Email Marketing RulesHow 4 Social Media Predictions Impact Email Marketers
Posted on January 15, 2015
The social and email marketing channels are increasingly intertwined. So when I read this great collection of 30+ Social Media Predictions for 2015, it immediately had me thinking about how they affect email marketers.
Here are four of the predictions that jumped out at me as being particularly relevant to email marketers:
@MarjiJSherman: Personalized responses will be expected more than ever. Companies will need to invest in more targeted software in order to create unique conversations with their consumers. Knowing everything about a consumer will be required in order to create tailored conversations that hit on exactly what the consumer is talking about in their life, so the brand seamlessly enters the conversation. Also, one-on-one communication with consumers will become mandatory for brands.
@katadhin: In 2015, marketers will move from “platform centered” to “content centered” social media. Content that flows across social and digital platforms and is relevant to the platform being used. As social referral surpasses search, this approach will create higher levels of engagement and conversion for those who do it well.
@JasonFalls: All indications are that 2015 is going to be the year that social media becomes more paid media than earned, which is sad in a way. Certainly, brands with great content can break through the clutter organically, but Facebook has carved out a new model and other networks will follow. If you want your social content seen, you’re going to have to put a budget behind it. I’d love to predict brands will flip the scene and get great organic pick-up despite the new rules of the road, but most brand content sucks. That, in all likelihood, won’t change.
@EllyDeutch: “Marketers in 2015 will shift their focus to include a more ubiquitous mobile content strategy, in order to instantly reach more fans through the palms of their hands.”
For the full discussion of how these social media predictions affect email marketers…
>> Read the full article on the Convince & Convert blog
Crowd Favorites from the Swipe File: November 2014
Posted on December 8, 2014
We pin tons of inspiring digital marketing examples to our Swipe File pinboards on Pinterest every month. And each month you tell which ones most inspired you by repinning and liking them.
Here are your favorite pins among the ones we uploaded last month:
The Email Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
Blue Nile embraces the expansion of the marriage pool >> View the pin
The Social Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
The Electronic Frontier Foundation makes it easy for donors to tweet their support >> View the pin
The Audience Growth Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
Old Navy repeats mobile signup call-to-action throughout store journey >> View the pin
Help determine this month’s crowd favorites by repinning and liking the pins that inspire you most.
Tweetables from Dreamforce 2014
Posted on October 20, 2014
It was a great week at Dreamforce 2014 and I found plenty of great content to tweet about. In case you missed them, here are all the tidbits, factoids, and stats that I shared this week from the conference. You can find all the tweets from Dreamforce at #DF14.
Sears.ca overhauled cart abandonment email, making it a series, showing product abandoned, and adding product recommendations. #DF14 [Tweet]
Sears.ca overhauled cart abandonment email and increased opens by 2.7x and clicks 5.8x. #DF14 [Tweet]
Sears.ca sends browse abandonment email that highlights price drops of browsed product, along with related product recommendations. #DF14 [Tweet]
American Apparel is experimenting with collecting topic preferences on optin confirmation page. ~@_ajdelrosario [Tweet]
American Apparel’s welcome email generates nearly 3,000% ROI. ~@_ajdelrosario [Tweet]
American Apparel is working on launching a welcome email series. ~@_ajdelrosario #DF14 [Tweet]
American Apparel’s birthday email goes out to 14 regions in 8 languages. ~@_ajdelrosario #DF14 [Tweet]
American Apparel targeted customers that tend to buy between 2am and 5am with a “You are not dreaming” campaign. ~@_ajdelrosario #DF14 [Tweet]
75% of marketing budgets will go toward digital channels by 2019, according to Accenture. #DF14 [Tweet]
