8. Campaigns & Newsletters
Different types of newsletters
Newsletters
Keep your audience in-the-
WOW!
know Card or announcement
Custom code email
101001
Business letter
Press release
10. Email
What do I write about?
What you know that they don’t
What you have access to that they don’t
“Original” isn’t required… just be interesting
and relevant
11. Email
How much is enough?
Less is more.
Focus.
51%
?
November 2013
13. 13
Email
A picture is worth...
Pictures get 47% more click-through activity than
content without images, but…
…don’t over-rely on images!
Be sure to use text labels in case images aren’t
displayed by the recipient’s mail program.
Don’t use images of your content.
Remember: your content is viewed on mobile
devices…
17. Who is it “from?”
What’s the “subject?”
When do you send
your communication?
Email
Now, later or never
Three little words that rule your world
18. Email
Who is it from?
Winning the battle of priorities
How will you be most recognizable?
CAN-SPAM Act
go to www.business.ftc.gov and search “CAN-SPAM”
21. Email
Winning the battle of
priorities
Tomorrow: Need 3 Hammers –
Can You Help?
Joe’s Pet Store
Newsletter
ALERT: Help your dog beat the heat!
Children’s Classes
Still time! Openings available for
children’s classes.
March Newsletter
22. When to send
Monthly is most common
Email
Ask yourself: “When are my
readers likely to take the
action I want?”
23. Email
Find your best day
Divide your list into
3 groups of people
Select 3 days in the week
to test
Send your e-mail, watch for
best response
1
2
3
24. Email
Find your best time
Use same 3 groups of
people
Select 3 times on the day
with the best results
Send email at 3 different
times of day, note time
with best results
1
2
3
25. Email
When to send or post
Do not be romanced by a high open rate –
measure actions!
26. Email
Practical advice
67% don’t see images by default
Text links get more clicks than buttons
Place your logo left or center in email
Include company name in text
27. Email
Practical advice
Key action must be above scroll line
Do not give too many choices
Make all images clickable (and with text
labels)
Test it on yourself! (and on your mobile device)
29. Email + Social
Then vs. now
Social media marketing for small businesses
% of small businesses using social media marketing
10%
2008
source: Constant Contact Small Businesses Then & Now study
30. Email + Social
Then vs. now
Social media marketing for small businesses
% of small businesses using social media marketing
87%
2013
source: Constant Contact Small Businesses Then & Now study
31. Email + Social
It influences decisions
74%
Rely on
social
networks to
guide
purchase
decisions
source: Fedelta
55%
Share
purchases
on social
networks
source: Fedelta
68%
Learn more
about a
charity if they
see a friend
posting
about it
source: MDG Advertising
32. Email + Social
Email & Social
You have to use both
Amplify your email
Drive traffic back
to your list, email, etc...
44. Value Package for Constant Contact
Today’s Webinar Special
Online Learning System $199
Custom Email Template $ 99
Email Audit $199
Package Value $497
$497 Package FREE
www.TheURLdr.com/offer
Plans start at $20/month | No Contract | 100% Money Back Guarantee
KimButler@TheURLdr.com facebook.com/theurldr @theurldr
Editor's Notes
Welcome to Our Prescriptions for Online Success Webinar Series. Today we’re focusing on Campaigns that drive action – Newsletters and Announcements, featuring email and social engagement.
I am Kim Butler, The URL Dr., and I am a Constant Contact Platinum Level Solution Provider, a Constant Contact Authorized Local Expert, and winner of the 2013 Constant Contact All Star Award. Our presentation today is provided by Constant Contact but the information provided here is based on best practices and can be utilized by any small business or nonprofit, regardless of whether or not you are using Constant Contact.
If you have questions during or after the presentation, you can use the hashtag #theurldrwebinar on Twitter to ask your questions. I’ll be responding to questions from all the webinars this month at that hashtag.
Here’s what we’re going to do today…
[click to build] we’ll review what exactly a campaign is, and we’ll make sure we’re all on the same page in understanding what we mean when we say “newsletter.”
