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Integrate email marketing with social for for ‘surround sound’

By Alexandra Smith

Lyris advises marketers to leverage their efforts across three channels, fulfilling the goal of “surround sound marketing,” aka integrated marketing.

In Issue 2 of Marketing Business series, Lyris challenges marketers to reach their consumers through email, mobile, and social outlets. Lyris still contends that email marketing is far from over and stresses the importance of leveraging all three channels.

Lyris acknowledges that some markets do not benefit greatly from social media; however, leveraging social with another channel often yields greater success. If you market through social media, keep in mind, you’re also a mobile marketer – this is due to the rapid increase in smartphone use.

Social media: Where are your consumers?

Identify which social networks your prospects and market are using prior to dedicating effort to a particular network or plastering social media icons on your emails.

  • Where in the market does your brand lie?
  • What motivates particular consumers?
  • Where do these types of consumers live in the social media realm?
  • These factors are key to establishing where and how to allocate content.

Social + email: Carter’s finds the balance

Lyris credits children’s clothing store Carter’s with leveraging social and email by integrating an e-mail opt-in on its Facebook page. Consumers receive benefits from joining the email list this way.

Mobile + email: Tips for email marketing

Contrary to popular belief, email is still a critical marketing channel, especially since so many users access their email on their smartphones. Email makes consumers feel in control, Lyris says, because they can read an email at their leisure.

  • It is important to email effectively, so be sure to measure and monitor your email efforts.
  • To get the best ROI: Adjust your email practices and frequency, based on opens and click-throughs.
  • Consider how the email will appear on a mobile device.
  • Test on various platforms and remove images, which slow load times.

Social + mobile: Location-based marketing

Integrating social media into mobile marketing is today’s most promising tactic. Utilize “at the moment” via location-based marketing and “micro-targeting.”

Consumers are using location-based social media platforms; “checking in” enables brands to engage with rewards and specials.

Essence of email

Email, especially when integrated with mobile and social channels, creates an anchor and enables the brand brand to remain consistent across multiple channels. Use email to get to know your core consumer base and leverage that knowledge to utilize these channels properly. Remember to measure your effectiveness.

Brand ranking on Facebook at OMMA Social

L2 Prestige 100 Facebook Index evaluates 100 prestige brands on Facebook

  • Facebook is a powerful communications platform connecting people worldwide.
  • Out of 662 million users on Facebook, 50% log in everyday and 40% follow brands
  • 70% of 662 million people on Facebook are outside of the U.S.

With such a broad reach, it is crucial for brands to establish a presence on Facebook.

This OMMA Social presentation looks at the L2 Prestige 100 Facebook Index, a study that evaluated how 100 prestige brands rank on Facebook. Using 200+ data points, this study found how auto, drinks, fashion, and other branded goods establish their presence and are viewed by consumers on Facebook.

New York University Professor and founder of L2 Scott Galloway and Michael Lazerow, CEO of Buddy Media, presented the findings from the Index.  Use these insights to successfully market your brand on Facebook.

Social media platforms

  • Sometimes you need to take a leap of faith with social media platforms.
  • F-Commerce – purchases via Facebook – will be the single-largest source of eCommerce over the next 2 years, which certainly means many consumers will be looking for promo codes (you can read more here about what sorts of promo codes are available)
  • Posting new product highlights are returning the highest rates of interaction for big brands on Facebook (21%)
  • Digital and wealthy households go hand-in-hand

Branding on Facebook

“Facebook and digital are the equivalent of skinny jeans. They make corporations look younger.” – Prof. Galloway

  • the number of your brand’s Facebook fans should directly correlate with brand equity
  • Your Facebook likes should be correlated with your branded search queries
  • F-commerce will be largest digital store in the next 2-3 years
  • The number of likes on your Facebook page means nothing unless you are engaging in 2-way communication
  • Customized local content wins by 5x over global branding – global brands need to be local
  • The best way to signal innovation is to do innovative things in the digital space
    • Do something online and specifically for Facebook

