Marketing Wrap-up: Week of February 3, 2012

Welcome to the first week in February! Did you see your shadow yesterday? Let's get into the top stories this week. 

 

Of course, everyone is talking about Facebook filing for their IPO on Wednesday, seeking to raise $5 billion. Speculation is rampant about what this will mean for the company, for Mark Zuckerberg, for social media in general, for Facebook employees, etc. Mashable has thoughtfully pulled it all together for you on one handy page. Definitely worth a read.  

 

In email-related news this week, we saw the announcement of the Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance group, or DMARC. DMARC is made up of representatives from email service providers, financial services companies, social media companies, and email security firms, with the purpose of developing standards to reduce the threat of deceptive emails. You can read more at www.DMARC.org.

 

On the social media front, a company that is getting a lot of attention suddely is Pinterest. I've been using it for a little while, and as more brands get on board, it will be very interesting to see how it evolves. The infographic below shows how much traffic Pinterest is already driving for retailers. Some users are already saying allowing commercial entities to be on Pinterest ruins the site for them. We'll see how Pinterest manages the site in the future. 

 

 

Well, that's it for this week. As always, I'd love to hear your feedback on my picks and any stories you think are making waves in digital marketing.

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications specialist,
e-Dialog, @eDialogLiz 

 

Marketing Wrap-up: Week of January 23, 2012

Social and email seem to be the topics of the week. Here are some of our top links we have been reading and sharing.

Make sure you find out who Google thinks you are with link number 1 and share with us in the comments or in an @eDialogEurope tweet!

 

1. Who does Google think you are? Does Google accurately guess your age and gender? Slate Blog

2. Ever wondered how people target you on Twitter? This should explain ->The anatomy of a tweet The Economist

3. That’s a lot of ‘things’… 25 things email marketers must avoid in 2012 ClickZ

4. The latest in EU Data Protection Legislation: Marketing industry warns EU lawmakers to avoid making Data Protection Regulation ‘anti-business’ DMA

5. Some good reminders: Nine ways to dramatically reduce email unsubscribe rates HubSpot

6. The battle of the sexes continues: The mobile male ClickZ

7. A cool Infographic to show social business and the growth of shared value #eBay MyCustomer

8. Gmail closes in on Hotmail with 350M active users TNW

9. Email subscription patterns for fashion retailers [Infographic] The Email Guide

10. Newsflash: You don’t want to turn your business into a social business The Social Customer

The bonus link: What the future of architecture looks like -> Turkey, plays with sound, music, light, video, mathematics, visual arts and architecture for a new type of building and streetscape experience PSFK

What were your top links of the week? We'd love to hear from you.

 

Millie Bartlett, Marketing Co-ordinator, e-Dialog UK

Marketing Wrap-up: Week of January 9th 2012

 

Thirteen days in to the new year and already we have seen and heard some big developments coming from the marketing, tech and media world. So, to make your life easier, here are some of the top news and blog articles we have found most interesting.

 

Top links of the week:

 

1. An interview with Phil Simon: Business lessons from Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google MyCustomer.com

 

2. Ten social media strategies to define a successful 2012 Brian Solis

 

3. Help customers reach content and products more easily: How to streamline site navigation to attract and retain customers Marketing Profs

 

4. Apps to become universal - HTML 5: The future of AT&T’s mobile store Mashable

 

5. Real-life examples of how Google’s ‘Search Plus’ pushes Google+ over relevancy  Search Engine Land

 

6. Mercedes and Facebook? Who predicted that one? PSFK

 

7. Here to stay or marketing fad? 86% of marketers to use 2D barcodes in near future Econsultancy

 

8. The most downloaded social apps - Mobile social media: top apps, deal sites and more Marketing Profs

 

9. YouTube and Twitter are growing while Facebook stays static: Facebook loses share of social network visits as YouTube grows Brand Republic

 

10. Consumers seem to be more likely to click on an ad than on other devices: Mobile drives more search ad clicks ClickZ

 

11. Four timeless email copywriting commandments Marketing Profs

 

12. Mobile payments insight: How PayPal plans to scale its in-store payment system Gigaom

 

Be sure to drop us a comment below and tell us your favorite industry developments of the new year so far.

 

Millie Bartlett, Marketing Coordinator, e-Dialog UK

What Facebook's Timeline Cover Photo Means for Brands

With the official launch of Facebook Timeline for all users, there has already been speculation about when brand pages will get the Timeline treatment and what it means. That's not what this post is about. Instead, I want you to think about how brands can leverage the Timelines of individuals, and in particular, the prime real estate of the cover photo.

 

Brands on Facebook today drive engagement primarily via page likes, comments, and photo shares. But the cover photo presents a new opportunity for engagement. Consumers who love your brand can now make your imagery their own, enhancing your reach. VW was early to the party, offering a cover photo back in October. Mountain Dew is already on this, offering several versions of Dew-themed cover photos to their fans. HBO's True Blood is offering their fans images from the show for their cover photos as well. 

