Tuesday 6 August 2013

Does Email Marketing Still Work?



These days it can sometimes feel as though getting your company noticed is all about social media and viral marketing. Once such a revolutionary concept, it can now seem as though the humble email is already fading into the background when it comes to devising an effective marketing campaign. 

Many of us assume that marketing emails are not even read anymore, but simply dismissed as junk mail and deleted instantly. Consumers have got wise to it, we may think, and so we have to find new ways of reaching them. 

But this is not the case at all: customers will still take notice of email, provided that companies can adapt and learn to use it in new ways. For example, the Direct Marketing Association’s 2012 Email Tracking Study reported that consumers are still signing up to receive marketing related emails. 


According to the organisation, consumer approval of the content of marketing emails is actually on the increase, with 25 per cent saying that they still find more than half the emails they receive relevant and of interest to them. Put simply, it is not the medium itself that is lacking but simply that some companies are still employing it in fairly obsolete ways that no longer suit today’s consumer. 

So what are the kinds of changes companies need to be making to their email marketing activities? For one thing, it is not good enough to simply send out hundreds or thousands of generic emails to random consumers and hope that a high enough percentage respond. Nowadays people are wise to this, so if you want to achieve an acceptable level of success you need to take a targeted approach. Take the time to build up a detailed database of existing clients and break them down into sub-categories. This way you can send them emails that are relevant to their interests and needs. Anything else is a waste of both yours and the recipient’s time. 

You can personalise emails still further when it comes to emailing previous customers by employing a method known as behavioural targeting. People will be much more inclined to read their emails if they feel the seller has really taken on board their needs. You should, therefore, be looking at how they responded to previous emails, what their website browsing patterns are and what kinds of things they have tended to purchase in the past.

Remember also that mobile marketing has been a real game changer. Nowadays people are relying increasingly on smartphones to read their emails or catch up on the news. This is something that many companies are still failing to take on board when it comes to adapting their marketing emails. Layout is absolutely vital for mobile: responsive design is key as it should be easy for users to take action within seconds of opening the email. The wording should also be extremely concise so they can get the gist of what you are trying to sell them in the first couple of sentences. There is very little room on a mobile screen for long-winded, wordy messages. Consumers don’t like ‘clever’ marketing jargon these days. They want to be told things simply and quickly.

Finally, contrary to what some companies seem to think, you shouldn’t make it difficult for recipients to unsubscribe to your emails. If your marketing department is doing its job properly then your messages should be working with the people who genuinely want your products. If uninterested people unsubscribe then you will not be wasting your efforts on them when you could be concentrating on genuine customers.
It’s really worthwhile taking all these points on board, because if you get it right then email is still one of the lowest cost marketing methods available to you

Monday 15 July 2013

Is The AIDA Framework Still Relevant For Online Marketing?


The acronym AIDA is used to describe an age old marketing framework, developed in the late 19th century and pioneered by several experts in the early 20th century. The acronym itself first appeared in 1921 and has since been used to describe this traditional method of promotion and advertising.


The framework developed throughout the first half of the 20th century although marketing companies and consultants largely stuck to the four point process. The most significant development was the development of the funnel diagram, used to illustrate that there become fewer potential customers each step along through the framework.

For those new to marketing, AIDA describes how a promotion or advertisement should:

Grab the Attention of the potential customer

Raise Interest in the potential customer by demonstrating the product or services benefits

Persuade the potential customer that they Desire the product or service

Inform and lead the customer towards taking Action and purchasing the product or service.

Whilst the framework is traditional and in no way pioneering, many online marketing companies still practise the Attention, Interest, Desire and Action process. On the other hand, there are a number of newer frameworks (such as REAN, developed by a digital marketing agency in 2006) that focus far more on developing customer relationships; something AIDA simply does not do.

Is AIDA still relevant? Can this century old framework be applied to online marketing?

1. Attention

Grabbing the attention of potential clients has never been as challenging, particularly as we are bombarded with advertisements and promotions online every day. Some experts believe we actually encounter over 500 adverts every single day, many of which are online, meaning there is incredible competition.

Online, tools such as search engine optimisation (SEO) and social media marketing can help attract potential client attention although it is certainly no easy task.


