How To Kickstart Your Email Marketing

December 20, 2021 Freya Whiteside Email Marketing, Insights  

Here are our top tips and tricks for writing emails people actually want to read. 

 

With the new year nearly here, there’s no better time to get your email marketing in hand. If you’re staring at a blank screen and wondering where to start – after all, with inboxes fit to burst and plenty of junk, who wants more pointless emails? – here are some tips on how to get started!

 

Be inspired 

How often do you receive an email and think about bookmarking it? We receive so many emails a day, and while the ones we like might tempt a spontaneous purchase, it’s unlikely that many of us sit back and review the crème de la crème of our inbox. 

To write really good emails, you’ll need really good emails – the website, that is. This treasure trove of email marketing is the best place to start your strategising, whether you’ve got an eye for design or a love of great copy. Scroll, search and save your favourites! 

Things to consider? Email copy is often short and sweet; it should complement a design that’s stylish, readable and not too busy. Always make sure that your emails are optimised for mobile, and be direct with subject lines so that people can’t help but click. Personally, I usually can’t resist an email from brands like Glossier, Smol and Bloom & Wild, who know exactly when to send a well-timed discount.

 

Go with the flow 

Part of the beauty of email marketing is the personalisation you can achieve through segmenting. Not only does it make your customer feel a bit special, but the right email at the right time communicates essential information, improving the customer journey and keeping your client in the loop. After all, if you’re expecting a parcel, you want to know when it’s on the way and if you’ll be in to collect it! 

By creating email flows, you can make each and every customer feel like a VIP. From abandoned cart flows to post-purchase updates, letting customers know they’re at the top of your priorities is such an effective way to build brand loyalty (and reassure them that their product will reach them unharmed).

Services like Klaviyo and Mailchimp are an easy way to get started in the world of email flows. All you need to do is write up your email, make it look pretty and choose who it’s going to. Much of the process is automated, meaning your customers will get your email as and when they need it.

 

Choose messaging that matters

Why should someone take the time to read your email? If there’s nothing new to see, they won’t want to hear it – so make your messaging count!

There are some obvious things you’ll want to tell your audience about: new product launches, what you’re doing for upcoming sales events and of course, precious discount codes. However, email is a direct way to communicate with consumers, so don’t stop there. 

Your email marketing is a great place to show off what sort of brand you are. From sensitivity around big events in the calendar, such as opt-out options for events like Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, to anticipating user needs (Christmas coming up? Here’s a gift guide that’ll help you finally figure out what to get your granny), email marketing is a more direct way of showing off what your brand is all about.

 

Which brands are sending your favourite emails – and could you do better? Get in touch with me at [email protected] to see how our team could help you upgrade your email marketing.

 

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Why Video Subtitles Matter And How To Make The Most Of Them

December 13, 2021 Rachel Fox Design, Insights  

It’s no surprise that social media platforms have started to push video content more and more to users over the past few years. In fact, studies show that 54% of consumers want to see more video content from a brand or business they support. But do you know how often these videos are watched without any sound?

 

Subtitles support ‘sound off’ preferences

During a study carried out by Verizon, it was discovered that 50% of participants tend to watch videos without sound – rising to 69% when watching in public places – and that 80% are more likely to watch an entire video when captions are available. 

It has also been widely reported for years that Facebook users watch up to 85% of videos on the platform with the sound off. These studies strengthen the idea that in order to portray your message successfully, whether sharing content from your personal account or brand, it’s worth adding subtitles in order to keep viewers engaged.

 

Subtitles make your content more accessible

If the reason above hasn’t sold you on the idea of using subtitles on all video content you are sharing, this one should do the trick. More than 5% of the world’s population require rehabilitation to address their ‘disabling’ hearing loss. If you take inclusivity and accessibility seriously as a brand, you will have acknowledged the importance of subtitles for video content in this context.

Whilst we are on the topic of accessibility, subtitles can also be a great way of expanding your audience to a global level. Perhaps the best-recognised use of subtitles is to make video content available in different languages. Translated subtitles are usually faster and more cost-effective to create than recording a different soundtrack for each language you’re targeting.

 

Subtitles improve video SEO

Lastly, subtitling can also help improve SEO! As long as your subtitles aren’t embedded directly into the video image, search engine crawlers and algorithms will be able to pick them up…and who doesn’t want to improve their SEO so that their videos are easier to find?

 

So, how can you make the most of subtitling?

  1. Make sure there is a high contrast between the text and background
  2. Ensure your guidelines meet industry guidelines and are large enough to read
  3. Spend time perfecting the subtitles when translating into another language
  4. Avoid presenting too much text on-screen at a time
  5. Offer an additional option to display closed captions
  6. Use a clear, legible typeface
  7. Allow enough time for each subtitle to be read
  8. Position subtitles at centre/bottom and avoid clashes with other UI elements
  9. Distinguish between speakers
  10. Ensure subtitles cover all important dialogue and can be turned on before any need to be displayed

 

Need some inspiration for your social media marketing? To get a free audit of your current social strategy, get in touch at [email protected].

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In Other News: LinkedIn Shares Gen Z Insights, Facebook Launches Podcasts and Twitter Tests Livestream Shopping

December 8, 2021 Lucy Booth Facebook, In other news, Insights, LinkedIn, Social Media, Twitter  

Welcome back to another week of digital insights from the latest news in the digital marketing world!