 

For email marketers, your images can do double duty. Retailers like The North Face often use a stunning hero image in their emails. Imagine offering that photo as a downloadable cover image. Other uses for the cover photo could be wish lists, product reviews, or purchased items. 

 

Then we get to contests. Contests are huge on Facebook. Certainly a brand could ask fans to create a cover image and those could be voted on and the winning image offered for download. I could also see posting a brand's cover image as a prerequisite for entering a contest, in the same way liking a page is now. 

 

And of course, there will be the "just for fun" options that can be a great way to keep fans engaged and checking in with you for new content. It could also be a way to reward brand advocates and super fans, by giving them an exclusive image for their page.

 

I'd love to hear what you think about these possibilities for the Timeline cover photo and any ideas you are thinking about. Leave me a comment!

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications associate,

e-Dialog, @eDialogLiz

 

Finding the Holiday Fun in my Inbox

I’m done holiday shopping.  It is a new record for me, and I’m not going to lie – it feels good!  I shopped at the mall Black Friday Weekend and I “celebrated” Cyber Monday.  I scoured my email for coupons, promo codes and free shipping deals to get the best prices.  Now that I’m done, I can focus on the fun in my inbox!

 

The first “fun” I came across was in an email from White House | Black Market:

 

They created a Facebook-based application where customers drag-and-drop items to generate a personalized wishlist.

 

This wishlist is, of course, share-able to your wall:

 

The SC Johnson family also got into the fun on Facebook by allowing customers to create a mood board based on their favorite Glade fragrances.  This really struck a chord with me – since I’m done with shopping – now it’s time to concentrate on decorating!

 

The email directed consumers to Facebook:

 

Once on the site, you select different room scenes and decorate them using furniture, trimmings and Glade products.

A few companies used contests or sweepstakes to draw interest to their product offerings.  The Limited sponsored a “Holiday Wishlist Facebook Giveaway”.  Just “Like” their page to enter for a chance to win a prize a day.

 

Others used Twitter and YouTube to promote their holiday initiatives.  Bed Bath & Beyond asked subscribers to follow them on Twitter using a cute play on decorating your nest:

 

Finally, there was the just plain silly.  Walmart added a banner to their email to encourage views of a holiday “Yodeling Cat”. (While I don't see any real added value here, the link is here in case you just can’t resist!)

 

 

Overall, companies are using email to broadcast their social programs this season.  This makes sense because the overlap between email is social is only around 18%, according to
e-Dialog’s primary research.  Furthermore, email is typically the first medium a customer chooses to interact with.  Seventy-five percent of respondents said they signed up for email before they investigated the company’s social presence. (Source: Deciphering Customer Acquisition: Connecting Acquisition Across Email, Social and Mobile, e-Dialog © 2011) 

 

So, I will continue to kick-back and watch the fun file into my inbox!  What is your favorite interactive holiday activity to date? 

 

Lauren Pizzi, e-Dialog

 

 

Marketing Wrap-Up: Week of December 2, 2011

Wow-here it is, December. We made it through Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Congrats all! However, we can't claim success yet. We've still got three more weeks until Christmas. Here are my top stories to keep you going this week.

 

First, the good news: email isn't dead! Of course, we knew it wasn't but here's a handy infographic you can produce whenever someone tries to tell you email will be extinct by 2015.

 

In social media news, this week Facebook reached an agreement with the FTC regarding privacy policy changes and how they are implemented. So now when they change something on Facebook, you'll have to opt-in, rather than scramble to figure out the new settings after they've been applied to your account. I think it's a good thing, since giving people more control will help people feel more comfortable sharing their online info, which benefits all of us. I think this Mashable article says it all with this quote "While that sounds like a chilling message, it’s really just a long-overdue standardizing of the practice of opt-in. The smarter companies already know this: that customers who opt-in are more engaged and ultimately more valuable than customers who simply don’t opt-out. Besides, when given the option, users tend to share whatever information they’re asked to share, so, even putting the ethics aside, there’s little need for deception."

 

On the mobile front, news came this week of an app called CarrierIQ that is installed on many phones, and it was alleged that it has the ability to track not only location, but also activity, including keystrokes. That information could then be shared with carriers without the user's knowledge. It's meant as a diagnostic tool for carriers, but the possibility of misuse creeped a lot of people out. The company has issued statements clarifying that while information is tracked, it is not stored or transmitted, and most of the carriers that use it are only seeing aggregated data. Another example of how not being transparent about privacy and personal information can backfire. 

 

I hope you've enjoyed my picks for this week. As always, I would love your feedback and what you think the top story was this week.

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications associate,

e-Dialog, @eDialogLiz

Do Consumers Value Your Marketing As Much As Your Product?