2. Interest

We live in a world where many people believe themselves immune to advertising. Fortunately for those in the marketing business, the majority of these people are misguided. Whilst it is true that it is becoming far harder to persuade potential clients that a product or service will truly benefit them, there are always new, ingenious ways company marketing experts drum up to do so.

In the online world this is often done through social media by engaging customers and potential customers in real debate. Websites must be carefully designed to direct potential customers to exactly the right page, providing exactly the right amount of information to keep them hooked on your product or service.

3. Desire

There are a number of tools companies use online to encourage potential clients into desiring a product or service. Blogging, customer interaction and social media debate can offer potential clients the information they require to be convinced that a product will benefit them. Moreover, companies encourage happy clients to share their experiences on social media sites such as Facebook or Pinterest, encouraging desire amongst their social networks.

4. Action

Websites must be informative, attractive but also very simple to navigate through. An easy to use website is instrumental in the success of any online company and is the focal point of the final step in the AIDA framework.

A potential client is far more likely to purchase from your company if the website leads them efficiently towards the checkout page without bombarding them with unnecessary questions and adverts.

So to conclude, it appears that whilst dated, the AIDA framework can (and does) still have its uses in the online marketing world. Whilst newer frameworks focus on important marketing strategies such as retaining and developing customer relationships, AIDA provides the foundations upon which a company can build a successful online operation.

Friday 5 July 2013

How Content Marketing Can Work For You


Savvy marketers now understand that traditional forms of advertising are no longer enough to reach out to today’s consumer. Content marketing is the method of creating and distributing relevant material to your customer base in order to drive profitable consumer action. Rather than directly selling, what you are doing is keeping the lines of communication open and the Internet is the perfect medium for doing this. But is content marketing just the latest in a long line of marketing buzz words, or is it something that can have real benefits. In short, is it worth the effort?


The answer is yes. And you don’t need to take our word for it: most of the major brands such as P&G and Microsoft are using content marketing techniques today. As just one example of where it has paid off, look at L’Oréal’s recent campaign. In 2012 it collaborated with Rolling Stone Magazine on its ‘Women Who Rock’ annual issue. This invited consumers to get involved by voting to decide which female emerging musician would be on the flip cover of the issue.

According to Debora Koyama, AVP Marketing at L’Oréal USA, “We are very satisfied with the program having much stronger results this year achieving or surpassing our targets and benchmarks from a number of page and video views, earned impressions to brand health tracking metrics.”

If you want to get the best results from content marketing then there are three key areas you have to cover.

These are:

Images: Highly visual content such as images or infographics can be much easier for your audience to absorb and if done well it can make a big impact. It’s a good way to share tips or information on your latest products and this kind of content is also very easy to share so it has the potential to go viral quickly. Make sure you add your company’s name and web address somewhere within the graphics.

Blog posts and articles:
As an expert in your sector you will no doubt have valuable advice and tips to share with your customers. A relevant and regularly updated blog is a great way to keep visitors flowing in to your website. You can also think about spreading the net further by posting articles on relevant blogging sites. It will showcase your knowledge and help you connect with clients, presenting an image of you as a reliable and competent supplier.

Videos:
These days it is relatively quick and easy to put together a professional looking video – you don’t necessarily need much special knowledge and expertise. Once you have your video then it’s a valuable tool to connect with your audience over platforms such as YouTube. Be imaginative and come up with something really unique that people will want to share.

But remember that whatever you post, your content marketing strategy should always be coherent. Have the same themes and brand message running through everything and this way you will create a strong identity for your company. And keep plugging away! You are unlikely to see results straight away but this does not mean it will not pay off in the end.

Monday 1 July 2013

A Devolution Of Power From Big Business In The Marketing World?


Traditionally, most companies employing more than thirty or so staff would have their own in-house marketing department, dedicated to market research and running marketing campaigns. In a post credit crunch world however, the face of in-house marketing is changing as departments have their budgets slashed and workloads increased. Exactly how this is affecting UK companies is an interesting tale.


In the past, SMEs were the main clients for a typical marketing company. Whilst larger companies outsourced to some of the more global players in marketing, traditionally marketing campaigns were run in house by specific marketing departments. Since the economic downturn, however, marketing departments have shrunk whilst workloads have increased meaning marketing companies are suddenly seeing an increase in business from medium and larger companies.