Journey management strategies can increase sales by 15%. #DF14 [Tweet]
Volvo Construction Equipment’s emails are segmented and personalized by industry. #DF14 [Tweet]
Two-thirds of Beyond the Rack’s revenue comes from their email program. #DF14 [Tweet]
The web is a dying technology. The future of Ecommerce is mobile. -George Colony of Forrester #DF14 [Tweet]
The Customer Insight (CI) officer is an emerging role focused on understanding customer data. -George Colony of Forrester #DF14 [Tweet]
18% of Americans have made a purchase from outside the country in the past 3 months. -Forrester #DF14 [Tweet]
Hillary Clinton talking about Too Small To Fail program that helps parents boost their kids’ language skills. #DF14 [Tweet]
Hillary Clinton supports net neutrality and a free and open internet. #DF14 [Tweet]
Sprouts grocery stores used their social media word cloud to inspire their ad messaging. #DF14 [Tweet]
Sprouts grocery stores focuses on audience engagement (comments, retweets, etc.) and not on audience size. #DF14 [Tweet]
Fred Meyer Jewelers sends a jewelry care email 6 months post-purchase asking customers to come in for product cleaning & inspection. #DF14 [Tweet]
RT @CKunplugged: “@TeamHeller: “90% of world’s data created in last 2 years!” – @benioff #DF14 “…challenge is to make it actionable [Tweet]
Boom! I love Bryan Wade’s passion for the Marketing Cloud product. You can’t succeed without passion. #DF14 [Tweet]
Live Nation tracks over 4,000 customer attributes, using those data points for targeted marketing. #DF14 [Tweet]
McDonalds creates content at the national brand level that their 14,500 local store social media managers can use. #DF14 [Tweet]
Journey Builder is the Salesforce Marketing Cloud’s fastest growing product ever. #DF14 [Tweet]
RT @drewbeechler: “The more you conform, the more of a commodity you are.” @lazerow #df14 #weirdforce [Tweet]
RT @Dreamforce: The #DF14 community has donated 771K meals. Let’s get to the finish line! Donate at http://sforce.co/1nm7lbS or text dfgives to 50555. [Tweet]
RT @lvojvodich: “I want customer service so good that it’s marketing. I want marketing so good that it’s customer service.” @smccorckle at #DF14 [Tweet]
Most tech companies over 20 years old will likely break up in the next 5 years to better compete. ~@pmarca #DF14 [Tweet]
There is no reason that this new generation of tech companies can’t be larger than the previous generation’s. ~@pmarca #DF14 [Tweet]
Apple Pay and Bitcoin will disrupt the financial services industry over the next few years. ~@pmarca #DF14 [Tweet]
Cable TV’s business model is a “melting ice cube.” ~@pmarca #DF14 [Tweet]
Every division at P&G has a head of design. #DF14 [Tweet]
P&G takes their designers on field trips to visit glass blowers, puppet-makers, etc. to keep them inspired. #DF14 [Tweet]
Responsive email design forces you to focus your content and cut out distractions. That in and of itself can boost results. ~@krudz #DF14 [Tweet]
Use call center feedback and Yelp reviews to identify friction points and then address those proactively via email messaging. ~@krudz #DF14 [Tweet]
Your emails are just not going to look the same everywhere. We have to get over that. ~@krudz #DF14 [Tweet]
As an intermediate step toward fully responsive design, consider making just your header & footer responsive. ~@krudz #DF14 [Tweet]
RT @arvindraman: Really great session by @chadswhite on email lifecycle. Nice to take a step back & take a holistic look (esp being on the tech side) #df14 [Tweet]
.@parkerharris says that he thinks of all technology as being design/UX led. [Tweet]
If you want a job in tech, just say you’re a data scientist or a really good designer and you’ll get a job instantly. ~@parkerharris #DF14 [Tweet]
“The business of business is business” was appropriate for 20th century. No longer. Companies have to give back. ~@Benioff #DF14 [Tweet]
Journey Builder needs to be integrated into sales, into service. All of these have journeys too. ~@Benioff #DF14 [Tweet]
Farewell @Dreamforce #DF14. See you September 2015! [Tweet]
Tweetables from Connections 2014
Posted on September 25, 2014
It was a great week at Connections and I found plenty of great content to tweet about. In case you missed them, here are all the tidbits, factoids, and stats that I shared this week from the conference. You can find all the tweets from Connections at #CNX14.
