Social Media: Authenticity And Perseverance

May 17, 2013

Social media is the current zeitgeist and the way of the future, or so we are told. This makes it all the more important to make sure that we are conducting our social media behavior in the correct manner.

Two of the most important things in the way we conduct ourselves in the world of social media are transparency and authenticity. In other words, do not try to pretend to be anyone or anything but what you are and be honest in all your interactions.

That said, perseverance and a thick skin can also come in handy. You cannot worry over what anyone else thinks about you 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the world of social media any more than you can in the real world.

Build and work your plan and just get out there. Make sure that you manage your brand, your image and your reputation. Take any legitimate criticism onboard, but do not be beholden to it.

Optimizing social strategy in emails
Senior management often tells B2B marketers to be more social when it comes to their B2B marketing efforts, but how exactly are you supposed to go about doing that?

The more familiar channel of email sees B2B marketers pushing their brand, solutions and messaging onto a targeted list of leads who are quite likely to either ignore it or even list them as spam.

One good tip when it comes to using email marketing for social media is to share rather than tell. It is not sufficient to leverage social media by just adding your social media links onto the bottom of an email. Provide links in emails in order to let leads share the content.

You also need to remember that at the end of the day it is all about the content. Sending the right content to the right person in the social sphere will have the result of amplifying the effect of that content, so take note of who your space’s loudest social media users are and try to get them to join in with your communications in order to leverage their long reach.

How to grow your market
There are a number of innovative methods with which you can attempt to connect and ultimately grow your market.

One good method is to actually invent a whole new market segment. B2B marketing is all about making sure that your service or product is put in the position of being at your category’s “logical extreme.”

For example, B2B companies that create disruptive technologies tend to be heavily funded when it comes to R&D, but the winners will be those companies that have positioned themselves to be the first in people’s minds.

Another good method is to swap your sales funnel for a sales network. These days there are innumerable ways to get out of the B2B sales funnel, with the market of today making it very expensive to find new prospects.

The trick is to create services and products that are so amazing that your existing customer base will not be able to stop talking about them to their friends and colleagues.

Filed Under: Marketing, Social Media Tagged With: ,

Business To Business Marketing Tips

July 30, 2012

Marketing is the life blood of any business. Staying in touch with customers, prospects, and vendors is critical to the growth of your business. Here are some tips to use the technical resources available to you to promote your business.

Business Blogging
Many B2B businesses, from the manufacturers of GPS devices for vehicle tracking to the providers of credit card processing services, are blogging today for a very good reason: blogging represents real power.

When done properly, it allows B2B businesses to generate leads, brand awareness, brand loyalty and greater interest in general. And B2B blogging is not all that difficult to get right, so long as a few simple tips are followed.

Knowing your audience is a very simple but effective tip. Make sure you have done research on your target audience, either on your own or with the assistance of an Internet marketing company, and then write appropriate content to best reach those individuals.

Another simple tip is just to have a plan. It is always important to actually plan ahead when it comes to being able to offer the best content.

Plan out ideas for blog topics for at least one month in advance, and make sure that you have a backlog of post ideas so you can fill in any gaps.

Creating Compelling Email Copy
Email marketing has evolved in a big way over the last few years, and yet the fact remains that übe-designed emails with lots of “bells and whistles” are meaningless without well-written content. The good news is that in the end, writing a great marketing email all comes down to just a few simple copywriting best practices.

Writing a genuinely compelling email subject line is one such practice. The message itself might be a work of literary genius, but no one will ever read it if the subject line does not inspire the receiver to open the message and read it in the first place. Use actionable language that makes it very clear what the reader can do with the information contained in the email message and why he or she should read it.

Wherever possible, personalized emails also work well. That means more than just including the recipient’s name; it means also knowing personal information about the person to whom you are sending your messages, including what he or she is likely to be interested in.

Filed Under: Blogging, E-Mail, Marketing Tagged With: ,

Six Ways To Ensure Your Email Gets Read

March 20, 2012

If you’re like a lot of us, you get so much email every day that you might spend as little as 15 seconds scanning a message to determine how it applies to you.

Now, imagine that other people are reading your email the same way. If they can’t quickly identify the purpose of your message, they’ll probably delete it or leave it in the Inbox for “later” – if later ever comes.

Here are some tips to ensure that your email messages are read and get the attention they deserve.

Have a clear purpose
When recipients receive your email message, they should be able to see at a quick glance how the message relates to them and why it’s important.

They may be looking at a preview of your message in Microsoft Outlook or on a smart phone. Or they may see only subject lines in their inbox. If your subject line is confusing and irrelevant, your email will surely get deleted in a hurry.

Here are some things you can include in subject lines to make sure the reader opens your mail:

A standard subject heading such as “Action Requested,” “Response Requested,” “FYI,” or “Read Only.”

The meaningful objective or supporting project that the message relates to, for example, “FY ‘05 budget forecasting.”

The required action if applicable, for example, “Consolidate departmental budget spreadsheets.” The due date if applicable, for example, “Due by July 7.”

