So how do companies make sure their e-marketing campaigns and advertising are being effective, not overbearing?
- Target your Audience
Knowing and understanding your audience is important to a businesses success, but even more important when entering the e-marketing environment. Technology has made it easier than ever for businesses to target their ads specifically to niche customers. Making marketing dollars go further and increase ROI. - Advertise in the Right Places
Understand where your customers can be found or even where they are looking for you. Often times consumers will turn to company websites or various social media sites to find out more about your business. Make sure you are present in the places both on and offline based on your target audiences' behavior. - Be Consistent
Consistency is key. If using multiple social media sites, a business website, etc. it is important for a consumer to be able to identify the business. Keeping the same look, feel, and engagement with customers allows a positive brand image to be built among visitors and customers. Take a bigger company like Nike for example. Nike has a consistent logo, slogan, and brand appropriate content on all social media sites. This eliminates confusion for customers who may be trying to find out what a company is all about or what the company can do for them. - Engage Target Audience
Make content in emails and on social media relevant and actionable. All emails should serve a purpose to subscribers. Do you want them to make a purchase? Provide them with promo codes or coupons that encourage them to visit your physical or online retail stores. Make it easy for the customer by providing direct links to the site or make it clear what action they should be taking. Posting content via social media that is motivating, relevant, or informative is a great way to get immediate feedback from customers and increase the amount of contacts or interactions a customer has with the company. Abusing the ability to be seen by customers by over-posting and filling the customers' news feed with irrelevant content can be seen as spam and reflect poorly on the business. - Be Direct
Keep interactions short and sweet. Customers are constantly on the move and receiving emails, posts, and tweets with information. Customers do not want to have their inbox filled with multiple emails each day from one company. Put the necessary information in an easy to read and concise format. If a customer wants to know more, provide links to additional content versus displaying too much information up front that may cause customers to pass up the entire email or post due to lack of time to sift through all of the information.
What companies abuse social media and which ones could improve their presence?
Companies do tend to overload ones email and texts with promotions, coupons, and company information. On an average day, I tend to get 30 + emails and 5 or so texts from companies vying to gain attention from me. Many of these emails and texts quickly find their way to my trash box as they become overwhelming. I am not one of those people who give my email or cell number to every place I shop in the hopes to save a couple of dollars on my next trip there. I often tell the casher I do not have an email address or I have already signed up even when I haven’t. I have only a small handful of places I have given my information to. Imagine if I had given it to every store that has asked for it. Businesses need to realize that consumers are often bombarded with social interactions and find ways to strategically send them.
ReplyDeleteI really am impressed with this blog post and your blog overall! It's very creative and easy to read. I like how this format was set-up for your post. I agree with the points of 'quality over quantity' when it comes to e-marketing. It's so easy for companies and organizations to get caught up in just wanting to constantly push advertising for themselves and that can get overwhelming for the people receiving these advertisements. I would rather get a really nice, well thought out piece of advertising from a place once a month than a cheap, quickly made one every week. It's important for businesses and organizations to be informative and professional in order to appeal to the most people!
ReplyDeleteI agree with some companies overloading people with too much information, spam and pop ups are some of the things that you can define as too much information. Nowadays you get so much unnecessary information on your email and even through the regular mail that it can get annoying at time. You made very good points in what companies should focus on and by concentrating on the quality of what they want to offer and in the way they offer can make a difference whether a customer sees it as "trash or ignore" or as "maybe this could be useful".
ReplyDelete