Online Marketing for Local Business
Archive for August, 2010
The Continued Value of Email
14 years
by admin
in Uncategorized
Social networks are no doubt the “sexy” topic of the day for most marketing and promotional people, or just citizens in general. The rush to social media marketing has left some to question the continued value of email communication. What is the current value of sending an email newsletter, for example?
A few facts to consider before declaring the end of email:
First, email is still ubiquitous; almost 100% of Internet users have an email address and check it with some regularity. As mentioned in previous blog posts, this may change at some point in the future, as younger folks switch to other methods of communication, but for the foreseeable future email remains king, especially with business users.
Second, not only is email here to stay, but it’s still the preferred way to distribute information. When sharing a link with a colleague, friend or family member, most people (78%) still report that email is the primary way they would do so.
Social networks are gaining in importance for sure, and may one day overtake email – just as email has largely replaced “snail mail”, or even phone conversations. (The pros and cons of these facts are certainly up for debate, however!)
And finally, email is cheap. Depending on the size of your list, distributing an e-newsletter can cost pennies per recipient. And you control the message and formatting of the communication 100%.
Why Companies Fail With Social Media
14 years
by admin
in Uncategorized
Social media marketing is difficult for most organizations, and it’s not all that hard to figure out why. They start strong, but after some time lose interest or get frustrated with their results. In general, they view social networking as an event – not a process.
The Super Bowl is an event. Setting up a trade show booth or attending a sales conference is an event, or having sales promotion. These have a distinct beginning and end.
On the other hand, dating is a process; losing weight is a process (if done correctly!); building a brand is definitely a process. And once success has been achieved, it must be maintained.
Events are a lot easier to manage, to budget and pay for, and get excited about. (Think of the excitement generated by the Super Bowl, for example) They can be placed on a calendar.
But this isn’t what creating an online community or following is all about. Often social media doesn’t have an immediate, or easily identified, ROI number that you can assign to it, as you can with most events.
A process builds results for the long haul. Go into your social marketing and communications with this in mind, and you are far more likely to be successful.