Watch the Digital Marketing Event of the Year from your desk! Sign up for #CNX14 Livestream! http://extg.co/1CSjIRO [Tweet]
Bringing together known customer data and anonymous customer data has been a big challenge. -Matt Smith of Best Buy #CNX14 [Tweet]
By paying attention to where customers are in the lifecycle of a product like smartphones, we can send relevant messages. -Best Buy #CNX14 [Tweet]
20% of donations to DonorsChoose.org come from email marketing. #CNX14 [Tweet]
The majority of @ExactTarget customers are using the Marketing Cloud for more than one channel now. #CNX14 [Tweet]
LiveNation tracks 4,000 attributes for each of their customers. #CNX14 [Tweet]
Thanks to everyone who attended my #CNX14 session. You can find the slides and resource list here >> http://www.emailmarketingrules.com/email-subscriber-lifecycle-strategies-swipe-file/ [Tweet]
RT @lauramaggie: Full, front & back, single-spaced page of notes coming out of @chadswhite’s Email Lifecycle Strategies #ohthetakeaways! #CNX14 [Tweet]
Lots of small, real-time interactions add up to a long, detailed customer journey. -Gabriel Stricker of Twitter #CNX14 [Tweet]
Innovation is now the mantle of every department within a company–marketing, accounting, legal… -Gabriel Stricker of Twitter [Tweet]
The ability to micro-target has totally changed how we do business. -Beth Comstock of GE #CNX14 [Tweet]
Mindshare before market share. -Beth Comstock of GE #CNX14 [Tweet]
Geeks are more “artists” than artists are. -@iamwill #CNX14 [Tweet]
Awesome! @thescript and @iamwill rocking out together at #CNX14 http://t.co/ntqANkR32c [Tweet]
RT @jkrohrs: Watch the #CNX14 CMO Conversations panel here: http://t.co/hpGROC9m71. Great insights from @gabrielstricker @bethcomstock & @nickbesbeas. [Tweet]
Simon malls trades free wifi access in exchange for an email opt-in. #CNX14 [Tweet]
Sirius XM radio manages hundreds of Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. #CNX14 [Tweet]
Mobile is where most of our customer interactions are taking place. -Mark Highland of Gannett #CNX14 [Tweet]
We are not loyal to a company because of a program. -Maggie Lang of Kimpton Hotels [Tweet]
Technology needs to map up to a culture. -Maggie Lang of Kimpton Hotels #CNX14 [Tweet]
McDonald’s has 14,500 Facebook pages–one for each local store to address local customers. #CNX14 [Tweet]
We have to connect and interact with our customers at the local level, not just the brand level. -David Martinelli of McDonald’s #CNX14 [Tweet]
They are not trying to read our emails. They are trying to delete them. We want to prevent that through relevance. -@JonPowell31 #CNX14 [Tweet]
Difficulty and length are impediments to action but are not as bad as unnecessary difficulty and length. -@JonPowell31 #CNX14 [Tweet]
RT @joshkimber: @lvojvodich @bradgressel @chadswhite @LudoRaedts @alexandani The Top 15 People at #CX14 and you’re one of them. http://j.mp/1xfW1l2 [Tweet]
Over the past year, @ExactTarget customers have sent 237 billion emails, including 8.5 billion triggered emails. #CNX14 [Tweet]
To get our Spark newsletter, send a blank email to spark@sendmespark.com. New functionally announced at #CNX14 [Tweet]
This new “blank email opt-in” functionality is a cool new flavor of confirmed opt-in. #CNX14 [Tweet]
Hulu uses behavior analytics to determine when is the best time to approach users about upgrading to Hulu Plus. #CNX14 [Tweet]
Real-time data collection is absolutely critical to powering personalization and triggered emails. -Dasha Gastol of Diesel #CNX14 [Tweet]
Sales conversions increased 15% to 25% by adding personalized recommendations to cart abandonment emails. -Dasha Gastol of Diesel #CNX14 [Tweet]
Lee’s number one source of subscribers is the lightbox signup form on their website. #CNX14 [Tweet]
The email signup confirmation page on Lee.com asks new subscribers to take a style quiz for profiling purposes. #CNX14 [Tweet]
Dollar Bank’s welcome emails have 60%+ open rates versus roughly 30% for their other emails. #CNX14 [Tweet]