 

LinkedIn Conducts Survey on Gen Z ers

This week, LinkedIn have posted their findings from a survey conducted on Gen Zers (people born between 1997-2012). The survey helps to explore engagement trends, popular content Gen Zers are consuming as well as how and why they are the most likely age group to use LinkedIn. 

We have put together some key points below that have been picked up by the data analysts: 

  • Gen Zers believe LinkedIn is trustworthy and they feel safe posting/interacting on the site 
  • The content they see on their feed is mostly relevant to them, no nonsense! 
  • 80% of Gen Zers say they are interested in following more businesses/organisations on LinkedIn and they are more likely than other age groups to follow people like Melinda Gates, Bill Gates and Jeff Weiner 
  • 75% say that businesses/organisations post valuable content 
  • For networking, learning and research purposes, Gen Zers say they prefer LinkedIn over other platforms 
  • Gen Zers are highly focused on their career 

The results show Gen Zers believe LinkedIn to be the safest site. This is likely to be because it is one of the most ‘professional’ platforms we use and people really do get hired via LinkedIn! With the content said to be mostly relevant to the user, this would suggest there are less time wasters applying for jobs outside their field if people are only really seeing content they are interacting with. The study concludes that Gen Zers are quite highly focussed on their career path and are keen to learn tips and tricks for presenting/bettering their digital marketing skills. 

 

Facebook Launches New Podcast Feature 

With podcasts becoming more and more popular recently, Facebook has published a new guide on how to link and promote podcasts on the platform using Facebook’s features. 

Creators can now add and promote their podcast on Facebook. They can build direct connections with fans so their content is seamlessly distributed to their listeners as and when new episodes are released. At the moment, this feature is only available to select content creators in the US – presumably whilst they test it! 

The new update allows listeners to engage in conversation with one another in the comments section whilst still listening to the podcast. This feature should allow podcast creators to branch out through another platform to engage more listeners whilst giving them a space to stimulate conversations with one another. 

 

Livestream Shopping Being Tested on Twitter 

Twitter have recently revealed they are following in the footsteps of Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest & Tik Tok by carrying out a livestream shopping feature.  With the rise of online shopping during the pandemic, Twitter carried out their first live shopping event in collaboration with Walmart in a bid to keep up with the latest trends. This new feature creates a pathway from viewing a product, discussing it on the Twitter timeline to then being able to head straight to the check out. With the Shopping feature enabled, users can browse products via a carousel, read more about them and finally purchase the item – all within the Twitter app! In retrospect, this probably means whilst all social media platforms offer similar features, they still need to fight against one another to stay relevant and remain somewhat unique all whilst pushing the social media trends. 

 

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Festive Social Media Ads Guide

December 6, 2021 Maya Benabdelhadi eCommerce, Holiday sales, Small business  

With BFCM planning out of the way, it’s now time to focus on your Christmas social strategy. Facebook ads are a strong asset to your multi-channel marketing strategy during the holiday season and we are here to guide you to creating a successful holiday campaign. Gifting season means holiday marketing campaigns everywhere you look. It is important to create a campaign that cuts through the noise and delights your customers. Our festive social media ads guide outlines 4 key steps to help you stand out from the crowd.

 

1 – Identify your Goals

In identifying your key goals for your holiday campaign, you can address these and work to overcome any challenges you may face. Your goals might be along the lines of:

  • Creating a sense of community around your holiday campaign. 
  • Driving new customers to your offering.
  • Increasing sales by 40%.

Once you have laid out your expectations, you will be able to more easily manage your campaign and measure its success.

 

2 – Define your offering

Before you start building anything, it is key to define what you will be offering to your customers. For example, will you be bundling any of your products into the perfect gifting set, offering free shipping on all orders or pushing gift wrapping as an add on at checkout? You can then communicate these in the creative of your ads at the appropriate stages of the funnel.

It is important to note that you don’t always need to include a discount or add-on, you can also look at strategies including partnering with a charitable organisation whereby a percentage of the purchase goes to the selected charity. Work towards an offering that most aligns with your goals.

 

3 – Develop strong ad creative

In their 2021 Holiday Marketing Guide, Facebook identified four key needs of holiday shoppers:

  • Community and Connection;
  • Engagement and Entertainment;
  • Anticipation and Occasion;
  • Inspiration and Spontaneity.

Develop your ads with these key needs in mind. You want to create something that makes your audience feel something, communicates your brand values and captures your brand voice and identity. Check out a few of our favourite holiday marketing campaigns, which harness these needs and might inspire your approach.

 

Apple’s ‘Make someones Holiday’ campaign gives us all the feels.

Disney: From our family to yours.

 

4 – Launch as early as possible and remember to test, test, test. 

When creating and launching your ads make sure to test different copy variations and creatives at different stages of the funnel to define what your audience reacts best to. Alongside your copy variations, test different ad formats including videos, carousels and still images. This approach will allow you to optimise upon what works best among your customers and maximise results.

If you are an eCommerce brand, make sure to update your product catalogue and test collection ads and dynamic ads to help you maximise results. Make sure you work hard to define and understand your buyer persona and what they are looking for this holiday season to deliver them a winning social ads campaign!

Remember: Don’t just rely on Facebook ads this holiday season

We know that social ads are a strong approach to driving web visits and conversions. However, don’t sell yourself short and miss potential sales through other channels. It is best practice to pursue an omni-channel marketing strategy which nurtures new and existing customers. 

 

Looking for some help in developing your social ads strategy this holiday season and into the new year? Feel free to reach out to me at [email protected], to find out how we can help you!

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