Top tips for social media management during Covid-19 and beyond As New Zealand, along with the rest of the world, comes to terms with the Covid-19 pandemic, there’s never been a more pertinent time to harness the power of social media for your business.
HOW TO WRITE LIKE A PRO FOR YOUR ONLINE BUSINESS So the time has come for you to learn how to write like a pro for your online business. Just about anybody can string a sentence together, but doing it well is a completely different story. The good news is, Southern PR’s been doing it…
QUEENSTOWN WINTER CONTENT 2019 The countdown to Queenstown’s 2019 ski season is on so we’ve compiled our five top tips for Queenstown Winter Content 2019. Destination Queenstown launched its winter 2019 campaign into the Australian market earlier than ever in 2018 to ensure our destination remained top of mind for travellers booking their next epic…
Best photography and videography apps of 2018 We attended a Business Building Block session with Chris Gillman Gable last week to unlock the power of our smartphones. After the session, SPR’s Carlie was inspired to try them out for herself so here’s a summary of the best photography and videography apps 2018. Smartphone cameras continue…
Sticking your head above the parapet can be a scary moment. People shoot at you. It’s tempting, in business, to want to stay in your cosy castle, keep your head down, and avoid looking for anyone out there threatening the castle walls. But then there are those businesses that WANT to stand out. The ones…
They’re the ones that aren’t afraid to try new things. To stand on that parapet, wave the flag and lead the charge.
Playing safe, simply holding your ground, can sometimes be the riskier position. If you don’t stick your head above the parapet, how can you shoot back? People might want to take pot shots at you anyway, sometimes from behind your back.
Which brings us neatly to the 2018 Westpac Queenstown Business Excellence Awards.
Every two years our local Chamber of Commerce invites businesses large or small, new or old, to poke their head above the parapet.
And it’s not as scary as that might seem.
Entering the awards delivers some very real benefits to you and your business – from the self-assessment process and the boost in profile and team morale. You might be chosen as a finalist, maybe even win your category, or you might not.
Even if you don’t make it to the Gala Awards Dinner, going through the process of entering the awards is worth the energy and effort, because it forces you to evaluate your business from an outsiders’ perspective. Three judges are going to assess your business success based on your replies to a number of very specific questions.
Any Queenstown Lakes business can enter the awards, and it’s free to do so.
There are multiple benefits of entering, not least because you have to:
Time spent on your business is never a waste of time – whether you win or not.
The awards questions have been fine-tuned over the years to make the playing field as level as possible for a range of businesses, whether you’re a hole-in-the-wall hospo operation or a large corporate entity.
Usually they go along these lines:
When the structure of the awards entry is so well defined, it’s relatively easy to break down what you should be addressing in your answers.
Thinking of entering the awards but not too sure where to start?
We’ve been in the communications business for over 24 years and we’ve helped many companies, big and small, break through the competition and come out on top! Our winner and finalist list is long and includes the likes of MAXRaft, Landmark Homes, JUCY, Partners in Grime and Ziptrek Eco Tours just to name a few.
Executing a timely, concise and enticing award entry is half the challenge and we’d love to help you shine. We can help with anything from proof-reading, answering a specific question or writing your entire entry.
We’re the wordsmiths you want on your side – we know business, we know tourism and we know what judges want to see and hear. So, put your head above the parapet and let your business shine.
Southern PR will run our popular series of workshops to help businesses shine the spotlight on their own business practices and put their “best foot forward” with their entry. The workshops will take place on Wednesday August 8 at 4-5pm, Friday August 10 at 8-9am and Wednesday August 15 at 8-9am. Please get in touch to reserve your spot.
Social media – it’s all-seeing and all-powerful but can be an almighty waste of time and money if you dive in without a plan. To reap the rewards of social media you need to build a clear strategy outlining goals, audience, competition and content. We’ve put together an easy six-step social media strategy to get…
Make SMART goals.
Like any business plan the first step to creating a social media strategy is to establish goals, giving you the ability to measure your success and return on investment.