A report published this year by Charterhouse, the market services company, surveyed 200 marketing professionals in the UK and Western Europe. The results were music to the ears of marketing companies although rather unwelcome news to some marketing departments.

The results of the survey largely suggested that marketing departments in medium to larger sized firms are struggling to cope and, as a result, outsourcing more and more work to their respective marketing company. As a result, personnel in marketing departments have become more like administrators than marketers, coordinating the relationship between the department and the marketing firm.

On the other hand, the report is fantastic news for the UK’s marketing companies with 52% of UK respondents stating their departments were now dependent in some capacity on marketing companies. Over a third of respondents said their companies were entirely dependent on third party marketing firms for creativity in their marketing campaigns, with over half saying they had outsourced creativity in some form or another. One might argue that this devolution in power from some of the larger companies is no bad thing and in line with the governments call to SMEs to prop up the UK’s flat-lining economy.

Moreover, the report signals good news for the marketing industry on the whole, with 67% of respondents agreeing their companies or departments were doing more work. Social media was at least partly responsible for this increase in work, with 61% of respondents agreeing that this relatively new marketing tool had contributed to their increase in workloads.

In conclusion, the report’s findings polarise opinions within the marketing world. Whilst large companies with sizeable marketing departments have to outsource more work as their current staff levels cannot cope, smaller businesses and third party marketing companies are benefiting as a result. For the marketing industry on the whole, however, the news seems positive with more work and jobs in small businesses as a result.

Monday 17 June 2013

Hiring A Marketing Consultant: What To Consider



In today’s competitive marketplace, business owners can no longer expect to be able to manage every aspect of their business themselves. Indeed, it’s considered intelligent to outsource particularly important functions to experts. Marketing is a case in point: every company today needs a solid marketing strategy in place, but this is by no means as easy to develop as you might think. There are now so many different techniques for marketing a business that it often requires a specialist in the field to do it properly. But what do you need to consider if you’re looking for a marketing consultant to get your company noticed by your target audience?

Identify Your Goals: Before you start interviewing any potential marketing consultants to hire, you need to decide exactly what you want to achieve. This way you will be able to communicate your needs effectively. For example, do you want to increase your visibility online; are you looking to break into new market sectors or do you want to expand your sales network further afield. As with any kind of service, different consultants will have different specialist skills so your needs will help to dictate who you choose.




Get Referrals: You will be able to find plenty of consultants in your area if you do an online search, but how do you know which are worth your time? The best thing to do, once you have a list of possibilities, is ask around your professional network to find out which ones people have used and which brought them real results. Word of mouth really means something in this field, so you should use it. You can try looking at online reviews as well, although it’s always best, when possible, to get the opinion of someone you know and trust.

Interviewing: Once you’ve completed the above steps you should have been able to compile a shortlist of at least three consultants. At this point you can make an appointment with each one to discuss your ideas for your business and find out how they could help you.

There are several points you should remember to bring up during these talks: what experience do they have in your particular field; what kind of strategy might they employ for you; and do they have any contacts with business networks that could be useful to you? You should ask them to describe their processes in a way that you can understand, and ask to see examples of previous projects they have worked on. They should be able to show you some concrete results that prove they have enhanced a company’s reputation or visibility.

Be Aware: Finally, you should know when it’s best to avoid a certain consultant. Anyone who makes you unrealistic promises or offers you a ‘foolproof’ strategy is not to be trusted. Any good consultant knows that successful marketing takes time to implement and not everything will work every time. You should also make sure that you discuss and confirm costs before you sign anything so you can be sure you are not going to be charged for any undisclosed ‘extras’ further down the line.

Friday 14 June 2013

6 Hassle-Free Ways to Unearth More Sparkling Blog Content


Ever started a blog and deserted it after six weeks because you ran out of topics to write about? This is far from an unusual situation. In fact a recent study found that 64% of small businesses featured cited ‘a lack of content ideas’ as a major problem they faced on a weekly basis.


And for the visitor, there’s nothing as underwhelming as clicking onto a blog only to find there hasn’t been any postings for the past three months (unless it’s a competitor’s blog of course!)

Content marketing can be incredibly daunting and time-consuming and it is worth considering outsourcing your requirements to local marketing companies or freelance creatives.