[click to build] next we’ll talk about Email and provide you with some tried-and-true tips for more effective email marketing.
[click to build] then we’ll make the connection between Email and Social media…because they really have become inseparable.
[click to build] we’ll then talk at length about social media, specifically what you should be thinking about if you’re starting to build your social media presence, including some insight into the “Big 5” networks and how to think about what to say on social media.
[click to build] finally, we’ll talk about some next steps you can take.
I also want to make a quick not about “for” and “non” profits, and industry verticals…I’m often asked how the things I’m talking about should be adjusted or changed for a nonprofit or a services (B2B firm) or someone in a different industry vertical. I hear “I’m not a brick-and-mortar business, so how does this apply to me. The good news is that the principles that will be discussed are largely universal…they can benefit a non-profit just as much as they can a for-profit, a B2B business can follow these just as readily as a B2C, that a restaurant can succeed with these ideas just as readily as a yoga studio, a church or a book store. Yes, you may have different considerations to make for your select audiences, but in large part what we’re teaching are best practices, and they’re best practices across the board.
Campaigns and Newsletters
I want to give you a simple definition, or a framework, for what marketing really is.
You already know, generally, what it is – but when I say the word marketing, I mean something very specific and it’s important that we are on the same page. My definition of marketing has three simple parts – you define an audience: a group of people that you want to target. You reach out to them with a message that is specific to that audience. And you seek to elicit a physical and measurable response. A click, a reply, a call, a purchase, a referral – these are all actions that represent a decision made by a human to react to your message.
Keep this in mind as we discuss marketing and marketing campaigns and the ways to deliver the most effective campaigns. You’re doing these things because you want people – your customers, your clients, your donors or supporters – to DO SOMETHING.
[click to next slide]
First, let’s talk about “campaigns” - -what does that word really mean?
Very simply there are two parts to a campaign…
First, you [click to build] push out some sort of content (and we’ll talk more about “what content” in a bit) to your followers, supporters, etc.
Second, you hope to [click to build] “pull” some sort of response from them – you want them to read, forward or share what you sent, show up, call, attend – you want them to take an action of some sort
Think about a campaign in terms of push/pull and more importantly do not think about it as just putting an offer out there and making the sale… in this new marketing world, it’s more like a conversation – which lends itself to that advantage we talked about that you have over big business. As a small company, you can engage in a conversation that feels and in fact IS much less like a sales gimmick and more like nurturing a relationship.
If you’re doing it right, it will seem like that from both sides of that conversation.
So what exactly is a newsletter?
Simply put, a newsletter is a communication you send (usually through email) to your customers, supporters, clients, volunteers sharing information and relevant insights that they want to read.
A newsletter is not a sales pitch.
There are lots of different types of communications, loosely referred to as newsletters, that you might send.
From sending a quick update about a single topic to keep your audience informed
To a traditional style newsletter with multiple stories and topics
To a simple card or announcement
A business letter format
A press release
Or a custom coded email where you or a designer create your own email using custom code.
Email
But, what do you write about? This is one of the biggest hurdles that small businesses have to jump. But don’t worry, this isn’t as hard or complicated as it may sound. Luckily, the answer can be very simple. There are many different things you can write about.
[click to build] First, and above all else, you write about what you know that they don’t know. You share your knowledge and raise your profile as an expert in your field.
Next [click to build] Next write about what you have access to that they don’t have access to – and you have more access than you might think. Each of us in our respective industries have information to trade associations, vendors, manufacturers, and groups that are packed with all kinds of information that the general public may not have access to. This is a great place to get ideas for writing content. This can mean that you let them download a special report, give them backstage passes, early registration, reserved or special seating, an extra hour of your time when they pay for two… and give it away when you can.
What you are trying to do is build what is called a resource relationship, Where when their need for what you do comes up, YOU are the person that comes to mind. Give it away – your knowledge and your access, when you can. [click to build] and you don’t have to be prolific, writing original material every time. You just need to be the hub or the point of access. So send links to other sources, know your stuff and they will see you as their resource
Have you ever received an email that goes on forever? One that looks like someone is trying to rewrite War and Peace? This is not what we’re trying to achieve here. Take the pressure off yourself. Remember [click to build] Less is more. Always.
