Paul Harvey, Author at Market That

Email Crushing Twitter & Facebook

“Email crushing twitter & facebook”

Here at Market That we have always been big fans of email and seeing this headline did bring a smile. We are convinced that a well developed list would out perform any customer communication channel based on cost, reach and return on investment.

The hype is still all about social media but with Facebook page reach at less than 10% of your fans, why forget email when a modest list will will have an open rate at 25% or more. Most of our clients have open rates at around 45% and some are even higher.

Social media is great for spreading content, so you can imagine our interest in receiving a Linkedin update about an email report that was issued last year. This came from the marketing data people “Custora” who provide systems for online businesses.

Reported by Marcus Wohlsen of wired.com. Here are a couple of extracts and a link to the full post. Although the report was compiled from online retailer data, the results can be applied to any business.

“Despite the hype that inevitably clings to the newfangled, however, it’s relatively antique tech that appears to be far more important for selling stuff online. A report from marketing data outfit Custora found that over the past four years, online retailers have quadrupled the rate of customers acquired through email to nearly 7 percent. “

And further on.

“Custora’s findings don’t bode especially well for social media business models, especially Twitter. Of course, ads on Facebook and Twitter don’t have to lead to immediate clicks to have an impact. They still have the potential to raise ambient awareness. Yet Custora found that Google’s ads, by contrast, do lead not only to clicks but to purchases—the holy grail of “conversion.

This is no surprise to us. Social media is great, but when combined with an integrated approach of paid advertising and email follow up, it will provide a measurable conversion process and build equity into the future.

You cannot keep or communicate with a Facebook page ‘like’, but you can email and re-market to a list.

Full article here. http://www.wired.com/2013/07/email-crushing-twitter-facebook/

If you are not on our list put your email in the box above and get a copy of the traffic map and you will see what integration is all about.

Managing the Email Madness

Managing the email madness, I love email but there are time when the inbox becomes a filing cabinet. Below is an interesting video from Google Tech Talks. Merlin Man has a concept call “Zero Inbox”. That means every time you check the email you process and empty. Here is a 5 step process to tame the email madness.

There are 5 options are Delete, Delegate, Respond defer and Do.

He is not big on filing. I do not agree with this, I keep emails (particularly training) from my competitors or aligned businesses. I like to look for pattern, see the promotions and timing of promotions.

I have several email addresses and use an alias, this keep clutter out of the inbox. The video is worth a look, you may want to skip through bits as it is over an hour. ( I did )

I hope you find it useful.

The Google Rules & Wash Instructions

As entrepreneurs, we all have one thing in common and that is we like to play the game by our rules, and most of the time that is one of those traits that makes us successful. However, there are times when the rules just have to be followed. Are you playing by the Google rules?

In our lounge, we had a nice Laura Ashley throw on the sofa. It is a sumptuous fabric and was a luxury buy when the room was last decorated. Following an accident with some chocolate and a realisation that it was looking a bit grubby, it was taken off the sofa and plonked in the laundry basket.

When it came to washing time, we discovered it to be made of cotton and a mix of man made fibres with the words “DRY CLEAN ONLY”. The dry cleaners is just up the hill from our house but not something that we use that often. The throw sat at the bottom of the laundry basket for several months. Then, last weekend, in an act of determination to empty the basket I decide to just wash it. It was never going to get to the dry cleaners and I am often disappointed at dry cleaning results. Also ‘Dry Clean Only’ is a often a catch-all phrase for cloth manufacturers, used on cloth they are not sure about. Well that was my logic. The first thought was hand wash but in the end I opted for a low temperature and slow spin cycle in the machine. I broke the rules and this did not end well.

This fabric was a curious mix of fibres that did not take to the water and it sort of dissolved in the washing machine. Unaware of this I pulled the now clean throw out of the machine, flicking it out in the kitchen to be treated to a snow storm of bits. There were fibres everywhere, a stray pair of dark underwear that got left in the machine covered in white fibres. These fibres had to be picked out of the holes in the drum, the filter cleaned and the kitchen hovered all because I did not follow the rules.

So how does this relate to digital marketing?

Once it was possible to flout the rules on your website, there were all manner of tips and tricks that would get you an advantage in the search listing. But those days are over and if you do not follow the rules that are laid down by the big name of the Internet “Google” they will punish you with low impressions, loss of rank and all manner of punitive measures that will affect your business.

Whatever you do on line, if it is search engine position or paid advertising, your website must make the grade. Simple things like meta descriptions, a site map, contact details, privacy and cookie policies and on and on, must be in place, but there is more.

Are you playing by the rules?

Book a website safety check TODAY and you will get a full report. It will test your site for 38-42 different areas including common SEO faults, speed checks and optimisation, server issues, security, mobile usability and social networking and media. It is the start point for a digital marketing plan and tell you what needs to change and how to fix it.

Check your site today, click the buy link below.

It will cost you just £25 and presently delivery is 3 to 5 day

Author: Paul Harvey