For digital marketers, the answer to the title question needs to be yes, otherwise you'll never even get a chance to market your product. Selling your marketing is the essential first step if you're using email marketing, SMS, and social media marketing to market your product or services. To find out what drives consumers to take that essential opt-in action, e-Dialog surveyed 3,500 people in the US, UK, China and Japan.

 

Overwhelmingly, consumers said they gave permission to be marketed to because they received something of value in exchange. That includes promotions or discounts, but also exclusive brand information, like product announcements, or lifestyle information, like recipes. The chart below shows that 25% of US consumers opted-in to email based on special offers, and 18% did so because the brand related to their lifestyle or interests. To me, that shows the benefit of a well-rounded email marketing program that features promotions, but also includes editorial content or newsletters. 

 

 

For social, the motivation is similar. Top of the list is special offers or discounts, but the other top reasons include new product updates, valuable news and information, and just to keep up with what the company is doing. So obviously, your social media fans are already pretty engaged with your brand and are looking for more info than can be found in other channels. So don't be afraid of oversharing with this group. Give them a peek behind the curtain and they will thank you for it. 

 

 

For SMS, again, offers and discounts were the primary reason for opting in for US consumers. However, they were also swayed by cold, hard cash! Sweepstakes entries, charitable donations, and a recommendation from a friend were also motivators for SMS opt-in. Overall, consumers were much more selective about how many brands they give their mobile number to, mainly for two reasons. One, most consumers in the US pay for SMS messages, and two, the mobile phone is a much more personal device. 

For a closer look at these charts and access more data on what drives email, social and SMS opt-ins, visit www.e-Dialog.com/DecipheringAcquisition to download the full report, check out our infographic, or view a webinar about the research results and the ten steps marketers can take to increase their customer acquisition. 

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications specialist,

e-Dialog, @eDialogLiz

 

Marketing Wrap-up: Week of November 11, 2011

This week we have a mixture of links for your digital discovery. Technology is forever developing and yet email is still a top dog amongst the online marketing channels. These are a few articles and videos we have found interesting over at e-Dialog.

Ten links of insight, worth sharing:

1. Email marketing is getting bigger and better: Email click-through rates are on the rise, DMA research discovers - The Drum

2. Carphone Warehouse, Thorntons and Goldsmiths are a few to adopt in-store mobile payment. Mobile shopping service Simply Tap goes live - Marketing Magazine

3.Where will email be in 20 years? 14 predictions for email marketing in 2031- Email Marketing Reports

4.Didn’t get it before? This holds some useful insight on QR codes. When to use mobile tags including QR codes in your marketing [video] from the PSFK Conference NYC 2011.

5. Did Monty Python write your unsubscribe page? 9 tips to make it better  - Email Marketing Report

6. Creepy or not, 5 things you should know about the future of retargeting - ClickZ

7. Making social circles smarter: Google+ acquires Katango, the automatic friend sorter - Tech Crunch

8. An insult to say that email is valuable because it’s cheap? Email is much more than a cheap marketing channel - Econsultancy

9.Toys’R’Us now offers a child-friendly Nabi Tablet which will be selling in-store and now available for pre-order – Specs and prices are better than you think - Phandroid

10. Microsoft research creates AR spaces using handheld projectors (video) - PSFK 

Do you have any thoughts on these links? Let us know; we would love to hear from you.

Thank you and see you soon!

 

Millie Bartlett, Marketing Intern, e-Dialog UK

Marketing Wrap-Up: Week of November 4, 2011

It's been another hectic week! More news, more articles, more blogs. Here are my top items impacting marketers this week.

 

A few weeks ago, Gmail's new look "leaked" but now it's official and available to all. On Tuesday Google announced the new look on their blog, and noted some new features. The first is threaded conversations, which looks a lot like Facebook messages. They also give users control over what they call the "density" of the app, so you can choose how much space is between messages as you see them on screen. They've also improved search and navigation. Personally, I don't love the new look, especially the transparency of the inbox so you can see the theme image beneath it. I find it distracting. What do you think?

 

 

 

Groupon went public this week, and was the biggest IPO since Google, raising $700 million, giving it a valuation of more than $12 billion. Many are saying the price of shares was so high because Groupon is releasing only a small fraction for sale. Analysts have doubts about future value for investors due to Groupon's high marketing spend and highly-competitive market. What do you think? Would you invest? 

 

Klout has been on my mind lately, as I updated my profile and tried to figure out how Klout is using my social media activity to calculate my score and how I compared to others. Today a study was released showing that Twitter users with higher Klout scores had tweets with longer lives. Tweets lasted 67 times longer for users with Klout scores abover 86, with tweets living an average of five hours and 35 minutes, as compared to just 5 minutes for users with Klout scores between 40 and 70.

 

 

Those are my top three for this week. As always, let me know what you read this week and what you think I missed!

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications associate, e-Dialog, @eDialogLiz

Marketing Wrap-Up: Week of October 28, 2011

Wow, another week has flown by! It gets harder and harder to keep up with all the news from the worlds of marketing, technology, e-commerce, mobile, social, etc. Here are my top stories of the week to help you out. 