Lee’s emails with promotional CTAs do better in morning and those with social and other non-promo CTAs do better in evening. #CNX14 [Tweet]
Lee sends a birthday email, a half-birthday email, and a birthday wish list email a few weeks before a b-day. -@EmailGirl #CNX14 [Tweet]
Lee gives subscribers the opportunity to opt up to receive extra special emails during the holiday season. -@EmailGirl #CNX14 [Tweet]
RT @mikeramo: ‘OPT UP’ I have heard this term 100 this week and plan to take it home and use it Thanks @chadswhite @andreasmith77 @EmailGirl #CNX14 [Tweet]
Webroot ran into deliverability issues because of a free trial offer that was attracting poor quality addresses. #CNX14 [Tweet]
Webroot uses different sending strategies for inactives at different ISPs. #CNX14 [Tweet]
RT @NancyWeaver: “@jkrohrs: #CNX14 friends, get seats early for @realjohngreen’s 9am keynote. Stellar. #dftba http://t.co/SaoYcxbfAQ” Can’t wait! [Tweet]
Great catching up with @swerdtoyourmom @jacaldwell @jcohen808 @mostew @DerekBHarding at #CNX14 [Tweet]
Cedar Point theme parks have 3 journeys they focus on: pre-visit, time in park, and post-visit. #CNX14 [Tweet]
You don’t become authentic. You become yourself over and over again. -John Green #CNX14 [Tweet]
Sometimes the really important metrics aren’t the apparent ones. -John Green #CNX14 [Tweet]
Feeling good about myself. My 1st book outsold John Green’s. “Email Marketing Rules” the Movie? #CNX14 [Tweet]
What’s bad for your community is ways bad for your business. -John Green #CNX14 [Tweet]
The problem with selling a long-term relationship is you don’t have it anymore. -John Green about monetizing relationships #CNX14 [Tweet]
If you allow a good community to guide you, they will show you yourself again and again. -John Green #CNX14 [Tweet]
About 27% of time spent on mobile devices is spent on Facebook or Instagram. #CNX14 [Tweet]
RT @kyleplacy: Download all the #CNX14 breakout session slides on @Slideshare – http://www.slideshare.net/exacttarget [Tweet]
We like to think about the next best action, because it is not always the next best offer. -Rob Davis of Accenture #CNX14 [Tweet]
It used to take Xcel Energy 4-6 weeks to create an audience list for an email send. #CNX14 [Tweet]
40% of Xcel Energy’s customers have made a selection in their preference center. #CNX14 [Tweet]
RT @swerdtoyourmom: Famous #emailmarketing author, @chadswhite meeting & greeting one of his biggest fans, @jacaldwell #CNX14 http://t.co/CSwdv3B1FK [Tweet]
Loving the dancers/cameramen here at #CNX14 [Tweet]
If you have to force yourself to tweet, then you shouldn’t be tweeting. -@mindykaling #CNX14 [Tweet]
When you are trying to come up, it is all about putting in the time. -@mindykaling #CNX14 [Tweet]
It has been a great #CNX14. See everyone at #CNX15 in NYC June 15-17, 2015. [Tweet]
Crowd Favorites from the Swipe File: August 2014
Posted on September 11, 2014
We pin tons of inspiring digital marketing examples to our Swipe File pinboards on Pinterest every month. And each month you tell which ones most inspired you by repinning and liking them.
Here are your favorite pins among the ones we uploaded last month:
The Email Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
Fab apologizes for cat-filled test email with cat-filled apology email >> View the pin
>> Browse the Email Swipe File
The Mobile Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
Vine push message is aware of its context >> View the pin
The Social Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
NBA Cares attracts followers with charity event pictures and details >> View the pin
The Audience Growth Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
The Eiteljorg Museum turns a business card into a social calling card >> View the pin
Help determine this month’s crowd favorites by repinning and liking the pins that inspire you most.
Crowd Favorites from the Swipe File: July 2014
Posted on August 8, 2014
We pin tons of inspiring digital marketing examples to our Swipe File pinboards on Pinterest every month. And each month you tell which ones most inspired you by repinning and liking them.
