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How do I get people to “like” me?
It probably comes as no surprise that social media can have a huge impact on a company’s brand image. Having a strong presence on social networks has become a “must have” component of any complete marketing plan. But how do you actually get someone to connect with your brand through social networks?
Take a look at Redbox’s approach:
Redbox & Facebook
Redbox does a great job of using email to encourage people to engage socially. Starting the conversation with email is a proven way to build trust with users before asking them to share Facebook or Twitter information (which many people are less likely to share upfront). By giving people a reason to “like” the brand on Facebook (a free 1 night rental at any Redbox location), Redbox has created value in their social media programs. The most effective social media strategies are those that provide a benefit to the customer, whether it’s through discounts, exclusive promotions, or relevant content and information.
So, how does your social media strategy stack up to Redbox? What value are you providing to users to encourage them to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter?
Going Beyond the Unsubscribe
By now, most of us are well aware of the importance of including an unsubscribe link and physical address in our email marketing pieces. If you’re not aware of how vital this is, you should probably stop reading this and immediately go to your local bookstore and purchase this.
The purpose of the unsubscribe information (besides Can-Spam compliance) is to allow a user who no longer wishes to receive your emails an easy and convenient way to opt out of your mailing list. Now you might ask, “Why do I want to make it convenient for someone to opt out?” Well, it’s about user experience. Just because a user is unsubscribing from your mailing list doesn’t mean you’ve lost that person as a customer. They’ve simply decided that they don’t want to receive email messages from you. By making the opt out process quick and painless, you’re maintaining a positive user experience. And you certainly don’t want the subscriber to hit the “Mark as Spam” button as a way to get off your mailing list…
But why do most people opt out of mailing lists? According to a recent Forrester Research study, 72% of users said that they unsubscribe from a list because the mailings were too frequent. The second most common reason for opting out is lack of relevance.
More and more, email marketers are providing subscription preferences to users that grant more control over email frequency and content.
- Simple Shoes Welcome Email
Here is an example from Simple Shoes, a brand that has been recognized for it’s clever email marketing strategy.
Using a friendly, conversational tone, Simple Shoes introduces a subscriber to preference options immediately in the signup confirmation email. These choices allow users to select what types of products they are interested in (men’s shoes, women’s shoes, kids’ shoes, etc.) and how often they’d like to be contacted via email. Giving a subscriber choices is the easiest way to build a relationship and make sure you are delivering the most relevant content to each user at the desired frequency. The end goal….lower list attrition over time.
So, while email preferences are not a replacement for the traditional opt out process, consider using them to create a more dynamic email database by allowing users to select preferences based on product offerings and email frequencies. If nothing else, it will help you learn more about your audience and what they want.
Basketball spam?
March Madness is in full swing and chances are you or someone you know has done an NCAA bracket this year. There are certainly a few floating around the office here at Pontiflex. I thought I’d share an email I got from FanHouse/Sobe Lifewater that struck my “best practices” nerve.
Take a look at the email below:
Is this spam? Yes and no.
Email is all about engagement: getting users to interact with your brand. There are a ton of ways to engage users through email. Here are few ways that Fanhouse (and Sobe Lifewater) could have improved the messaging on this email:
- From Address: Your from address should indicate where the email is coming from. While this one does indicate the sender, no-reply@fanhouse.com doesn’t do much to start the engagement process.
- Personalization: Although email is often sent in large quantities, it should speak to each individual recipient in some way. Most readily, this is done by addressing the recipient by first name. Not only did this email not address me by name, it also never indicated what “friend” invited me to the bracket challenge. Had it read “Jason, your friend Anthony invited you to….” I would have been much more responsive to the message.
- Unsubscribe Info: Perhaps the biggest offense in the email is the lack of traditional Can-Spam compliance details, such as an opt-out link and physical address. While unsubscribe info is not required on transactional emails (confirmation emails, order receipts, etc.), that rule only applies when a user has already interacted with your brand in some way. In this case, “a friend” suggested that I join the Bracket Challenge, so there was no prior direct interaction between me and the mailer.
As you can see, even legitimate email can come across as spam if you don’t follow the proper guidelines for informing and engaging your recipient. Emails that clearly provide all relevant information upfront generally garner the best responses. In this case, a friend actually did invite me to his bracket challenge. Unfortunately, this email never made it past the “mark as spam” button for me.
When personalization goes wrong
Usually, personalization in email marketing is a good thing. It helps connect you to a subscriber by adding a “we’re on a first name basis” feel to your message. And we all know that more tailored your message is to the recipient, the more likely that user will click through and further engage with your brand.
That is, until the personalization goes wrong.
Take a look at this recent email from OpenTable.com that was sent to a friend of mine. His name is Ryan…remember that.
Who's Claudio?
It looks like the first name personalization isn’t working quite as OpenTable had anticipated. Or maybe Ryan’s name used to be Claudio and he forgot to update his OpenTable account when he changed his name. I tend to lean towards the former.
So what does this mean to our fellow email marketers? Test. Test. Test. Then test again. Whenever you are sending out an email blast (particularly when you are using dynamic elements that are specific to a subscriber), testing is essential to ensuring the success of your mailing. Have several co-workers from your company on your testing list and make sure personalization is working properly for everyone. If possible, use a tool like Return Path’s Campaign Preview to see what your email will look like in different mail clients and identify spelling mistakes, HTML coding errors, and potential spam issues.
Lastly, if you think your database has been compromised (i.e. names not matching up with email addresses), then it’s best not to include dynamic parameters in your email until you can resolve the issue. Think about the last time you ran into an old colleague and didn’t remember their name. It might be uncomfortable not remembering their name, but it’s downright embarrassing if you call them by the wrong name.
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