In today's Email Insider column, Kara Trivunovic writes about how most email marketers don't encourage replies to their promotional emails. In fact, they actively discourage replies by including phrases like "This is an unmonitored email address" or "Replies will not be read." She acknowledges that replying to these emails is difficult, and not quite the same as replying to tweets or Facebook posts. Here at e-Dialog, we have a department called Response Management, which has live people who respond to consumers who hit "reply" to those promotional emails. It's really handy for situations where your standard contact form may not answer someone's question or need.  One time we sent an email for a client that was "from" a well-known football star, and he got tons of replies, including being asked to attend a fan's wedding! We had to politely decline. 

Over on Mashable, they have a great piece on social media for customer service, with some real-life examples. I have heard some debate about whether or not companies should use social for this purpose, or instead push customers to their call centers. I don't think social is always best, but you do need to be listening and acknowledging issues as they are posted. That's what consumers expect. Once you make a connection, then direct them to a live person to resolve the issue. 

 

For B-to-B folks, MarketingSherpa shares a case study on how a WOM/referral email program resulted in an ROI increase of over 100%. The company, SendGrid, realized sales were coming from referrals, even though they didn't have a formal referral program. So they wondered what would happen if they implemented one. They came up with a plan that rewarded referrers and the new accounts that came from referrals. They also promoted the referral program in the "account approval" message, since that message is highly anticipated and read. 

 

I don't need to tell you that marketers today are often outpaced by consumers, who have access to more information than ever, thanks in a big part to social media. MarketingProfs has a great article on how to deal with this new reality via new technologies and creating a great customer experience. 

 

Well, those are my must-reads this week. Please let me know what you think and what you would add! 

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications associate, e-Dialog, @eDialogLiz

 

Marketing Wrap-Up: Week of October 21, 2011

Welcome to this week's serving of need-to-know marketing news!

 

On the email front, a new blog has launched, called MainSleaze. It aims to call out mainstream ESPs who have clients sending spam. It's gotten some attention from deliverability experts at several large ESPs, who say they will investigate reports of spam coming from their servers. 

 

Today on MediaPost, there was an article with lots of stats about mobile commerce and the inevitable convergence of mobile and local. It mentions some mind-blowing info eBay released during their earnings call: "eBay Mobile GMV expects to reach nearly $5 billion in revenue for 2011, more than double from last year. The company's mobile apps have been downloaded more than 50 million times. Today, consumers make three purchases per second on eBay Mobile applications."

 

Over on ClickZ, Simms Jenkins has a thoughtful article on the recent sale of Borders' email subscriber list to Barnes and Noble, asking if permission should be able to be purchased as an asset, the way this list was. And while the purchase price puts the acquisition cost per address at just .29, is that the true cost, since many (including me) will opt-out of being transferred in the first place, and those who miss the communication telling them how to do that may mark the Barnes and Noble email as spam? What do you think?

 

Google accidentally gave a sneak preview of their updated Gmail interface by posting a video on YouTube. The company saiys the redesign will make a cleaner, more intuitive and simple interface. You can check out the video on Mashable.

 

And finally, a new study shows that consumers who follow a brand on Twitter are 50% more likely to make a purchase and 60% more likely to recommend that brand to their firends. More good news for marketers, once a person follows a brand, they are not likely to unfollow.

 

Those are my top five stories for this week. I hope you found them informative and interesting. What stories did I miss? Let me know what you really liked this week.

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications associate, e-Dialog, @eDialogLiz 

 

Making Social Media Work for Business

On Monday I attended the Awareness Social Media Business Summit in Boston. It was a full day of social media and how/why/where social impacts business. We covered email, mobile, location-based apps, content creation and management, organizing your business for true social impact and social's role in PR. With all the social media junkies in the room, the tweets were fast and furious. You can check them out using #ESMBoston.

 

Opening the day was Jeremiah Owyang from Altimeter, who talked about How to Build a Scalable Social Media Business Program. Most companies, including those in the room, were at either the centralized or hub and spoke model. To be truly scalable Jeremiah stated companies need to embed social media across all departments and levels of the organization, enabling business units to do their own social media programs but having a central hub to manage policies and education. 

 

Next was Todd Defren from Shift Communications, a PR firm. He talked about how traditional PR, like press releases, can be combined with social media for greater impact and reach. It was really eye-opening to see all the ways that information can be shared. 

 

The third presentation was from Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman, authors of Content Rules. They challenged the audience to think about content not just as written materials, but anything that helps you tell your story. Re-imagine, don't just recycle content. Turn a white paper into blog posts, powerpoints, videos, interviews with the authors, infographics, etc. They showed a really cool video put together by Google called "Who is Lady Gaga?" that illustrates that you may think something like search data is boring, but you can really get creative and come up with something cool.