Here are your favorite pins among the ones we uploaded last month:
The Email Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
Michaels >> 2-email welcome series focused on preferences >> View the pin
>> Browse the Email Swipe File
The Social Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
Ikea Russia >> website created using Instagram’s grid view and photo tagging >> View the pin
>> Browse the Social Swipe File
The Audience Growth Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
Home Depot >> email pitches SMS signup with $5 incentive >> View the pin
>> Browse the Audience Growth Swipe File
Help determine this month’s crowd favorites by repinning and liking the pins that inspire you most.
Crowd Favorites from the Swipe File: June 2014
Posted on July 11, 2014
We pin tons of inspiring digital marketing examples to our Swipe File pinboards on Pinterest every month. And each month you tell which ones most inspired you by repinning and liking them.
Here are your favorite pins among the ones we uploaded last month:
The Email Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
Mini USA >> a re-engagement campaign that oozes brand personality >> View the pin
>> Browse the Email Swipe File
The Social Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
Mazda Canada >> 4-month-long Instagram campaign using grid view >> View the pin
>> Browse the Social Swipe File
The Mobile Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
Major League Baseball >> Uses iBeacon to deliver discounts and alerts based on location in ballpark >> View the pin
>>Browse the Mobile Swipe File
The Audience Growth Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
Wendy’s >> drive-thru sign used to drive social engagement >> View the pin
>> Browse the Audience Growth Swipe File
Help determine this month’s crowd favorites by repinning and liking the Swipe File pins that inspire you most.
Crowd Favorites from the Swipe File: May 2014
Posted on June 11, 2014
We pin tons of inspiring digital marketing examples to our Swipe File pinboards on Pinterest every month. And each month you tell which ones most inspired you by repinning and liking them.
Here are your favorite pins among the ones we uploaded last month:
The Email Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
Pizza Express >> Valentine’s Day email with awesome images-off rendering >> View the pin
>> Browse the Email Swipe File
The Social Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
Target >> community curation of a party planning Pinterest board >> View the pin
>> Browse the Social Swipe File
The Audience Growth Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
Uncommon Goods >> post-purchase page asks for social sharing of purchase >> View the pin
>> Browse the Audience Growth Swipe File
Help determine this month’s crowd favorites by repinning and liking the Swipe File pins that inspire you most.
Crowd Favorites from the Swipe File: April 2014
Posted on May 8, 2014
We pin tons of inspiring digital marketing examples to our Swipe File pinboards on Pinterest every month. And each month you tell which ones most inspired you by repinning and liking them.
Here are your favorite pins among the ones we uploaded last month:
The Email Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
Pizza Express >> personalized birthday email with awesome images-off rendering >> View the pin
>> Browse the Email Swipe File
The Social Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
First Cup >> used social listening to target coffee drinkers at the local level >> View the pin
>> Browse the Social Swipe File
The Audience Growth Swipe File’s crowd favorite was…
Home Depot >> e-receipt with email opt-in promotion >> View the pin
>> Browse the Audience Growth Swipe File
Help determine this month’s crowd favorites by repinning and liking the Swipe File pins that inspire you most.
The 3 Pitfalls of Offline Opt-ins
Posted on May 1, 2014
Offline email signups offer many opportunities to lose a perfectly good subscriber through poor process. Shoppers at your stores, patrons at your restaurants, and visitors at your conference booths make great subscribers. The challenge is accurately collecting email addresses in these environments.
Avoid these three offline opt-in pitfalls:
- Transcription, especially without verification.
- Not setting the right expectations.
- Handing out immediate rewards for email addresses.
For all the details and examples…
>> Read the entire post on the ExactTarget Blog
Welcome! Email Marketing Rules is your guide to understanding the best practices of this complex, often misunderstood channel as you craft the best executions for your brand. Every week, we’ll explore strategies and tactics, discuss tips and inspiration, and dig into industry news and trends.
Chad S. White
Head of Research
Oracle Digital Experience Agency
Author of Email Marketing Rules and nearly 4,000 articles about digital and email marketing
Features