How the L2 Index works

  • L2 is collecting 250 data points for brands in social media and assigns an IQ: Genius, Gifted, Average, Challenged & Feeble
  • Feeble ranking example: Spirits (as in alcohol) because they are run by old-school European men who are hoping social media will go away
  • Facebook IQ is a primary driver of shareholder value

How brands measure up

  • BMW ranks number 1 on L2 Facebook IQ study – 6.2 million Likes
  • Clinique ranks 2nd with 1.3 million Likes
  • Bare Essentials on Facebook: tons of peer-to-peer conversation about makeup
  • Average ranking = Cartier, even though it has huge brand equity and passionate fans. But they aren’t trying; they don’t get it.
  • Burberry has more fans on Facebook (7.3 million) than the global circulation of Vogue
  • High fashion brands opt for Facebook vs. popular fashion mags

Females and Facebook

  • Female leaders of fashions brands are embracing social far quicker than their male counterparts
  • Fashion companies are successful on FB – they’re run by women who are innovators, not old guys who inherited their top positions
    • Female-led prestige brands more open to digital
  • In luxury sectors, there’s a direct correlation between innovation and female leadership
  • Firms run by women have an advantage by leveraging social

Tips for brands

  • Not enough for brands to have big FB fan count; need to engage in meaningful dialogue with that audience for it to be valuable
  • It’s social media, not social broadcasting: Measure dialogue, not number of fans

The L2 Prestige Facebook Index shows that Facebook is a powerful medium for brands. It has the ability to drive a campaign that can make or break a brand. Further, it has the ability to form a lasting impression in the mind of the consumer.

Professor Galloway said that in 3 years Facebook will be the most valuable company in the world. With the power to influence the consumers via Facebook campaigns, what do YOU think … Is he right?

Download the L2 Prestige 100 Facebook Index

Thank you for your input @Profgalloway, @DownTownMag, @PublicSocial, @GannettDigital, @mediasoup, @followBEC, @irinaskaya, @dberkowitz, @socmedsoc, @neilglassman, @rhydianfisher, @jennyjmuller, @cpealet, @MediaPost

OMMA Video Conference 2011 highlights

“VIDEO EXPLODES” was the theme of the 2011 Omma Video Conference.

The demand for online video advertising is increasing, and the spending for online video is expanding. To be competitive in today’s market, understanding online video is vital.

The 2011 OMMA Video Conference covered what marketers, advertisers, business owners, et al should know about video on the Internet.

Keep up with the most recent developments with these highlights from OMMA Video 2011.

User-choice ads panel highlights video potential

VivaKi led online video research group called the Pool. This research group uncovered that user choice-initiated pre-roll ads are the way to go for publishers and advertisers alike.  What can we take away from this?

  • Don’t assume traditional creative for TV will work online, need to test and adapt – Kathryn Friedrich, Head of Display, Media & Entertainment, Google
  • Viewership means reach and frequency – Brian Shin, CEO, Visible Measures
  • Ad choice indicates intent
  • No need to try to empower users, they already are empowered. Better to adapt and earn more media by being better.
  • Give people the opportunity to choose to watch ads – ups the ante for creative programming
  • Ads can morph into content – and go viral – by empowering users with choice
  • Consumer choice for ads – ASQ – only the tip of the iceberg

Brand video creation tips from Denny’s “Always Open” campaign

To remain competitive in their niche market, Denny’s joined forces with creative venues DumbDumb, Electus, Gotham, and Ensemble to launch an online video series.  Their clever collaboration created the successful “Always Open” series, featuring comedic guests such as Sarah Silverman and Amy Poehler.  Take away some of these pointers on how to create a successful brand-content campaign.