 

Next up was Mike Lewis of Awareness, the conference sponsors. He talked about distributing social content and the social funnel, which comes before the sales funnel. Awareness did some research on this and you can access the report as an e-book on their site. 

 

The next presentation was from Tim Hayden of 44Doors. He spoke about mobile and some of the developments we may see in 2012 and cautioned marketers not to get too excited, because while the technology may exist, the number of consumers with phones that can run technology like near field communications probably won't be that many. He advised marketers to focus on mobile behavior over technology. One interesting tidbit he mentioned when talking about using SMS short codes was that people are more likely to send a text to what looks like a "real" 10-digit phone number, rather than a standard short code.

 

We then heard from Mike Schneider, author of Location-Based Marketing for Dummies, on location based services. One of the first things he said that really resonated was that LBM is new, there aren't benchmarks, so you really need to pilot programs and see how they perform and then refine them and run them again. A lot like email I think in that the only benchmarks that matter are your own and you need to always be testing and refining. He also said that even if you're not doing any location-based marketing now, be sure to claim your places anyway. 

 

Jason Keath of SocialFresh took the floor next to talk about how your blog can drive business. He talked a lot about the importance of headlines and how they act as the elevator pitch for your post and you should spend as much time on the headline as the content. This is a lot like email, where the subject line really should be developed thoughtfully, but often is the last step in the process and gets done quickly so the mail can be sent. He also talked about using photos and the fact that people are more likely to share photos because they tell a story more succinctly than text. He also said if you want to drive business from your blog, be sure to include calls to action whenever possible, like email subscription forms, and use social media widgets that allow readers to follow you on Facebook without leaving your blog. 

 

At the end of the day we heard rom Laura Fitton, otherwise known as @Pistachio. She related how she built her business by keeping the customer's needs in mind rather then her own. It's all about providing value, and that includes your marketing as well as your actual product. Position your message from the customer's point of view and they will be as excited about your marketing as they are about your product. 

 

Overall, it was a good way to spend the day and I highly recommend you check out some of the materials I linked to. 

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications associate, e-Dialog, @eDialogLiz

 

 

Marketing Wrap-up: Week of September 30, 2011

Do you ever just stop and take a moment to look at what is going on in the digital marketing industry?

 

The industry moves fast and with most of us working at least 40 hour weeks, heads down, we fail to take note of all the current happenings. Whether you own an agency, manage campaigns or study the industry, you need to be in the know.

So, stop and have a read of a collection of links that we think are the hot topics of the week. Hey, if you can’t stop, at least take a glance and pick a few that stand out to you.  

Here is e-Dialog’s Top 10 list of links, buzz and reads for this week.

Here it goes: 

1. 1. According to ClickZ and recent conference agendas, mobile is still a big topic of discussion. The Mobile Evolution of Email goes through some statistics as to why this is.
    
2. 2. Ten top tips for brands creating tablet content from The Wall, explores the forecasted increase in tablet penetration and why it is important for brands to get on the band wagon.

1. 3. Tesco mixes augmented reality into Price Drop push – as well as a two-week TV campaign, out of home advertising, digital activity, a national press takeover and week-long radio activity - talk about multi-channel marketing!
    
2. 4. Return Path’s recent research shows inbox placement rates drop 3.5% over 18 months in the UK.
    
3. 5. An opinion piece from Gigaom about the evolution of mobile: Mobile payments won’t sell itself, it requires added value. Also on this topic, Dave Chaffey at Smart Insights gives us a short update on Google’s Wallet launch.
   
   
4. 6. ClickZ tells us how email works… if you didn’t know already. A strong focus on bounces, it’s worth a read.
    
5. 7. Marketing Profs are always full of good insights, this time they are teaching us a lesson, or four. How communities are changing marketing (and four community-building lessons)
   
   
6. 8. Mashable looks into how Facebook Timeline might radically change the look of brand pages. Also read the link within this article: what Facebook’s changes mean for marketers. Double whammy.
    
7. 9. Can you imagine your desk without a desktop computer? And instead of a computer, all you have is a mobile phone where everything you need to fulfill your working day resides. Well it’s coming and ClickZ tell us to get over it. How rude.
    
8. 10. There must be something in the water, everyone is talking about mobile email this week (more than usual) and MarketingSherpa is no exception: Mobile email marketing: 5 tactics to engage and convert smartphone users.

10.5. Utilizing video in marketing: the first ever scavenger hunt to hit YouTube comes from Zyrtec. Play the game to win a Samsung Galaxy Tab.

 

Now that didn’t take so long, did it?  Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments below.

Have a great weekend and we'll see you next week.

Millie Bartlett, Marketing Intern, e-Dialog

 

 

 

Are Ragu Dads the New Motrin Moms?