There is no rule that says your newsletter needs to have three articles, three pictures and three links. One thing can be plenty. There is a Constant Contact customer whose newsletter is called One Thing – he did it to make it easy on himself and it works really well – people can absorb it and he’s not under the gun to come up with a bunch of content to fill it. [click to build] and don’t forget that over 50% are reading it on a mobile device…who is going to scroll through 14 articles?
Your emails and their social media activities are NOT for telling people everything that you do from within that single email or post. That’s what your website is for. Your emails and your social media are about offering one thing at a time, offering a few sentences as a teaser to get someone to click through to your website to read the whole story. It’s about tracking what pieces of content are generating clicks and reads and action. Plain and simple.
Here are some examples of what others are doing. These are examples from Constant Contact customers with great looking campaigns with simple, easy to absorb content and obvious actions to take.
non-profit, sharing information about themselves that’s in the press
restaurant sharing their current specials
B2B, showcasing the services they have
An event notice
A picture is worth a thousand words,
[click to build] – Pictures get 47% more click-through activity than content without images, but…
[click to build] – Don’t over-rely on images!
[click to build] – Be sure to use text labels in case images aren’t displayed by the recipient’s mail program.
[click to build] – Don’t use images of your content.
[click to build] – Remember – your content is viewed on mobile devices. Design for smaller screens.
use images carefully
Images are a great way to convey a message, tell a story…create a connection. But if you don’t carefully consider how you’re going to use images, you may end up with some unintended consequences that lead, at best, to someone not reading your email. At worst they’ll unsubscribe from your list and you won’t be able to communicate with them at all. Here are some common challenges to consider:
[click to build] notice the red “X” here? That’s there because some mobile email clients may not display images by default…so be sure that you’re using what is called “Alt Text,” or text that appears if the image doesn’t, to at least let people know what’s there.
[click to build] in this example, there’s a great picture – the promotional poster used for a fundraiser, and when viewed on a desktop email client it may look great…but the problem is that on a mobile device, in order to see it, or the rest of the message, the reader will have to scroll the message. The image has pushed the call to action all the way to the bottom of the message, making it less likely that the reader will actually click through.
[click to build] finally, be aware of where or how an image may appear. You may need to resize images as you build your email (Toolkit has simple, built in image-editing capabilities that we’ll go over).
Before you send any message out to your customers or supporters, TEST THE EMAIL BY SENDING IT TO YOURSELF!! And then view it with your readers in mind…and make changes accordingly. A few extra minutes of testing can save a lot of headache later.
[click to next slide]
Images are great because they can help tell your story across multiple channels. Pictures have become more and more relevant in social and email marketing – so many of us are walking around with a camera in our pockets – this doesn’t have to mean high end production anymore.
If you have highly visual content or great photos of products or your events or whatever you are marketing, you will want to check out opportunities to share those images you have through different channels. Some of those channels include [click to build] Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Facebook – many consumers are beginning to shop and play on these channels so it may be worth a look to test whether or not what you are marketing would work well on these channels.
Keep in mind that we haven’t left email out here – email is becoming more and more of a “visual medium” as well (including video!).
One key here is - KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE – if you own a business that can show off product visually, you can do more with a headline and a photo than the most carefully crafted copy. And if you’re a consultant or service provider? Share your know how. Write a blog post about what you know how to do, pick an image that reinforces it, and pin it, post it, tweet it.
Constant Contact did a test with Facebook promotions of webinars and found that when they used an image rather than just s text, they saw a 127% lift in engagement with those posts. It’s worth a try.
We’ll talk a bit about social media later, but I want to say this now – if you are going to be using a picture in your newsletter and then again on social channels, BE SURE TO LINK THE PICTURE ON THE SOCIAL CHANNEL BACK TO WHEREVER YOU WANT THEM TO KEEP ENGAGING WITH YOU…like back to your web page (where you might include a sign-up for your newsletter).
