Week 8 - Digital Marketing

Offering value to mobile users does two things:

1. It helps to build up relationships and, as a result, loyalty and, it uses the principle of reciprocity. 2. If you give consumers something, they are more likely to be willing to give something back.

White list

A list of accepted email addresses that an ISP, a subscriber or other email service provider allows to deliver messages regardless of spam filter settings.

Sender ID

A method used by major ISPs to confirm that an email does originate from the domain that it claims to have been sent from.

Call to action (CTA)

A phrase written to motivate the reader to take action such assign up for our newsletter or book car hire today

Email service provider (ESP)

A service that helps you design and send emails.

Footer

A standard footer for emails helps to build consistency and is the customary place to keep the contact details of the company sending the email. At the very least, this should include the name, physical address and contact email of the company. It can also include the privacy policy of the sender or even extra copy to reinforce branding. One way to grow the email list is to add a 'forward to a friend' link in the footer or, more commonly, social media buttons. The most important part of the footer is a clear unsubscribe link.

Customer relationship management (CRM)

A strategy for managing a company's interactions with clients and potential clients. It often makes use oftechnology to automate the sales, marketing, customer service and technical processes of an organization

Opt-out

Also known as unsubscribe. The act of removing oneself from a list or lists so that specified information is no longer received via email.

Internet Protocol (IP) Address

An exclusive number that is used to represent every single computer in a network.

Return on investment (ROI)

The ratio of profit to cost

Business-to-consumers (B2C)

When businesses sell products or services to consumers.

Business-to-business (B2B)

When businesses sell products or services to other businesses and not to consumers.

To make sure that your email marketing efforts are continually improving, it's important to test your campaigns. The most common form of direct marketing testing is to conduct an A/B split test. This is a test that involves sending one version of your newsletter or SMS to a specified percentage of your database, while sending a modified version to the remainder of your database. Some factors to test include:

• Open and response rates across different subject lines, calls to action and delivery times • Optimal number of links in an email for clickthrough rates and conversions. • Different copy styles and copy length • The effect of video on delivery rates, open rates and conversions for email and MMS • Balance of text and image ratio.

Useful KPIs include:

• Open rate • Clickthrough rate • Number of emails forwarded • ROI • Number of social shares • Database growth • Conversion rate (activity on your site generated by the email) • Delivery or bounce rate.

You have a few options for digital direct marketing:

• Promotional emails • Newsletters • Transactional emails • SMS marketing.

Here are some best practice tips for sign-up forms:

• Put the sign-up form where it can be seen, above the fold and on every page. • State your anti-spam stance explicitly and be clear that you value subscribers' privacy. • Clearly state what the subscriber's information will be used for. • Use a clear call to action. • Include a benefit statement. Tell subscribers what they will get and how often they will get it. • Ensure the email address or phone number is correct by checking the syntax. • Test to see what works best!

Personalized greeting

With a database that has the capability to store readers' names, it is possible to personalize the greeting of the email. "Hi, Kim Morgan" can elicit far better responses than "Dear Valued Customer", but it is possible to create a greeting with personality without personalizing it. Occasionally, the subject line can be personalized as well to boost responses.

The power comes from the fact that it is:

• Extremely cost effective due to a low cost per contact • Highly targeted • Customizable on a mass scale • Completely measurable.

Subject line

The subject line may be the most important part of an email! Subject lines help the reader to identify the email and entice them to open it. The subject line is also scrutinized by spam filters, so you should avoid using unusual characters, for example, '#2$%&^^%###' or '!!!!!'. Emojis such as smiley faces or hearts can sometimes work, you'd need to test to see what works for you.

Hard bounce

The failed delivery of email communication due to an undeviating reason like a non-existent address.

Header

The header is the colorful banner or image that is included in many emails. This often contains the logo, which is important for branding, as well as a CTA or image t catch the recipient's attention. Not every email will have a header, but these do provide added impact.

Open rate

The percentage of emails determined as opened out of the total number of emails sent.

Preheader

The preheader is a line or two of text displayed above your email header. Most commonly, it's the line of text that will redirect you to 'View online'. Where possible, try including your call to action in the preheader. This could be difficult, given the limited space but it does ensure that every recipient, even those who don't necessarily open the email, but who view only the preheader within the preview pane or inbox, will still be exposed to it.