Way back in 2008, (eons in social media time) Motrin launched a campaign aimed at moms that took the wrong tone and got the wrong kind of buzz. Now it's 2011 and it looks like Ragu may have a similar problem after launching a campaign called Mom's the word on dinner, about what's for dinner when Dad cooks, which implies dads are less competent than moms in the kitchen. 

On their Facebook page, Ragu has posted a video featuring mommy bloggers talking about what it's like in their house when their husbands cook dinner. Mostly they say the men cook breakfast for dinner or like to grill. With Ragu's easy recipes they can increase their repetoire!

 

On the surface, it's certainly annoying that Ragu doesn't recognize dads are more involved than ever with their kids, but I think the bigger issue was how they used Twitter to get the word out. Apparently they messaged a bunch of people who they knew were dads and had blogs and active social media profiles. 

 

Well, the twitterspere has taken notice in a pretty vocal way. Here's a post from C. C. Chapman on his reaction to being targeted. So far it has 122 comments, 881 retweets, and 337 Facebook shares. Check out the twitterstorm in real-time here: http://twitter.com/#!/search/%40ragusauce. Looks like Ragu is reaching out directly to those who are speaking up and saying they would happy to talk privately. I wonder if that will be enough?

 

 

It will very interesting to see how this develops...

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications associate, e-Dialog, @eDialogLiz

Recruiting Facebook Fans Via Email

Many brands are harnessing the interactive power of Facebook to build relationships. To increase exposure to their Facebook page, they are using their email list to promote the benefits of joining other fans on Facebook. 

Bob Evans, a restaurant chain with locations in the southeast, prominently promotes email sign up on their website, and also promotes Facebook to their email subscribers. This example is pretty light on the reasons why you might want to like them on Facebook. It just mentions promotions and offers. On a creative note, I have no idea why the blue box is there. It shows up in the hosted version as well. It is pretty much the same size as the above the fold area, so perhaps this was from a proof and wasn't removed before the message was deployed. 

 

 

The next example is from Driscoll's Berries. You might wonder why a berry company even has an email program or a Facebook page, but I think Driscoll's does a nice job of creating content, such as recipes, and coupons that drive people to remember the brand when they are in the supermarket. I like this example highlighting their Facebook page because it does give some info on what people can find, implying that you can get even more content than you get via email. I also like to inclusion of the upcoming Facebook event talking about how to use berries in recipes for frozen pops. Design-wise, I like the Find us on Facebook button in the header. It makes it really easy to take action. 

 

 

 

 

The third example is from New Balance, a sneaker company. They keep it simple, but point out that you can get exclusive content and access to contests on their Facebook page. I love the creative, using the shoelace to spell out "like us!" but I wonder if some people had a hard time seeing it at first.

 

 

 

Finally, this example from Rite Aid, which doesn't specifically ask for a follow, but instead promotes excusive coupons and when they will be going live. Coupons are big on Facebook right now, so this is a smart strategy to get people to follow your page. 

 

 

What do you think of these examples? Do you think it's better to use email to drive traffic to Facebook, use Facebook to build your email list, or use both equally?

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications specialist, e-Dialog

Forrester: Spending on Interactive Marketing to Skyrocket

Interactive multichannel marketing is taking hold. Forrester Research says that by 2016, advertisers will spend $77 billion on interactive marketing. Search marketing, display advertising, mobile marketing, email marketing, and social media will grow to 35% of all advertising spend within the next five years.

Mobile had the steepest growth curve in the study. It’s a skyrocketing projection, but Forrester says that mobile marketing spending will grow from $1.6 million to $8.2 million over the next five years.

Spend in mobile ads and search will pass that in email marketing or social this year. However, email paces at a healthy 10% compound annual growth rate, projected to come close to $2.5 million by 2016, according to the report.

Email connects everything in the mix! Developing mobile or social programs will make you send more emails by tethering together customer experiences across channels, says the forecast. Working with e-Dialog, British Airways created an email campaign to drive downloads of its new Executive Club mobile app. Open rates exceeded 50 percent, and the campaign resulted in more than 60,000 downloads.  

 

Read the full case study here.

The forecast suggests that marketers will also begin more investment in interactive channels, pushing more unique customer experiences through preferred devices – smart phones, tablets, and other consumer electronics.

Another key take away from the report is that social media marketing will continue to grow moderately. Spending will increase from $1.6 million this year to close to $5 million. e-Dialog has collaborated with American Airlines and PETCO to create successful social campaigns to increase engagement and cross-promote other marketing channels.

What are your thoughts on the future of interactive marketing? We would love to hear them!

 

Melissa McClay, marketing communications specialist, e-Dialog

The Rise of Curated Shopping

Today's consumer is faced with so many options, it can be overwhelming. Using search to find a specific item returns 100 different sites you've never heard of and probably don't want to send your money to. In reponse to this, we are seeing the rise of curated shopping. There are sites that ask a few questions about you, your style (so far, these are mostly fashion and lifestyle sites) and then offer expert opinions and items selected just for you. Let's take a look at a few of these sites to see how they work and the experience they offer their users.