We’ll talk briefly about social media a bit later…what I want you to keep in mind at this point, as we’ve been talking about content and what to write or images to think about, is that you should be thinking about those things with more than one delivery medium in mind.
That means that you can reuse and repurpose everything – one article can be used many times, on various channels. You might send a newsletter with 5 tips for cleaning out your closet…and each tip could be Tweeted, once a day for a week
You could show before and after pics in a press release about the benefits of your service, and then you could post those pictures on Pinterest.
If you’ve sent an announcement about something of interest to your readers via email, you can get some mileage with that announcement across your social channels as well.
[SPEAKERS: this slide is hidden, but could be unhidden and used as a stopping point for doing an exercise with the audience.]
Now that you have a general idea of what you’re going to try, I want to give you some insight into what works, how to get more people to stop and consider your offer and how to get more physical, measurable response. Look at these three words. [click to build] These three words rule your world as a marketer and as a consumer or business person. Every email or social media post that you get and every one that you send or post falls into one of these three categories. Now. Later. Or Never. Think about this morning when you checked your email. Whether you were aware of it or not, you were sorting your messages into these three categories automatically. Now, later, never.
But it’s important that you know that – you need to know this both as a recipient and as a sender or poster. How do you make sure that you are a now? You don’t want to be never – obviously. And a later, let’s face it, is a well-intentioned never. Right? You flag it or tell yourself, “oh, I’ll come back to that” but 9 times out of 10…do you?
There are three fundamental things that factor into whether someone notices and reacts to your campaigns
[click to build] Who sent it
[click to build] The subject line, or the headline
[click to build] And your timing – meaning when you sent it or posted it
So how do you win the battle of priorities and get more people to stop and open your email or to stop and read your Facebook post or your tweet or to share your pin on Pinterest? Turns out, who the message or offer is from is extremely important. Think about how you sort your email – or if you’re on Facebook, think about the newsfeed. Typically when you open up your email – think about it this morning – you start at the top of the list and you go down, sorting by who it’s from.
WHO the email or the social media post came from turns out to be the most important part of winning the battle of priorities. You do it based on WHO, so it’s important for you to [click to build] be recognizable… and to be recognized across the channels you’re using. If you send your emails using your name, but your Facebook page shows up in people’s newsfeeds as your business name, people might not make the connection. We do know that with email, and very often with social media sites, more people will react to a person’s name than to a business name. Just be sure that you’re consistent with the name you use – and ensure that it’s the one that you’ll be recognized by, so that ultimately your readers and followers will stop and open your email, read your posts – because they know they’re going to get something of value and relevance from you. This is another place where your advantage as a small company kicks in – you can be the face or the name of the company.
Now, there are some important considerations that shouldn’t be overlooked, and they relate to something called the [click to build] “CAN-SPAM” act…which is a law that sets the rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have you stop emailing them, and spells out tough penalties for violations. The law makes no exception for business-to-business email. That means all email – for example, a message to former customers announcing a new product line – must comply with the law.
One provision of CAN-SPAM is that the “from,” “to,” and “reply to,” names “must be accurate and identify the person or business who initiated the message.” Therefore if I signed up for an email from Joe Pizza the from address should be “Joe Pizza” and not “Joe Smith.”
That said, using a combination of your name and your company name will solve this issue in many cases. Use your name in the from name on your emails, and include a comma with your company name there as well.
[CANADIAN PRESENTERS: use this slide so that the permission legislation referenced is CASL]
So how do you win the battle of priorities and get more people to stop and open your email or to stop and read your Facebook post or your tweet or to share your pin on Pinterest? Turns out, who the message or offer is from is extremely important. Think about how you sort your email – or if you’re on Facebook, think about the newsfeed. Typically when you open up your email – think about it this morning – you start at the top of the list and you go down, sorting by who it’s from.