There are some important factors to consider when choosing an SMS/MMS provider. Here are some key questions to ask about any potential service provider:

Can you pre-check cell numbers with networks and carriers to find out which numbers are MMS-enabled? • How does the reporting work? What can you measure? • Do they optimize the MMS for the screen size of the phone? • How good are their creative services? Make sure you see some examples of previous work to assess their skills. • Do they provide and manage an opt-out service? • What are the personalization options?

The technology of direct marketing allows for mass customization; it is one-to-one marketing on a macro scale. Even simple personalization can see improved results.

Customization covers everything from using the recipient's name, to sending the correct email version to their device, to sophisticated measurement of a recipient's preferences and tailoring content to suit them. This is even more important for SMS marketing, where content that doesn't interest the reader can actively damage their relationship with your brand.

Domain name system (DNS)

DNS converts a domain name into an IP address. DomainKeys, an email authentication system designed to verify the DNS domain of an email sender and the message integrity.

The Call to Action

Email design should support the calls to action. For your campaign to be effective, your goals and KPIs should be supported by the email layout and design. Calls to action can be hyperlinked text (also called text links), or can be images which look like buttons. Don't forget though, that if images are blocked, your buttons will be blocked too.

Spam

Email sent to someone who has not requested or given authorization to receive it - EVIL!

Opt-in

Giving permission for emails to be sent to you.

Soft bounce

The failed delivery of an email due to a deviating reason like an overloaded email inbox or a server failure.

Database

In email marketing, the database is the list of prospects to which emails are sent. It also contains additional information pertinent to the prospects

Unsubscribe link

In many countries, it is mandatory to have an unsubscribe link on all commercial emails. In best practice terms, you should also include a link for managing subscription preferences - this lets the receiver decide exactly which emails they receive from you, rather than opting them out from all of your email marketing.

Transactional emails are generally automated emails that inform customers of payments, subscriptions, or changes to their account. This category can also include confirmation email or reminders.

Text messages can be used in much the same way as a promotional or transactional email; to let the customer know about products or specials, deliver coupons, or send transactional reminders.

Alt Text

The 'alt' attribute for the IMG HTML tag. It is used in HTML to attribute a text field to an image on a web page, normally with a descriptive function, telling a user what an image is about and displaying the text in instances where the image is unable to load. Also called alt tag.

Double opt-in

The act of getting subscribers to confirm their initial subscription via a follow-up email asking them to validate their address and hence opt-in again.

Internet service provider (ISP)

The company providing you access to the Internet, for example, MWEB, AOL and Yahoo!.

Clickthrough rate

The total clicks on a link divided by the number of times that link was shown, expressed as a percentage.

Sender information

This includes the 'to', 'from' and 'reply to' fields. These are opportunities to build a relationship through creating a perception of familiarity. In other words, the reader needs to perceive that the newsletter is somewhat unique and sent personally by the publisher. Using a personalized company email address, for example, trevor@ company.com, for the 'reply' field creates familiarity and builds trust with the reader provided the name is recognizable.

Body

This is where the content of the email goes. Don't be tempted to use too many images; they can increase the size of the email and obscure text when images do not load. Be sure that text can be read without an image being loaded. The structure must allow readers to scan and navigate the email easily. Short paragraphs, emphasis through bolding and colors, as well as sectioning information with bullets and borders all contribute to a well-structured email.

Unique forwarders

This refers to the number of individuals who forwarded a specific email on

SMS messages need to be timed even better, given that they will be delivered immediately to a device the consumer is carrying with them. Best times for delivery will vary depending on type, according to SMS Global (2016).

• General marketing messages should be sent between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m or 2:30-3:30 p.m. • Appointment reminders should be sent 24 hours and/or directly after the appointment is made. • Weekend sales and special events reminders should be sent on Thursdays or on the morning of the event.