Pro Tip: Align your social media goals with your overall business and marketing strategy to show some more ‘old school’ execs the true value of social media.
Each of your goals should be:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-bound
Broad business goal: to grow my business.
Social media SMART goal: I will acquire 300 new followers on Instagram within two months by engaging with followers, running a paid Instagram advertising campaign and networking with local businesses. This will enable me to grow my business and increase my revenue.
For your social media strategy start by assessing your business goals and writing a social media SMART goal to align with each one.
It may seem simple, but do you really know who your audience is and where they’re active online? Is your Facebook audience different to your Instagram audience?
Knowing what your audience wants to see on social media is key to a successful social media strategy. You need to craft content that appeals to your specific audience, so they’ll like, comment on and share your posts.
Most social media platforms offer great (and free – YAY!) analytic tools that show detailed insights about your audience. Familiarise yourself with their age, location and when they’re most active online to create ‘personas’. These personas will help you visualise your audience as real people (rather than numbers) and help you cater to their actual interests, passions and needs.
It’s time to start gathering data.
Competition
You probably already know who your key competitors are so take the time to assess/stalk (it’s not creepy when it’s for work) their social media channels. Some things to note:
Choose three key competitors and complete a SWOT analysis to help you understand your competitive advantage and how you can ‘outplay’ your competitors online.
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Pro Tip: use competitors as your inspiration, but don’t copy. Chances are they have you listed as a competitor too, so remember you still need to be unique and authentic with your posts!
Conduct a brief social media audit
Perform a social media audit to review what’s working and what needs improvement on your social media channels.
There’s lots of paid social media tools out there to make auditing a breeze, but here’s the basics that everyone can do (set up a spreadsheet to keep all your data in one place):
Social listening
If you’re serious about your social media strategy, investing in social listening software can save you time and money. Platforms such as HootSuite, Sprout Social, Zoho Social, Mention, Meltwater etc make social listening a breeze and can help you track trends, monitor competitors and compile data among many other handy tools. Each platform has pros and cons, so do your research before committing to buy.
Build a mission statement for each of your social media platforms. This enables you to take the data collected above and create a short statement that outlines exactly who we are and what we do.
Follow this format:
[Business name’s] [social media platform] is where [audience] finds [content] to [benefit].
Pro Tip: this should be brief, where we went into detail above about audience and content, here we need to rein it in.
Building company: Bob Builder’s Facebook page is where local Queenstown homeowners find inspiring images and video content to help plan for their new home.
Cafe: Corner Café’s Instagram is where young New Zealand-based foodies and coffee lovers find fun, creative and colourful images that inspire them to visit and encourage ‘regramming’.
Mum blogger: Diana’s Diary Facebook page is where young mums across the world find helpful tips and funny anecdotes to encourage conversation and engagement with each other.
Bank: Frank’s Financial LinkedIn profile is where entrepreneurs and business owners find useful information, advice, insights, resources and inspiration for running and growing their businesses.
It’s time to start building your content calendar.
Creating great content is essential but it’s equally important to have a plan in place for when you’ll share content to get the maximum impact. Make a calendar that details:
Make sure your content and calendar reflect the mission statement you’ve assigned to each social profile so that everything you post is working to support your business goals.
Keep your content aligned with your audience, always ask yourself who the content is for, and how they should interact with it.
Pro Tip: As a rule, 80% of your content should be fun, informative or entertaining and only 20% should directly promote your brand.
Hurrah! You have a stellar social media calendar, followers have quadrupled, videos have gone viral and your boss gives you a high five every morning!
This hasn’t happened for you yet? Don’t worry, you probably won’t get your social media strategy 100% right on the first try (this happens with all business plans), simply monitor what works and adjust your strategy accordingly. Continue with your social media auditing, schedule in weekly, monthly or quarterly as desired and re-evaluate your SMART goals.
Sounds like a lot of work? The truth is, building a successful social strategy isn’t a five-minute job, and in today’s online world it’s one of the most effective marketing tools around. Need a hand? Get in touch to find out how we can help create a tailored social media strategy for your business!