WHO the email or the social media post came from turns out to be the most important part of winning the battle of priorities. You do it based on WHO, so it’s important for you to [click to build] be recognizable…
[click to build] – and whether you’re recognized across the channels you’re using. If you send your emails using your name, but your Facebook page shows up in people’s newsfeeds as your business name, people might not make the connection. We do know that with email, and very often with other social media sites, more people will react to a person’s name than to a business name. Just be sure that you’re consistent with the name you use – and ensure that it’s the one that you’ll be recognized by, so that ultimately your readers and followers will stop and open your email, read your posts – because they know they’re going to get something of value and relevance from you. This is another place where your advantage as a small company kicks in – you can be the face or the name of the company.
Now, there are some important considerations that shouldn’t be overlooked, and they relate to something called the [click to build] CASL (Canadian Anti-Spam Law), a law that sets the rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have you stop emailing them, and spells out tough penalties for violations. Check out the link listed here to learn more about the law and how it may impact you.
[Speaker note: Or, you could attend one of our upcoming sessions in which we’ll dive deeper into a discussion about CASL, permission and your marketing efforts.]
Templates make the process of sending emails much easier…while still allowing you to preserve the look and feel of your brand.
These are some examples of templates from Constant Contact – because, obviously that’s what I have access to – but whatever system you’re using, make sure they have mobile-friendly templates that are easy to edit, to match colors
Be sure to make them “your own” with your own logos and photos and links. It doesn’t have to be hard to look professional and sharp!
Now, you may have noticed the images in the first two…and because we talked about images earlier, I’ll just remind you to make sure the images will work in both a desktop and a mobile email.
In the first template, it looks great…but the creator should be testing on a mobile device to see just how much the image pushes the text “below the fold.” It may look great on a desktop, but not work on a mobile device.
The second one is a little bit better, because there’s a message located right next to the image – and the message IS the call to action…”Come in for lunch!” Nevertheless, make sure it’s tested on a mobile device and looks the way you want it to and that the reader will have a positive experience with it.
When you’re up against the Now, Later or Never game, your subject line on an email – or the headline of your social media post, can make a big difference in the response. Here is a simple method for writing more powerful subject and headlines. It’s called the 2-2-2 principle. Let’s walk through it quickly. [click to build] The first 2 is for the 2 seconds you typically have to compel them to pay attention. [click to build] The second 2 if for the first 2 words of your subject line or headline. That’s really all they read before making a decision. And not a decision about whether to read your message, but as to whether or not they will bother to read the rest of the subject line.
[click to build] The third 2 is for “why does this email or message matter today” Today – that’s the third 2. If you can answer that question in your subject line or headline, as close to the first two words as possible, more people will stop and at least open your message.
So – how do you do it? How do you write one of these?
Including a sense of urgency and exclusivity in your subject line expresses very quickly why the message matters today. As an example for an event email you might use, “12 seats left for tomorrow” or “ten seats open tomorrow.”
It’s important to point out that you don’t need to go to the “urgency well” all the time, meaning you don’t always have to put a time stamp on it or Say things like “today only” or “by close of business.” It’s more about making it very clear to people that your message is relevant and timely in order to win that now, later or never battle.
Here are some examples of subject lines –
[click to build] Would you open an email with the subject line of “March Newsletter?” I wouldn’t. I don’t have time to read another newsletter.
[click to build] But I would open “Tomorrow Need 3 Hammers Can you Help?” What? Why in the world does this person need 3 hammers? I would be really curious about this and I would open this email.
[click to build] How about Joe’s Pet Store Newsletter. Boring! Who cares?! Delete.
[click to build] But I would open “Alert: Help your dog beat the heat.” I live with a 150 lbs. Newfoundland. If you don’t know what a Newfoundland looks like, a long haired, furry black bear is a good description. This is a dog that has a lot of issues in the summer heat. I would open this email to find out how I can make my dog more comfortable.
[click to build] Would you open an email with Children’s Classes as the subject line? Probably not. There’s nothing compelling about this.
