Improving Social Media Communications
Because 43% of all online consumers are either fans or followers, ExactTarget advises that brand marketers must not only know where to establish a social media presence, but how to communicate with consumers once there. The company recommends balancing entertainment, information and deals in social media communications, cross-promoting programs across different social media platforms and email, aligning cross-platform promotional tone and content, and blending messages to appeal to multiple age demographics.
Timing is Critical in Email Campaigns
Timing in an email marketing campaign, that is, deciding on what day and what time of day, to hit the send button is as important as actually crafting the message and selecting which segmented group of customers will receive it, according to social network Gather.
The overall consensus from numerous studies show that mail sent on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays has the best chance of being opened, according to Gather. But more thought should go into a send decision than that, Gather said.
For example, Monday is a good day because after a long weekend, many email users make it a priority to organize their inboxes. “This means there is a good chance that they will run across your message and open it,” according to a recent Gather blog post.
About the Data: This study was conducted in two phases. Phase I occurred in March 2010, with 44 people participating in three different types of focus groups: a moderated 3-day online discussion board, 90-minute real-time chat room discussions, and 90-minute video focus groups using webcams. Phase II was fielded from April 9-13, 2010 through a MarketTools TrueSample online panel and completed by 1,506 US respondents, aged 15 and older, and stratified by age so that each age bracket contained no less than 200 responses.