2010 saw a sharp rise in social media marketing. In fact, some companies chose to abandon email marketing altogether in 2010. However, most businesses choose to use both social media and email marketing campaigns. Email marketing is changing, and 2011 will require people to make adjustments in order to stay competitive.
Email marketing will need to combine with elements of social media in this new year. The Facebook email platform will make the merger of social media and email marketing easier this year. Email vendors are also offering social tools and ISP’s are making inbox’s more social. However, there are ways that marketers can effectively blend the different platforms.
Consumers do not expect to have the same experience with social media as they do with email. Customers anticipate emails to contain coupons or promotional offers. Social media campaigns should be more inventive. People do not use social media to reread information that they get in their emails. They want to have the option to interact with the social media options.
There are different ways to connect social media and email marketing. For example, promote social media in emails, and make promotions available to customers on Facebook who subscribe to email. Provide links between social media and emails. It is also a good idea to allow followers to embed content from the company’s social media into their own blogs and social media pages.
Marketing in 2011 will require a shift from online marketing to mobile device marketing. It is important to link to the different mobile apps in social media when it is available. When preparing for a mobile marketing device campaign, the first step is to master the medium. Make sure that the mobile marketing works with all the available technology, regardless of the advertising method.
Focus on ways to adjust the marketing campaign to fit the needs of the target audience. Begin with a single marketing method in mobile device marketing such as a single banner add, and consider ways to include interactive components. Video and audio segments are also useful for drawing and keeping the attention of consumers.