Let’s talk Instagram Stories. Most of us watch them, but do you use them for your business? With over one billion monthly active users*, Instagram’s popularity and growth continues to skyrocket. As savvy business owners, we need to stay ahead of trends and learn to communicate with our audience on their level. One of Instagram’s…
It’s important to acknowledge that your audience wants to see two very different things from your Instagram. Firstly, they want to see an ‘on-brand’, gorgeous, well-thought-out feed.
Secondly, they want to see an ‘insider’s perspective’, something the average person won’t see. Because Instagram Stories only last for 24 hours, businesses can present an unembellished, real-life look at what goes on behind the scenes.
Since Instagram updated their algorithm in late 2017, it’s much harder for your brand to be found if you only post to your feed. Stories on the other hand always appear at the top of a follower’s feed and helps your brand remain visible. Popular Stories also appear at the top of the Explore page, and if you’ve tagged a location it appears in location-based Stories automatically compiled by Instagram, helping your profile gain an even wider reach.
They’re called Instagram Stories for a reason. If you’re boring, people won’t come back to your feed for more.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
Behind the scenes – Show your business has real people with personalities. Give your audience an insider view into your brand, who are you and what you represent.
Use stories to get real-time feedback – Question your followers about a new product or idea using Instagram’s poll feature. This provides you with live feedback and makes your audience feel valued.
Collaborate with other brands – Find likeminded brands and work together on a project, event or giveaway.
Create live tutorials – Use your Stories to give advice, make ‘how-to’ slideshows or answer FAQ’s.
Try an Instagram takeover – Hand over your Instagram account to someone else for a day or two. This could be your CEO or a special guest (think influencers, local photographers etc). This gives a different voice to your account and shows a new and exciting perspective.
Take your e-commerce to the next level – Bring your ‘shop-able’ looks to life using your Stories. With Instagram’s rollout of new Shopping Tags, which enable businesses to link to their website using price and description tags, you should be looking at how to best optimise your e-commerce capabilities.
Back in December 2017, Instagram released a new ‘Highlights’ feature that has changed the way people interact with the platform. It enables you to select a series of Stories and feature them below the bio section of your profile.
NOTE: THIS IS SIGNIFICANT FOR BUSINESSES!
Instagram Stories Highlights gives you the ability to have unlimited links for an unlimited time in your bio (a clear departure from the 24-hour Stories format we have previously seen). This means you can now direct your followers to any number of external pages like your website, an event, other channels etc, through a simple tap.
The placement of Story Highlights allows you to go beyond the 150 of character limit of your bio to show people what your account is all about and why it’s worth a ‘follow’.
Here’s some ideas on how to use Highlights:
Airbnb’s Interactive Quizzes
Airbnb’s Travel Tuesday series showcases user-generated content from Instagram to provide its followers with inspirational travel ideas. Rather than just posting the pictures, Airbnb transforms each photograph into an interactive quiz. By incorporating user-generated images and polls into their stories, Airbnb increases engagement and creates ways to measure their followers’ interests at the same time.
E! News’ Snappy Stories
E! News keep their followers updated on the latest celebrity drama by sharing news stories directly on Instagram Stories. These ‘short but sweet’ news blasts meet the needs of their target audience, who may not want to read a full article, but always want to be on top of the latest celebrity news.
NASA’s Behind the Scenes Pass
NASA uses their Instagram Stories to share ‘behind the scenes’ news and information. They provide background stories, additional information, research and visuals that complement their regular Instagram posts, giving their followers a ‘backstage pass’ to the inner workings of NASA.
Instagram is constantly evolving and keeping your pulse on new trends and tools is vital to creating a successful social media strategy.
Understand the importance but don’t know where to start? We’ve added an Instagram Stories Workshop to our portfolio, so if you think your business would benefit upskilling in Stories then get in touch today.
*Statistic from Social Media Today
So you’ve developed a successful business and got yourself a brand. But as that business has evolved and grown, whether you’ve been going for two years or twenty, are you effectively communicating your brand story to your audience? You might be thinking “why do I need to do that?”.