There are some important questions to ask when choosing an email service provider:

• How easy is it to use? This is important if you are managing the campaigns yourself. • Can you upload and migrate the contact list? It's important that you own your lists. • Is the process self-service or managed? • How does the reporting work? • What is their deliverability like? • Are they endorsed by email and deliverability authorities, such as Return Path or Trust-e? • Do they adhere to best practices for direct marketing? • How is the data stored, processed and secured? Who owns it?

Growing this database while keeping it targeted is a key factor in any direct marketing campaign. The database need have only one entry, the prospect's email or phone number, but the following should also be considered:

• Name, surname and title • Date permission granted • Source of permission • Gender • Country • Date of birth • Phone number or email (depending on which you already have) • Frequency (how often they'd like to hear from you).

Key measurables for understanding the performance of direct marketing campaigns include:

• Number of emails or SMSs delivered (delivery rate) • Number of bounces (this should be separated into hard bounces and soft bounces) • Number of unique opens: a message can be delivered, but not opened • Unsubscribes: significant or consistent loss in subscribers is a key indication you are not meeting the needs of your subscribers. • Pass-on rate: a high pass-on rate (forwards) indicates that your customers value the content enough to share it constantly with others. Adding a sign-up link to forwarded emails will organically grow the opt-in list. • Clickthrough rates and conversion: these measure the effectiveness of a message via the links placed in the content. When a reader clicks through to a web page, these can be easily measured as a percentage against the number of delivered, opened or sent emails. It reveals which content or promotion was the most enticing for the reader.

Every interaction can be used to ask permission to send marketing material, though some work better for email than mobile.

• Offer something valuable (i.e. white paper, gift voucher, music track) and ask them to sign up to your email newsletter at the same time. • Add a newsletter subscribe box to the checkout process of your retail site. • Use interactions at trade shows to ask for email addresses and possibly phone numbers. • Ask for email addresses or phone numbers in-store. • Call out your email campaign on your social networks and link through to your subscription form. • Users will often submit their phone number and email address to enter a competition

SMS messages can offer:

• Special offers and discounts • Information • Time-dependent discounts • Celebrations • Contests • Trivia or voting • Reminders.

Examples of what to test:

• Subject lines (for email) • Send times • Best day to send • Layout • Text vs. button links • Database segmentation • Call to Action • Copy differences (for SMS).

Structuring an SMS involves considerably fewer considerations than writing an email. Keep in mind:

• The core concern for SMS writing is that they are limited to 160 characters, which means the hardest part of writing one is finding a way to convey your core message with very limited space. • Part of your SMS needs to be dedicated to offering an opt-out option so that users feel in control of the communications. • Because the mobile phone is so personal, sending relevant, targeted SMS messages is imperative. Make sure that your mobile opt-in database is very carefully segmented; 200 subscribers who actually want to hear from you are far more valuable than 2 000 who feel annoyed or harassed by your messages. • Think about when you send your messages, are they being sent at a time that is relevant to your customer? If you are sending a sales promotion message, are you sending it at 6 a.m. in the middle of the month, or at 10 a.m. on a weekend after payday? • Make sure that if your SMS includes a next step such as clicking through to a website, the landing page is mobile-optimized.

The most important things to keep in mind when designing an email for mobile are:

• The screen is a lot smaller, so your content must be easy to skim with clear calls to action • Inputs can vary, with touchscreens being the most common. This means that users are likely to tap with their fingers instead of click with a mouse. It is important to space links far enough apart that they don't accidentally tap on the wrong one, creating a frustrating user experience.

Tips for designing for the preview pane:

• There is no set width and we reiterate that testing is the way to go. A width of 600px works best for preview pane display (HubSpot, 2016). • Ensure that plain, email-friendly fonts are used toward the top of your email in order to ensure that the first text encountered is properly displayed. • Consider carefully what images you display in the top section of your email and test displays accordingly. • Placing your logo prominently in the top left of your email can ensure optimal brand recognition and exposure. • Try to include your call to action in the area displayed in the preview pane. That way, even if subscribers choose not to read your email, they'll still see your primary message. • Some successful email templates use the area likely to be seen in the preview pane to provide a table of contents for the email. Users know what they can look forward to when opening the email.

Promotional emails will usually have an immediate goal:

• Users make a purchase • Users download some content • Users request further information.