  • Denny’s challenge: How to “age down” a nearly 60-year-old-brand
  • Brands need to reflect the spirit of the brand and be unique to the brand
  • Great opportunity to bring contextual creative to a brand
  • Celebs aren’t required to promote their Denny’s spots, but they do b/c they’re proud of the work
  • Denny’s “Always Open” videos become a desired destination for celebrity guests such as Sarah Silverman
  • Some viewers didn’t realize Denny’s Always Open videos were sponsored
  • Has to be something people will watch
  • Denny’s “Always Open” campaign brought it into the conversation of the core demographic
  • “South Park” episode spoof an example of earned media

YouTube

  • 150 years of YouTube videos are viewed on Facebook EACH DAY
  • After watching YouTube videos 30% will share them
  • 400+ videos are shared each minute

Funny or Die

  • Funny or Die custom creates a content and social media program for brands based on the goals – clarity from the outset is key
  • Funny or Die T-Mobile case: created videos & allowed voting via social media and linked to others’ networks
  • From Day 1, Funny or Die engaged with users: Part of its DNA, asking if video is funny or should die

When it comes to online videos, making sure you always have in mind your target audience is key.  As Mindshare‘s Andy Chapman states, “We need to get more sophisticated when it comes to determining target audiences in video.” When you know who you are targeting, you can build your best content and campaign around it.  Be open, be creative, and have fun.

Integrate search and social, then measure ROI

Measuring social media ROI may seem intimidating to most, but according to Jeff Selig, Director of Analytics at Overdrive Interactive, it can be measured.  Read on and follow along with his presentation to learn how to succeed in marketing as universal search becomes the universal norm.

Jeff presents how search and social are merging and how marketing strategies should adapt to this change.  Jeff also gets into the nitty-gritty of measuring social media return on investment at NEDMA 2011.

Download Jeff Selig’s presentation.

Integrate search and social

  • Editorial calendars are key to keeping the conversation going
  • Establish your workflow and create engagement points ahead of time

 

Jeff Selig of Overdrive Interactive presented this Content and Conversation Strategy slide at the 2011 NEDMA conference..

Jeff Selig's Content and Conversation Strategy slide from his 2011 NEDMA presentation.

 

Social media buttons add octane to impressions 

  • Have to be platform-agnostic – See where audience is and how your message should cater to your audience
  • Facebook – Weigh how many people saw message against those who responded
  • Twitter– is like the rain, not going to hit every drop
    • The odds of getting retweeted when you include ‘tips’ ‘how to’ or numbers in a tweet is very high
  • YouTube – Embed, use star ratings, note how it interacts with other sites
  • LinkedIn – Rolodex of this decade; note analytics that show who’s looking at your company

 

Social Media ROI Landscape presented by Jeff Selig at NEDMA 2011 conference

Social Media ROI Landscape presented by Jeff Selig of Overdrive Interactive at NEDMA 2011 conference

Clicks are just 1 step in the process

  • Need to start to develop talent and thought-leadership; apply Six Sigma to social
  • Get entire organization to contribute with comments, blog posts, Tweets from everyone
  • Saw 1400% increase in blog traffic when instituted comment engine
  • Tracking – bit.ly

B2B sales conversion funnel

  • Tweet
  • Form filled out
  • Sales lead
  • Call

Attribution modeling not getting enough attention. It’s not about not first vs. last touch, but nurturing

Costs

  • Hard costs
    • IT
    • E-marketing
    • Marketing

How do you stack up against competitors?

  • Audit social media activities & build traffic around it
  • Need a strategy beyond “we’re awesome”
  • Need brand identity to stand out on social profiles
  • Community monitoring
  • Blogger outreach

It’s not just about how much you’re out there, but what’s your traction like, how quickly are you acquiring followers and interactions?

Fans

  • Not all fans are created equally
  • Ask: How influential is this 1 person? Who’s following them?

Benchmarking of ROI for social media

  • Establish a baseline
    • Look at year-over-year growth
    • What am I saying each time?
    • What’s the social component of my transaction?
  • Measure net new customers:
    • When were they last here?
    • How much did they spend last time?

How much info, how many people, how many channels?

Social media strategy ROI

  • Get your message out in a timely, compelling manner to advance your financial goals
  • Create a baseline & an activity timeline
  • Then look at sales revenue & measure transaction precursors to gauge social media ROI

As search and social become increasingly integrated, learn how to combine them in your campaigns.  Be social, be aware, and set goals for your business.  If you keenly measure the behaviors of your audiences, you will be able to adapt your business strategies to their behaviors.