Because brand storytelling is pretty much the most important tool in your toolbox when it comes to telling the full story about your business – who you are, what you do and why people should care.
If you’re a start-up it can help shape your culture, and if you’ve been in business a while, your marketing team should use it to help attract long-term consumer engagement and drive buying behaviour.
For starters you need to understand some branding basics, like the difference between a logo, a brand identity and a brand — all very different things, but equally important when maintaining a successful business.
Think about it in terms of YOU.
Your logo is your name, or nickname.
Your clothes, how you walk and talk – that’s your identity.
Your personality (how people talk about you) is your brand.
Once you’re sure you have your ‘brand-self’ down pat, think about how you’re going to convey your personality in such a way that your target market (your customers) buy into you and your brand.
If you want to share your brand story on the local, national or world stage, you need to:
Ask yourself what’s special and unique about your business. How do you craft your story and tailor it to different customers and target markets? Think about ways to tell a story around how your customers will benefit by using your product or having your experience.
That’s why Coke makes ads about family bonding and happiness rather than the taste of their drinks because they’re emotionally engaging their viewers.
Find your own ‘clean air’, a niche topic or line of conversation or advice no-one else owns, or a new angle on something no-one else has said.
In a nutshell, be more interesting. And more appealing.
It’s all very well to have a business strategy that’s all about the dollars and cents, but what does your ‘creative’ plan look like?
When planning your strategy ask yourself what makes you authentic, unique and in demand?
Start by defining your story, core values and point of difference and use them as a foundation to build your strategy and key messages from the ground up.
Think about creating or finding your brand ambassadors — it may take time, but reaps huge rewards, simply because it’s someone else telling your story and advocating for your business rather than you giving your audience the hard sell.
Your creative strategy should work in tandem with any marketing or business development plans in terms of language, tone and timing.
Case Study: The Southern PR re-brand
Last year we ‘took stock’ of our own company and decided we needed a brand re-fresh that came with an injection of colour and creativity.
We’re a well-established, 24-year-old brand known throughout New Zealand, so we weren’t about to throw the baby out with the bath water.
After starting out with a brand that was strongly connected to the first two directors, a few years ago we stepped away from the ‘names on the door’ approach and re-branded as Southern PR.
Southern PR’s brand proudly reflects our place in the South Island, and in the Southern Hemisphere.
In 2017 we decided our brand needed a younger, fresher approach to talk to our target audience. We asked ourselves a range of questions to determine what we wanted, our target market, the purpose of our website, our social channels and our priorities and how our storytelling was going to change accordingly.
We love our new brand and so do our clients. We like nothing better than to ‘tell the stories’ of our people, our clients and our business success through a wider range of channels.
We do that in a much more visual way – through Instagram Stories, Pinterest, videos and the like, because that’s how people absorb content these days.
So if you’d like a download on how brand storytelling might help your business, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
With over 250 billion social media users, 2018 is already another busy year for online trends and updates. We’ve summarised five social media trends that your business MUST be paying attention to in 2018. Think experiential, think bots, think interaction…
With over 250 million monthly users, Instagram Stories were the fastest-growing social platform of 2017 and they’re our number one social media trend to implement in your strategy for 2018.
According to KPCB’s 2018 Internet Trends Report the average daily time spent on Instagram is 28 minutes, compared to 15 minutes in the pre-stories era.
KPCB also found that one in five stories from a brand will result in a direct message.
With these statistics it’s easy to see why Instagram Stories should be at the top of your priority list.
Thanks to social media’s (particularly Facebook’s) constantly changing algorithms, organic reach from branded material is consistently decreasing across all platforms.
Brands such as BMW, Starbucks and Adobe are using user-generated content to combat this decline. These posts not only increase reach but also drive higher engagement rate between brands and their customers.
The KPCB report said user-generated content re-posted by brands created seven times higher engagement rates than branded content.
The study also showed that social media users are seven times more likely to trust user-generated content, and 56% of them are more likely to buy a product after seeing that content.