[click to build] But how about “Still time! Openings available for children’s classes?” That one is a bit more compelling and gives me a sense of urgency with “still time.” I don’t want to miss out, so I would be more likely to open this one than just “Children’s Classes.”
The last piece in winning the battle of priorities is timing - When to send is another very common question. Both for how often to send and also when in terms of the time of day and the day of the week.
[click to build] For newsletter or email marketing frequency, monthly is the most common but it’s also a good idea to add unexpected messages every once in a while, especially if they relate to an exciting announcement about your organization.
[click to build] As you start trying to determine when is the best time to send your newsletter or announcement, the question you want to answer is “When will my readers be most likely to take the action I want?” When will they be most likely to click through to the article I’ve posted, come into my store after reading, register for an event, etc.? Use that as a starting point.
But now I want to describe some simple steps you can take to really zero in on the best day and time to send your newsletter.
[click to build through the steps for testing]
Here’s a two-part test that you can use to determine the best day of the week and time of day for you to send your emails We call this an ABC test. It’s a simple method to narrow down when you get the best response and then you can adjust accordingly. [click to build] First, take your list of contacts and divide it into three equal lists. So just take the whole list and break it into thirds.
[click to build] Next, choose three days of the week that you want to test. So – mon, wed, fri? or maybe tues, thurs, sat. (if you’re a B2B you’ll likely want to send during “regular” business hours, but know your audience in case that doesn’t hold true. For all others, it’s all up for testing)
So you have three lists, and you want to test on three different days of the week. So you send your email – the same email – to each of your lists. The first group on Monday, the second group gets it Wednesday,
And the 3rd group gets it on Friday. And then you measure your results. You can do this as long as you are
Using an email marketing service. They tell you who opened, who clicked, what they clicked on, how many times and when. You’ll pair that information up with sales, calls, appointments, in-store visits…all those measurable and physical responses we discussed. So you look at the stats and you will know which day was best of the three you tested. Now you’re ready for the second part of the process.
[click to next slide]
Now we’ll test to find our best time to send our email.
[click to build] Use the same three groups of people and now you will choose three different times of day you want to test. So, a morning, midday and afternoon or evening. Maybe 9:00am, 1:00pm, and 5:00pm.
[click to build] Send it on your best performing day from the last test. Send the first group their email in the morning,
The second group gets it midday and the third group gets it in the afternoon or evening. [click to build] And look at your stats. You will know which time of day did the best.
So now you have the best day on which to send and the best time at which to send. Excellent!!
(And again, for those who are brand new to sending out newsletters, don't worry…for now you could start with simply testing different days and noting the response rate, then trying different times on that day…don’t worry about splitting your lists, comparing results, etc.)
For everyone, let me add a caution… [click to build] DO NOT BE ROMANCED BY A HIGH OPEN RATE – MEASURE ACTIONS! You can get a huge open rate but without actions, it’s not help to your business. Measure the physical, measurable responses
Constant Contact recommends this test be run once every six months or so.
Here’s some simple, practical advice for getting better response in your emails.
Many people do not see pictures in their emails, and text links get more clicks than a beautiful button -- probably because of that 67% stat.
Make sure your logo is left or center, not right – because people often see email in small windows that eclipse the right side, and make sure your company name is in text near the top. If your name is only in a graphic of your logo, all those people with no pictures will not realize the message is from you at first glance.
Make sure all of your pictures are clickable, this is easy to do with our tools and test your message on yourself, send it to yourself and if you can, test it on your cell phone or iPad too, just to know it looks good for everyone.
I’ve said it a few times already…be sure to test your newsletters on yourself. Tools like Constant Contact make it easy to send a test email to yourself or someone else so you can view it on a desktop, on your mobile phone…
[Speaker: you could pause here and ask the audience for other tried-and-true tips that they follow. If you hear something new or creative, share it with your fellow speakers and the folks building the content!]
[click to build] The action you want people to take should be above the scroll line –
[click to build] and do not give too many choices, one or two at most. People do not have time to window shop and make decisions in your email. If you want them to take action, reduce the number of choices.