 

One site I recently came across is OpenSky. OpenSky bills itself as providing exclusive deals on special items hand-picked by experts in style, food, health, and design. When you sign up, you choose up to ten curators you want to hear from each week. They email you with a product pick, offered at a discount. When I joined about 6 months ago, they didn't have a large roster of curators, but they have since significantly expanded, and curators include both well known and niche experts. Some of them overlap the four categories. 

 

OpenSky's email communications come from either the curator, or from OpenSky. Each week's deal email is from the curator, and includes OpenSky in the subject line. OpenSky also sends updates about current sales and new curators. But I find their messaging has been somewhat inconsistent. For example, I got the same message twice, once from a curator and once from OpenSky. Occasionally I get an email from a curator that doesn't include OpenSky in the subject line, and I frequently get several emails on the same day from all five curators I follow, which is kind of overwhelming. Sometimes the emails are about a product and sometimes they are tips on how to wear an item, etc. but there doesn't seem to be a consistent cadence. Personally, one thing I find annoying is that you have to click through to see how much the item is. It's great to offer it at 40% off, but don't make me work to find out the price. 

 

Here's an example of a product email.

 

And here's an update with the sales from several curators.

Overall, I think it's an interesting idea, but I think 10 curators is probably too many, and you need to curate the curators in this instance to get the best results.

 

One other company that's been getting some buzz lately is JewelMint. JewelMint is a partnership between Kate Bosworth, an actress, and Cher Coulter, a stylist. The way this service works is you answer a few questions to help them figure out what your style is, and then each month they present you with a selection of jewelry for purchase. Each piece is $29.99 and shipping is free. 

 

Their emails are a mix of product-focused and editorial-style. They send updates when the new showroom is ready, info on trends and how to wear the accessories, and special offers or coupons.

Here's their most recent trend piece.

 

And here's a really great fan favorites email that includes social media content, featuring the real people who posted about the jewelry and how they wear it. I think this approach really helps make a connection between the product and the consumer and helps them see how they might include it in their wardrobe.

 

So one of obvious differences between these two sites is the amount of content they provide to their email subscribers. OpenSky takes the minimalist approach, requiring a click through to their site, while JewelMint gives a lot more information within the email itself. 

 

Have you signed up for any of these curated shopping sites? I would love to hear your experiences and impressions of their marketing.

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communication specialist, e-Dialog

 

PS. If you'd like to set up an OpenSky account, use this link and they'll give you a $10 credit. 

Creative Critique: Tips for Tweaking the Email Template

LivingSocial is one of the many social sites I subscribe to for great deals on local dining, entertainment, services and shopping. Below is an email I received that got me thinking about small design changes that could have a big impact. Let's take a look at a recent email.

 

While I love the deals they offer me and think highly of their creative, I have four minor recommendations for their email template:

1. Check Rendering in as Many Places as Possible: While the addition of the 4/25 aerial background shot is a fun idea, it actually breaks the email when viewed on a wider monitor, as you can see in the screenshot below.

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This is a tricky one! To avoid this, a much wider image could be used and/or the left and right sides of the image could be blended to a solid blue color (in this case). The background would also need to be changed from black to blue in the HTML, which would create a seamless viewing experience for users on wider monitors.

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2. Make it Easy to Read : “YOUR DAILY DEAL”  at the top is difficult to read on the blue background. White would make it more legible on blue, and would still render it clearly if images were disabled and the user was viewing the email on a solid black background.

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3. Maximize Your Real Estate: The two column layout utilized here doesn’t take full advantage of valuable real estate as you can see below.

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It would be economical to integrate the offer image in a more horizontal way (or make it shorter) so that the deal description can wrap under it. Additionally, the “1 Deal Location” copy is surrounded by unutilized white space.

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In this quick revised mockup below, you can see that the deal location is pulled up next to the price (now you can quickly glance at the exact town of the deal before you even decide if you want to view it!) and the copy is extended 100% across the email. This is a more compact arrangement and makes for a shorter email.

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The same principles can be applied to the “Find Out More” offers below the hero section. This will make the email shorter and will raise more content above the fold, while allowing for less scrolling.

4. Social Sharing: LivingSocial currently has two friend referral programs in place. If you buy a deal, you can then share a unique user link on your social network. If three friends buy from that link, you get the deal you just purchased for free. Additionally, if you invite a friend to sign up for LivingSocial and they purchase something, both you and your friend get $5 in deal bucks deposited into your account. Both of these programs are important incentives for the cost-conscious shopper (LivingSocial’s target audience) and should arguably be advertised in LivingSocial’s emails. At the very least, regular Facebook, Twitter, and Forward to a Friend functionality can be added at the top to simply share the deals. On that note, I am interested to see which daily deals website integrates the new Facebook Send button first!