An example of an effective Subject line is “Action Requested—Consolidate all department spreadsheets for FY ‘06 budget and return to me by June 15th.”

Tell them what to do
Be completely clear about the actions you want the recipients to take.

Be specific and put all the material that is related to an action in one place. To get even faster responses, talk about how the action relates to the recipient’s objectives, and always give due dates.

It’s also important to clarify what you want the recipient to do. There are basically four types of actions you could request:

Action: The recipient needs to perform an action. For example, “Provide a proposal for a 5% reduction in travel expenses.”

Respond: The recipient needs to respond to your message with specific information. For example, “Let me know if you can attend the staff meeting at 9am Friday.”

Read only: The recipient needs to read your message, and no response is necessary. For example, “Please read the attached sales plan before the staff meeting on August 12th.”

FYI only: The recipient should file your message for future reference. In fact, even reading the message is optional. For example, “Enclosed for your records are your completed expense reports.”

Give them all of the data
Make sure you give recipients all of the information they need to complete an action or respond successfully to your request.

Your co-workers shouldn’t have to come back to you asking for information, whether it is a supporting document or a link to a file on a shared website.

You can include supporting information in the body of the message, in an attached file, or in an attached email.

Send only to necessary people
Target your message to the appropriate audience. Only people who have to complete an action on the Subject line should receive your message. Be thoughtful and respectful when you enter names on the To line. People observe your thoughtfulness and the results are more effective.

No forwards!
While everyone appreciates a little humor and a sanity break at the office, save the funny forwards, jokes, and cute pictures for personal email.

Filed Under: E-Mail, Marketing Tagged With: , ,

Three Things You Need To Know Before You Hit “Send”

February 2, 2011

It’s everyone’s favorite application. Since its introduction, it has revolutionized the way we communicate, both personally and professionally.

It has had a major impact on how companies market themselves, communicate with vendors, and send out press releases, rally employees and alert clients to their latest and greatest promotion.

The ease, low-cost and speed of e-mail in marketing are the biggest reason why our inboxes are overflowing with spam.

In response to the ubiquitous outcry, “I hate spam,” governments have crafted new regulations surrounding the use of e-mail; and if you are one of the millions of companies using it for marketing, then it’s important that you familiarize yourself with these laws, but the danger doesn’t stop there.

Even if you don’t get caught by the feds for violating the rules of e-mail usage, you can still end up blacklisted with the major ISPs such as Yahoo!, AOL, and MSN.

Once you get blacklisted, you are considered guilty until proven innocent, and ALL the e-mail you send won’t go through, even to people who want to receive it – a consequence that could end up hurting your business more than a fine.

So what are the basic guidelines of e-mail marketing?
First and foremost, make sure you are only sending e-mail campaigns to people who have solicited (requested) to be on your distribution list.

This is called “opting-in” or subscribing, and e-mails sent to this folks are considered “solicited e-mail.”

You are perfectly within your rights to send them messages; but if you got their e-mail address by any other means and they did NOT specifially request to be on your list, that’s considered “unsolicited e-mail” or spam.

Sending promotional e-mails to people who have not requested it is not only illegal, but annoying..so don’t do it!

Next, make sure you provide directions on how a person can remove themselves from your distribution list in EVERY e-mail.

The best place to put this information is at the very bottom of your message. You should also include your full company name and contact information at the bottom so no one can blame you for cloaking your identity –another legal “no-no” of e-mail marketing.

Finally, when sending an e-mail, we recommend using a service such as iContact. Check it out at http://www.icontact.com/?cobrand=310189

These web based applications will help you manage your e-mail distribution list with automatic opt-out and opt-in tools and will keep your e-mail server off ISPs blacklist.

Naturally, you want to make sure the information you are sending is interesting and relevant.

No one wants more junk filling up their inbox so the better you are at marketing, the better your results will be.

E-mail is not a magic marketing bullet that will solve your marketing problems, but used correctly, it can certainly help you reach more customers and build stronger relationships with the people you already do business with.

Filed Under: E-Mail Tagged With: ,

Choosing An Email Marketing Service Provider

June 23, 2010

Once your business has decided to invest in online marketing, the first service you’ll be considering is probably an email marketing service provider (ESP).

Basically, an ESP is a hosting company that runs email marketing services on their servers for you to use. The servers and Internet connections are optimized to send email. You use a web interface to compile and send your email to the ESP.

Then, the ESP’s servers and Internet connections do the hard work. If you tried to send bulk emails through your regular Internet provider, your campaign could be blocked, as most regular Internet providers prohibit bulk mailings.

Good reporting helps you measure the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns, and your ESP should also provide very detailed reports. You should even be able to see which of your subscribersopened your email and clicked on your links.

An ESP will also automatically include an unsubscribe link in every email sent through their service – and automatically remove these addresses from your lists – to make sure you comply with federal SPAM laws.

What should you look for in an ESP to make sure you choose the right one? Here are some criteria to consider:

IP Addressing
The IP address from which an email is sent is like a phone number – it tells the world where the email came from.