[click to build] Make sure all of your pictures are clickable, this is easy to do with Toolkit
[click to build] And test your message on yourself, send it to yourself and if you can, test it on your cell phone and tablet too, just to know it looks good for everyone.
I’ve said it a few times already…be sure to test your newsletters on yourself. Tools like Constant Contact make it easy to send a test email to yourself or someone else so you can view it on a desktop, on your mobile phone…
So, we’ve talked through a number of different ways you can think about making your newsletters, whatever the type and goal, more effective. And earlier we mentioned in a couple of different places that you should be thinking about how you might repurpose content or images for social media.
That’s because social media has become an important component of the marketing toolkit. We’re not going to go into depth about which social channels might be best for you, or the specifics of each channel or what to say on each channel.
I just want to spend a few minutes addressing the importance of social media as a marketing tool, and why it’s so important that you start to think about email and social media at the same time, as connected pieces of the same communications effort.
You may have wondered if you need to be focused on both social media and email marketing. Or you may have asked “Why is social media important for your business or nonprofit?”
The answer to the first question is, “yes!” you do need to do both. That’s because of the answer to the second – social media has impacted businesses and nonprofits in a big way. It’s how many new customers or clients or donors are finding organizations, and it’s how many organizations are staying top of mind for their current customers, clients or donors, as well as helping to make them loyal, repeat contributors.
Just how big has the shift to include social media in the marketing mix been? We’ve done some research…
Five years ago, in 2008, we asked small businesses what kinds of tools they were using for marketing. [click to next slide]
Only 10% were using social media marketing.
Compare that to just 5 years later, when [click to next slide]
that has gone up to 87%. Why? Because social media works. You’re small businesses – you don’t do things that don’t work.
That’s quite a statistic, and shows just how integral social media has become as a marketing tool for all organizations. But when we say “it works,” what do we mean? If small businesses, nonprofits, independent consultants and others don’t do things that don’t work, then what is it about social media that “works?”
[click to next slide]
It works because it influences decisions. It works because it has become a primary driver of behavior.
[click to build] It influences purchasing – 74% of shoppers rely on social networks to guide purchase decisions
[click to build] It influences word of mouth. Your customers tell their friends about you – 55% of people share information about their purchases on social media.
[click to build] It influences people’s connections to nonprofits – 68% of people will go online and learn more about the charities and causes that their friends support when their friends post about it on social media.
Those referrals are very important to your organization: 71% of consumers are more likely to purchase a product based on social media referrals. Every day, people are going online to review or recommend the businesses and nonprofits that they support, and people in their networks trust those referrals because they know the people who write them, or – if they don’t – they trust unbiased reviews from people just like them.
That’s why it’s so important to shift your thinking
When you combine email with social media, [click to build] the combination will both increase the reach of your email campaigns that enjoy 97% deliverability (it’s actually a even higher with Constant Contact but on average that is a standard rate).
[click to build] Sharing your email on social media will get it in front of more people, with the potential to grow your list. And if you’re doing it right, keeping it short, making the action or response obvious and simple and providing access, information and real value then you will grow your business.
Let’s look at just a few businesses that have taken this to heart…
[click to build] Here’s an example of one business, Boloco (a small chain of fast-casual burrito restaurants), and how they are leveraging both email and social media together.
They use a lot of the best practices we covered – they have brand consistency across platforms, great images, and good subject lines.
[click to build] Here’s an example of one non-profit, Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas, and how they are leveraging both email and social media together.
They – like Boloco – have carried their branding across platforms. They use images in their channels and they have a lot of great original content.
[click to build] Here’s an example of a services business and a franchise, Liberty Tax, and how they are leveraging both email and social media together.
Again, you see brand consistency, great design, lots of helpful tips and links.
Next Steps
Sharing tools expand your reach… this is an example of Constant Contact’s simple share tool
Makes it easy to push your email campaigns, events, surveys and offers out on multiple channels with a few clicks.
