The Most Overlooked Email Marketing Strategies of 2018
Email marketing campaigns show no signs of slowing down, with analysts reporting that email campaigns are still 40 times more effective in landing sales than social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. How can marketers use these favorable numbers to their advantage?
Tap Data
Successful email campaign messaging is becoming increasingly data-driven. To reach a customer, a brand must know basic demographics about the buyer, like age and geographic location, but a brand must also know where that customer actually is in the buying journey. This comes from tapping and analyzing data about consumers like how often they visit your website, how much money they’ve already spent, how often they purchase items, what items they’ve looked at but perhaps not purchased yet, and more. Where are these customers when it comes to buying and how can you reach out with relevant messaging?
Email marketing platforms that integrate with other apps that can deliver this data are ideal for understanding customers on an individual level. With the right data, brands can deliver relevant content that results in higher sales.
Automate Campaigns
Email automation is the ultimate way to save time while growing your brand. Today, automation services are affordable and accessible to everyone. Many automation companies provide basic-level services for free. Some even allow you to preview paid options for a limited time.
Automation services do the heavy lifting for you – design, segmentation, personalization, and targeted mailings. This leaves you more time to spend on creating relevant content for your customers. Automated emails are more time-optimized, giving you control over not only who is receiving your messages, but also when they are receiving them. Timely, relevant messages lead to a higher level of engagement. Automation platforms also do the work of providing analytics to help you measure the effectiveness of your campaigns.
Personalize
Marketers who use personalization in their email campaigns have a 2.5 times higher click-through rate and generate 6 times as many sales from their campaigns. Personalization doesn’t have to be complicated though. Campaign Monitor reports that subscribers are 26 percent more likely to open an email with a personalized subject line than a generic message. Adding a touch of personalization can make all the difference in how successful an email is in sales conversion to use this tool wisely.
Implement Video
Consumers love video and with the improvement of streaming internet speeds in the developed world, its estimated that video content will account for 75 percent of all online traffic by 2020. It’s not enough to create a YouTube channel or vlog for your brand though; you must make the best use of those videos by incorporating them in your email marketing. Give consumers a chance to watch your brand in action – modeling or demonstrating a new product, saying “thank you,” or attending an industry trade show. Give consumers the opportunity to watch your brand, not just read about it. Be sure to connect your calls to action, too, between your video platforms and your email marketing.
Integrate Easy Payment Options
It’s still in the horizon when it comes to email marketing tech, but soon brands may be able to have consumers buy and pay for items inside their emails (without being redirected to a different site). Email providers like Google and Yahoo are already experimenting with this technology that will essentially reduce the steps to making a sale. For now, though, make sure people have a one-click option to pay for goods and services through an email marketing campaign.
Connect Social Media
Email can be even more powerful when used in conjunction with social media, so be sure to use the two in tandem. Within your email messages, be sure to remind subscribers about your active social media community. Explain the benefits of following your company, perhaps enticing readers with contests or exclusive discounts. Include social media share buttons in the body of your email message so readers can share with their own spheres of influence by just clicking a button. You can also use your social media platforms to encourage consumers to join your email list. Remind your followers of the special content or exclusive offers they receive as a subscriber. This two-tier approach can help keep your customers even more connected.
Though it’s decades old, email continues to be a powerful tool for marketers with a high return on investment. Organizing, automating, and personalizing your email marketing efforts can help your company make sure you are sending the right content to the right person at the right time.