends: thank you for making 2011 a raving success for ListEngage.
We wish you happy holidays and a prosperous new year!
To our clients, partners, and friends: thank you for making 2011 a raving success for ListEngage.
We wish you happy holidays and a prosperous new year!
-Altaf & the entire ListEngage team.
Have you taken a sneak peek at our newly redesigned website and blog yet? Over the years we have received some great feedback from customers, colleagues and friends on what should be front and center on our website. We take your recommendations seriously and the results are in!
Take a look at: ListEngage.com
We'd like to think that our website and blog are a great resource, first and foremost, for showcasing our core competencies and also for online marketing information and inspiration – but we can't be absolutely sure without your feedback!
Please visit ListEngage.com and tell us what you think by clicking on the "Feedback" button on the right hand side. Did we miss anything? Do you want to know more about a specific service or offering?
We can only improve from here, so keep the thoughts and comments coming and a big thank you to all who contributed during this website and blog re-design and launch.
Sincerely,
The ListEngage Team
Tel: 508.935.2275
Take a look at: ListEngage.com
We'd like to think that our website and blog are a great resource, first and foremost, for showcasing our core competencies and also for online marketing information and inspiration – but we can't be absolutely sure without your feedback!
Please visit ListEngage.com and tell us what you think by clicking on the "Feedback" button on the right hand side. Did we miss anything? Do you want to know more about a specific service or offering?
We can only improve from here, so keep the thoughts and comments coming and a big thank you to all who contributed during this website and blog re-design and launch.
Sincerely,
The ListEngage Team
Tel: 508.935.2275
Connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/theemarketer
Become a Fan on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ListEngage
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ListEngage
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