Meantime, here are 6 hassle-free resources and ideas you can use to find relevant content topics for your website or blog:

1.Bottlenose

Want to know what’s trending in your industry across all the major networks in real time? Bottlenose is a free resource that will keep you in the loop, so you can write about the latest developments on your blog. And definitely check out the handy ‘Sonar’ tab as a way of finding sub-topics in your niche too.

2.Customer Questions

If you’re selling online I’ll bet you get lots of questions from customers your other customers could benefit from too. Keep a list of the best ones and answer them once a month on your blog.

3.TweetChats

Imagine a giant online chat room where people hold scheduled get togethers to discuss particular topics. In this case we’re talking Tweetchats on Twitter – why not drop by and join in the conversation?

4.Quora

If you’re searching for facts, opinions and humorous content on a particular subject, Quora is the place to hang out. You can even republish material from the site providing you include a link back to Quora.

5.Topsy

Another interesting platform which allows you to search by theme across the various social networks and you can also set up email or RRS alerts for topics which interest you.

6.Industry Blogs

Subscribing to blogs within your industry is a must, firstly for keeping up to date and getting different perspectives on what is occurring and secondly for giving you lots of ideas for topics for your own blog.

And don’t forget to set up Google Alerts for your company, main competitors, industry and product ranges, so you’ll know what people are saying about you online!

For help with generating relevant and engaging blog posts for your target audience, marketing companies have their finger on the pulse when it comes content creation.

Tuesday 4 June 2013

SlideShare Marketing . . . Better Than LinkedIn For Bringing In New Business?



Yes you did read that headline correctly.

It seems that the under-utilised and underrated SlideShare is proving a more effective option for getting products and services in front of key decision makers, than the much revered professional networking site, LinkedIn.

According to ComScore – SlideShare – dubbed the ‘quiet giant’ of content marketing, attracts around five times the traffic of other social media sites including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and indeed – LinkedIn.


SlideShare offers a convenient way of syndicating your blog and website content, (in fact any content your company produces), for wider audience engagement and better SEO results.
What’s more, syndicating content through SlideShare is really easy to do and your preferred marketing consultant will be pleased to assist you.

6 Tips For Marketing Content With SlideShare:

Your Title Must Entice

Bland, boring and genetic titles are out! Your SlideShare titles need to be bold, exciting, intriguing or controversial to ensure they get attention.

Use Teaser Content and a Call To Action

Who says you have to tell the whole story all at once? Try providing a flavour of the content in your SlideShare – a taster of what your prospects will get if they go to your landing page or website and sign up to your list. (This works well if you provide say the first 25 slides of a 100-slide document, but isn’t so effective for shorter works).

Leverage Other Audiences To Build Your Own

Let’s say your company’s blog has just launched and you are looking for increased exposure to get more potential clients on board. The solution: guest blogging. Blog owners are always on the lookout for exceptional content and your SlideShare content could be just the thing to get your business noticed.

Data-Driven Content is the Key to Engagement

SlideShare’s fans are professionals seeking quality information and helpful solutions for their businesses. As such, they are seeking informed content and statistics (think: charts, graphs, infographics) – and plenty of them!

HubSpot’s Dan Zarella found that contrary to other types of social media, the longer the SlideShare presentation the better it performed (60+ pages ideally).

Design Matters (a lot)

Whilst it could be misleading to suggest that design is more important that content it is certainly of equal importance when it comes to persuading browsers to click on your SlideShare over other people’s. An impressive design coupled with well-crafted content adds up to an irresistible SlideShare.

Get More Sign Ups on the Spot!

Because you are able to embed links into your SlideShare presentations, SlideShare allows you the potential to get more followers on board right away. (SlideShare Pro users can even embed a contact form into their document). And because SlideShare is a multimedia production there are no concerns about incurring penalties for duplicate content as with the written medium.

So now you’ve had a flavour of what online marketing’s ‘quiet giant’ could do for your business, it’s time to get to work. If you would like expert help and guidance to kickstart your SlideShare marketing campaign, your friendly online marketing consultant is just a phone call (or email) away.
It’s no exaggeration to say that using SlideShare to ‘buzz your business’ and connect with more potential clients could be a very smart business decision indeed. What’s the betting your competitors haven’t discovered it yet?