Just like you’d not want to share a phone number with a large group of strangers, you do not want to share an IP address with other customers at your ESP.

If your ESP uses shared IP addresses, too many spam complaints against another customer could get your shared IP address blacklisted by a major ISP. This would prevent your emails from being delivered, and it can take time for your ESP to get the IP off the blacklist.

Heavy Duty Systems
Make sure your ESP has multiple, high-speed connections to the Internet through more than one source, and that they have redundant hardware and servers.

This ensures reliability if one ofthe Internet connections fails or there is a hardware failure. This is important because the ESP’s click-tracking tools require that the links go to the ESP first, and then it is redirected to your website (that’s how it can track the click).

There would be nothing worse than sending an email to your prospects and customers and having the ESPs servers go down. The people reading your emails won’t be able to click through!

Support and Training
Your ESP should offer both online and phone customer support and training.

Good reporting
The ESP should offer a variety of user-friendly reports: deliverability success, open-rates, and click-through rates.

CAN SPAM compliance
Your ESP should require customers to comply with the CAN SPAM Act and make it very easy to do so. The last thing you want isa fine from the federal government for not complying with the law.

Free trial
Most ESPs offer a free trial. Do a test drive to see if the service meets your needs.

Tech Experts uses iContact for all of our outbound email marketing. The company is reliable, and the services are priced very
inexpensively. For a free trial, browse to http://www.icontact.com/?cobrand=310189.

Filed Under: CAN SPAM Act, E-Mail Tagged With: , , ,

What Is The CAN-SPAM Act?

June 23, 2010

The CAN-SPAM Act is a law that sets rules for commercial email, gives recipients the right to have you stop emailing them, and spells out tough penalties for violations.

Despite its name, the CAN-SPAM Act doesn’t apply just to bulk email. It covers all commercial messages. 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.

Each separate email in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act is subject to penalties of up to $16,000, so non-compliance can be  costly. But following the law isn’t complicated. Here’s a rundown of CAN-SPAM’s main requirements:

Don’t use false or misleading header information. Your “From,” “To,” “Reply-To,” must be accurate and identify the person or business who initiated the message.

Don’t use deceptive subject lines. The subject line must accurately reflect the content of the message and identify the message as an ad.

Tell recipients where you’re located. Your message must include your valid physical postal address.

Tell recipients how to opt out of receiving future email from you. Your message must include a clear and conspicuous explanation of how the  recipient can opt out of getting email from you in the future.

Honor opt-out requests promptly. Any opt-out mechanism you offer must be able to process opt-out requests for at least 30  days after you send your message.

Filed Under: CAN SPAM Act Tagged With: ,

3 Things You Need To Know About E-mail Marketing

February 8, 2009

It’s everyone’s favorite application. Since its introduction, it has revolutionized the way we communicate, both personally and professionally. It has had a major impact on how companies market themselves, communicate with vendors, send out press releases, rally employees and alert clients to their latest and greatest promotion. The ease, low-cost and speed of e-mail in marketing is the biggest reason why our inboxes are overflowing with spam.

In response to the ubiquitous outcry, “I hate spam,” governments have crafted new regulations surrounding the use of e-mail; and if you are one of the millions of companies using it for marketing, then it’s important that you familiarize yourself with these laws. But the danger doesn’t stop there…

Even if you don’t get caught by the authorities for violating the rules of e-mail usage, you can still end up on a blacklist with the major ISPs such as Yahoo!, AOL, and MSN. Once you get blacklisted, you are considered guilty until proven innocent, and ALL the e-mail you send won’t get through, even to people who want to receive it—a consequence that could end up hurting your business more than a fine.

So what are the basic guidelines of e-mail marketing?
First and foremost, make sure you are only sending e-mail campaigns to people who have solicited (requested) to be on your distribution list. This is called “opting-in” or subscribing, and e-mails sent to these folks are considered “solicited e-mail.” You are perfectly within your rights to send them messages; but if you got their e-mail address by any other means and they did NOT specifically request to be on your list, that is “unsolicited e-mail” or spam.

Sending promotional e-mails to people who have not requested it can be illegal, but certainly annoying…so don’t do it!

Next, make sure you provide directions on how a person can remove themselves from your distribution list in EVERY e-mail. The best place to put this information is at the very bottom of your message. You should also include your full company name and contact information at the bottom so no one can blame you for cloaking your identity—which is in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act.

Finally, when sending mass e-mails, we recommend using a web based service such as iContact (www.iContact.com). These applications will help you manage your e-mail distribution list with automatic opt-out and opt-in tools and will keep your e-mail server off an ISP’s blacklist. Naturally, you want to make sure the information you are sending is interesting and relevant. No one wants more junk filling up their inbox so the better you are at marketing, the better your results will be.Email is not a magic marketing bullet that will solve all your marketing problems, but used correctly, it can help you reach more customers and build stronger relationships with the people you already do business with.
Filed Under: E-Mail, Online Marketing Tagged With: , ,