LivingSocial offers a great service, has a beautiful website, and is well-branded. In my opinion, these few relatively minor enhancements to their emails would be easy to implement and would prove worthwhile. What do you think? 

 

Anna Boyadjieva, creative specialist, e-Dialog

 

 

 

 

Returns and Exchanges: You’re Invited…To the Next Trend in Social

You're invited to an emerging trend in the retail world: generating buzz over new product lines across channels via live events. It’s appealing to see brands announcing new Spring lines via email. It’s even better to see the same brands reinforcing excitement in the form of multi-channel events. Brands such as Bath & Body Works and Clinique have generated events across a range of channels which offer customers an opportunity to interact directly with advocates and develop into one themselves.

Bath & Body Works piqued interest of customers across channels with “America’s Biggest Fragrance Event”. Channels ranged from social networking, to email, as well as direct mail in celebration of their new scent. The event offered users the chance to take fragrance quizzes and even provided assistance in finding the perfect mother’s day gift. Customers were encouraged to consult with fragrance experts who were available via Facebook. Twitter updates and in-store ‘signature sniff challenges’ rounded out the multi-channel campaign, allowing customers to connect with the brand in many different spaces.

Bath & Body Works encouraged users to RSVP to the event on Facebook. A call to action coupled with a viral component is what will allow retailers to maximize their reach for any piece of content or event. If brands can get users to interact with them on Facebook and Twitter via a ‘Like’, event confirmation, retweet, or comment, the interaction is also posted on customer’s wall/recent activity feed. Suddenly, the brand’s reach is compounded, to reach an entire new customer base without much effort or additional funds on the brand's part.

  

Also introducing customers to a brand-enhancing event was Clinique, who recently hosted their first Twitter event. Clinique’s VP of Product Development tweeted countless answers to customer’s questions regarding what solutions would work best for their skin care needs. The introductory email campaign had the event as their hero image and appropriately invited users to follow the brand on Twitter. Clinique provides additional convenience to customers with a link to learn more about Twitter (perfect for that segment that hasn’t quite caught on yet) as well as an ‘add to my calendar’ feature.

 

 

 

 

To remain competitive, especially in the social space, brands must realize that appealing content and connectivity is fundamental. Retailers must ensure they are actively cultivating a balance of providing valuable offers as well as brand-building content to their base of followers. If worthwhile to your fans, this content has a much higher potential to go viral. Users will recognize your brand to be the ‘industry expert’ in fragrance, makeup, (insert product line here) as a result. Bath & Body Works and Clinique have provided social networking events to merit this type of brand-building attention and industry credibility. 

It's no secret that not all customers are guaranteed to have a Twitter account or Facebook profile or can travel to your closest store. The key is to offer options that allow your customer to make the decision as to how they would like to connect to your brand, whether that's in all available channels, a few, or just one.

As more and more retailers catch on to this emerging trend, the social networking space will undoubtedly become as crowded as a department store (or inbox) in December. Retailers may find that a blanket discount in return for clicking ‘like’ will be lost in the amplified noise in social spaces. In result, increasing long-term value for customers will be paramount to maintaining a strong presence. Brand-building events such as these present an undeniable opportunity to do just that.

 

Have you participated in any of these events? I'd love to hear what you think about them!

 

Julianne Manoogian, program manager, e-Dialog

Returns and Exchanges: Will You "Like" Me?

Who hasn't received an email from a retailer asking you to "Like" them on Facebook?  I think that we can all agree that these types of messages are starting to get a bit stale, most offer an entry into a sweepstakes of some sort, or the promise that the retailer will make a charitable donation once a certain "Like" threshold has been met.  When I first saw this email from Kirkland's I thought that this was just going to be more of the same, but it turns out that they've put a little twist on this all too common  communication!  While this email does offer the ultimate prize of a $25,000 shopping spree it also offers a fun and interactive Facebook game that you can share with your friends!

 

 

There are a few things that I really liked about the Cha-Ching contest Kirkland's has developed.  The first is that you must like their page in order to enter the contest (a great way to boost your Facebook Fan base!).  The second is that you can get your friends involved in the game.  Once you start the application it searches through your friends in order to find friends who are already playing the game.  If you don't have any friends who are currently playing then you can invite them to join you.  You and your friends can add products to your bag each day and switch them with your friends, the more you play the more badges you earn, each badge unlocks a coupon you can use in the store.

 

 

Another great feature of this game is that each time you make a swap there is an update automatically posted to your Facebook wall.  This is a great way to make sure that updates regarding the Cha-Ching game are very visible to all of your friends, helping to increase interest in the game and hopefully obtain even more Likes!

So, the next time you think about sending a message to your customers to Like you on Facebook or follow you on Twitter, make sure you're giving them a reason to do so!  You need to provide customers with interesting content on these social networks that will make them want to interact with you.  Set yourself apart from the competition by creating fun and unique content that will generate interest and encourage your customers to tell their friends about you!

Allison Stephanian, senior program manager, e-Dialog