Combining the Strengths of Social Media and E-Mail Marketing- eMarketer

via emarketer.com

We completely agree with the conclusion of this article. And unfortunately a lot of small businesses have moved away from email marketing campaigns to instead focus on social media outreach. There is room—scratch that—there is a NEED for both in a healthy small business marketing strategy.

Marketing Trends & Tactics - What Works?

Interesting article from eMarketing yesterday, which reinforces other studies that we've been reading lately.

"Social and community sites were the most popular way to engage leads, and the proportion of marketers using them increased from Q3 to Q4 2009. Qualified leads also received e-newsletters in increasing numbers."

Looks like social media continues to be the number one way that brands are choosing to engage their marketing leads. It's also interesting to note that email newsletters still hold down the second spot. Compare those, however, with the numbers for catalog—evidence of how the internet has changed things...

When it Comes to Social Marketing—Are You Wasting Your Money?

Recently, I was sent an article on the effectiveness of marketing via social sites like Facebook and Twitter. The article even went so far as to break down the data to show distinctions between the B2B (Business-to-Business service providers) and B2C (Business-to-Consumer providers). I'm sharing the gist of the article, but if you'd like to read the full article you'll find it here at eMarketer.com.

Marketing via social networking sites is the hammer that you use to build the house, not the house itself.

Email Marketing Isn't Dead... So Use It!

Much has been said about the demise of email thanks to some of the new social networking tools that we now have at our disposal. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. have changed the game of connecting customers to companies. But what of email? Is it no longer valid? Has it been passed over by quicker, "tidier" methods of communcation?

Not according to a study published by eMarketer using data from sites StrongMail and ShareThis. According to the study:

A study of sharing activity across the ShareThis network in October 2009 also revealed that e-mail was the top channel for distributing content to friends, with 46.4% of all shares. About one-third of shares went to Facebook and less than 6% were tweeted.

Overall, Twitter did post the highest click-through rate in both studies quoted. But email came back swinging with higher page counts after click-through.

So how can you and I apply this to our businesses?

1. Make sure that you have an email marketing strategy for your business. If you're short on time/bandwidth, don't fret—it doesn't need to be a weekly investment. Shoot for sending out an email once per quarter. Recap important news, and give your customers an opportunity to engage with the brand. Launch a contest, ask for feedback, announce a promotion specifically targeted to customers on your email list. The end goal is to make them feel like they have the inside track on what's happening with your brand.
2. Email marketing is just one component of a well-rounded online strategy. As are Twitter, Facebook and the myriad of other social networking opportunities out there. Go ahead, start a Facebook fan page. But don't rely on it solely to carry your online marketing efforts. And just as Facebook shouldn't be your only online marketing effort, you shouldn't rely on direct email marketing to carry your voice by itself.

If you have questions on how to implement an email marketing strategy (hint: it's much easier than you think), drop us a line using the email address above or the comments box below. We've designed and implemented many successful emarketing campaigns, and can help you avoid the pitfalls that many people face when they're just starting out.

Thanks for reading!

—Jason @ Ideavise

Branding Basics: What is a Brand, and How Do I Strategize It?

What is a brand? Expert Marty Neumeier classifies a brand as, "A person's gut feeling about a product, service or company." Almost all companies use visual identifiers (logos) as a component of their brand strategy to help them differentiate themselves in the marketplace. But it shouldn't stop there. In fact, when I hear a company mention branding, most often they're referring to their logo. Unfortunately, that's selling the concept and process of brand strategy short.

So what is brand strategy? I 'd propose that it's a planned effort by a product, service or company to use consistent practices, interactions and design language in order to build a sense of value and trust in the eyes of current and potential customers. Yes, that includes the logo (right there in that design language part).

You might be thinking, "Value and trust— Got it." But there is a third component which could be the most important aspect of brand strategy, and that's consistency. To demonstrate why consistency is important, allow me to use an example: Suppose that you stopped at the corner coffee shop each morning on your way to work  (which isn't much of a stretch for some of us). For the first four days of the week, the coffee is amazing. Perfect roast, great flavor, etc. Then, on Friday, you swing by the same coffee shop for your daily cup of joe only to get to work and find that the coffee is awful. Not just questionable, but absolutely unpalatable. Are you going to go back to this same coffee shop week after week? After all, 80% of the time, their coffee is great. My guess is that you probably won't. There are plenty of other options in the coffee marketplace, and you're not going to waste your time and money on an inconsistent experience. Consistency is the difference on whether you continue to patronize that business. They've diminished their value by violating your trust that they'd provide a consistent product, day after day.

And the thing is, the story above only mentions the product aspect of the company/customer relationship. That same analogy, however, can be applied to virtually all facets of the business including; customer service, marketing, advertising, etc. You can start to see how the concept of a brand is so all-encompassing. It's difficult to think of a single element within a company that's unable to be tied to the brand in some way.

To recap, brands are important because they allow you to differentiate your product, service or company. When solid brand strategy is implemented consistently, a brand builds value in the eyes of its customers and creates a trust relationship. It's not difficult to imagine that people are much more comfortable buying things that they value from companies (or individuals) that they trust. Every interaction affects the perception of the brand, and it's virtually impossible to find an aspect of a business that doesn't have an impact on the brand in some way.

Thanks for reading.

—Jason @ Ideavise

Questions about brand strategy or positioning? Drop us a note in the comments section below.

Recession Strategy: Invest in Your Brand Now!

What's your business strategy been during the economic downturn? Have you been looking for ways to leverage the market, or backing off and trying to play it safe and weather the storm? What are your key competitors doing? Do you know? If so, how confident are you that you know their full strategy?

This is the time to invest in your business. Not in spite of the slow down, but because of it. But where to invest? When times are tight, you want to put your money where it will have the most impact, right? We think so, and we would suggest taking a look at your brand.

Have you invested in your brand recently? No, not your logo. Not your tag line. Not your advertising strategy or your jingle. Your brand. Those other things are important, and may hold strategic or tactical importance for your business—but in and of themselves, they're not the brand. Your brand is an overarching representation of your company's values, qualities and beliefs, and should be a major differentiator between you and your competitors.

Through the development of your brand, you create the impression of consistency for your customers. Consistency engenders trust, and people buy from companies that they trust.

Next week, we'll talk more about branding and a few simple aspects of the brand that are critically important to every business. Thanks for reading.

—Jason@Ideavise

Questions about brand strategy or positioning? Drop us a note in the comments section below.