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Another way to share – a “Social Share bar” at the top of your emails will make it as easy for your readers to share your message with others, part of that referral engine we talked about earlier.
They also make it easy to follow you on the various social networks in a single click. Our emails include a social share bar at the top and we’ve made it very easy to add social icons with links anywhere in your campaign.
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Don’t forget to make it easy for people to join your list…there are three simple tools to help with that.
First, in person you can invite people to join your list with a sign up card, a notice on receipts, you can just
Ask at the register --
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Use a web sign-up tool – links and buttons for this can be added to your website or your Facebook page. And include it in the signature or your regular emails, on any website, in pdf documents – almost anywhere
And consider naming the publication or marketing the list with a brand like “the CEO Forum” or “the going green club”
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You’ll also find that there are a lot of apps out there that can help you build your lists.
Two of them are from Constant Contact, which allow you to collect email addresses and other information through a QR code “scan” or a text message.
We also have an extensive collection of apps that have been created specifically to extend the capabilities of our products…here are just a few that help with the collection of email addresses
After this presentation you’re going to be thinking about what you want to write…and you may use some of the ideas you already wrote down. Part of the challenge is thinking about when to push all of this stuff out. We talked about how you can test to find the best day of the week and time of day to send your emails. What I’m talking about now is putting all of your planning into one calendar. This is just one example of what I mean – notice that it includes the regular newsletter you might send (on the 30th), a blog post (on the 2nd), and some more irregular or “just in time” announcements (11th and 29th). Also included here are some social media posts…we didn’t go into depth on social media planning today, but if you’re interested in learning more you can watch my 2 on demand webinars, The Basics of Social Media and You’re Social – Now What?, both available on PrescriptionsForOnlineSuccess.com and TheURLdr.com.
The real benefit of a calendar like this is in taking a look at the month ahead – there are some things you know are coming up. What kind of content would you create for that? Each day make a note of what’s happening and then list the channels you want to share it on. This will help you plan ahead and give you some things you can talk about and create multimedia for, and reach your audience through all of your regular channels.
If you combine this with the tips we’ve shared with you today, you’ll be well on your way to improving the effectiveness of your newsletters and announcements.
All of the various marketing techniques I discussed today including mobile marketing can all be done with Constant Contact’s new all in one Toolkit product.
When you sign up for Constant Contact through The URL Dr. (for the same great low price)
As our special today for all our webinar attendees, The URL Dr. is giving any business or non-profit that signs up for a new Constant Contact Toolkit Basic or Essential package to start their mobile marketing campaigns, free access to our:
Learn in 45 – online learning system.
[click to build] 11.5 hours of online video instruction on how to get the most out of your online marketing with Constant Contact. We charge $199 for this class on Udemy. You’re going to get free, unlimited access, for as long as you want to use it.
[click to build] Your’re going to get a custom email template to match your website, valued at $99
[click to build] And an email audit, where we’ll examine your Constant Contact account and give you suggestions on how to improve your results, valued at $199
[click to build] If you order or upgrade before our webinar is over, you’re going to get this $497 package free with your sign up.
[click to build] You can get this offer by going to TheURLdr.com/offer and clicking on the “Sign Me Up for Constant Contact” button. This is going to take you into Constant Contact’s website where you can choose your level of service. You don’t pay any more for Constant Contact when you go through our link. It’s the same low price. But you must purchase through our link or you won’t get the value package for free.
For our attendees that already have Constant Contact, you’ll get this great package for free when you upgrade your current account to Toolkit Basic or Essential. You want to go to the same url address: TheURLDr.com/offer and click on the “Upgrade My Constant Contact” button. Fill out the form and we’ll take care of getting your account upgraded and you’ll get all the free goodies you see here.
[click to build] Remember Constant Contact plans start at $20 a month. There is no long term contract, you can cancel at any time, and Constant Contact comes with a 100% money back guarantee. If you’re not happy with the service in the first 30 days, you just say so, and you get your money back.
So I’m going to leave this screen up as we go into our Question and Answer session. But remember this offer is only good until the end of the webinar.