So, if you’re not currently using user-generated content in your 2018 social media plan, it’s time to re-think your strategy.
We all know how reliant we are on our smartphones. For many of us, especially in the communications industry, it’s glued to our hands 24/7.
Interestingly, Facebook recently conducted a study that showed 94% of participants had their smart phone in their hand when watching TV. The results also showed that viewers focused on the TV screen just 53% of the time, and one of the top reasons they looked away was to use their phones.
With 94% of Facebook users and 82% of Twitter users primarily using the mobile app, it’s clear that ‘we’re mobile’ and that’s only the beginning!
As such, in 2018 it’s important to ensure our content, websites and links are as mobile friendly as possible.
According to a recent study by Business Insider, more people are now using the top four social messaging apps – WhatsApp, Messenger, WeChat and Viber – than the top four social media apps of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
The popularity of ‘dark social’ has been on a steady rise over the past three years and shows no sign of slowing down.
If social media has been a great opportunity for businesses, then social messaging cannot be ignored, especially when our last social media trend of 2018 is chat bots!
With the increase of social messaging, social bots are also on the rise. A study by Business Insider showed a major increase in chat bots, from 33,000 to 100,000 on Facebook’s Messenger alone.
The same study also showed that 80% of marketing managers are already using or plan to use chat bots by 2020, and with chat bots increasing workplace productivity by up to three times, it’s easy to see why bots are becoming the communicator of choice for businesses.
With voice and bots here to stay, define what ‘experience’ you should be creating for your audience.
Don’t have time to keep up with all the latest online trends? Well, its’s our job to identify social media trends and keep our clients at the top of their social media game. Get in touch.
Aaaaaaaaand…. that’s a wrap. Our cosy office in the heart of Frankton is all locked up and ready for some peace and quiet this silly season! With 2018 just around the corner, we thought it was timely to summarise what we loved most about 2017. It’s been a big year – a year of change,…
1 > Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
For her stringent citizen test and love of pineapple lumps. Oh and girl power. The fact she loves cats. For inspiring our daughters. For showing Gareth Morgan that voters can, indeed, “be that thick”. And look what happened to him, eh? (Image: ZM Online)
2 > Rebranding Southern PR
Our clients rely on us to protect their reputations and build their brands, and 2017 was our year for the brand revamp. Practice what you preach!
So we took the leap, and what came next was truly spectacular, thanks to the creative team at Whitelaw Mitchell.
We said hello to our new bright Pantone colours (mixed with a healthy balance of black), geometric shapes, and fonts to match. We love it. Hope you do too.
3 > Launching our savvy new website
With our cool new look, the next step was a website to match. We came out of the dark ages and transitioned into the digital imperatives of a responsive and mobile-friendly website, with visitor experience top of mind.
Missed it? Here’s 6 ‘must-know’ facts about our website launch.
4 > Coffee
It simply gets our creative juices flowing. Thanks to our new KeepCups we’re saving the planet one coffee at a time.
We feel good, anyway.
5 > Kiwi golfer Michael Hendry – king of the course
Hendry was the first New Zealander in 14 years to win the Brodie Breeze trophy, and what a celebration it was!
He’s back to defend his crown for the 99th ISPS Handa New Zealand Open at Millbrook Resort and The Hills on 1 to 4 March 2018. See you there! (Image: New Zealand Open)
6 > Planet Earth
A tribute to Sir David Attenborough.
He’s taken us closer to nature than we’ve ever been before and if the Hans Zimmer sound track isn’t enough to keep you on the edge of your seat, the penguins jumping off the cliff will tug at your heart strings…
7 > Award-winning us
Back in August, we were named top public relations agency in Australasia at the Australasian Leisure Management Communications and Marketing Awards.
It was incredibly exciting to be recognised for the work we do throughout Australasia in the tourism and leisure sectors.
8 > Our family of clients making a world of difference
Our clients? They’re awesome. Do we need to say anything else? Highlights of the year, as always.
9 > Rabbit Ranch Pinot Noir Rosé and peonies!
Pass the pink stuff! This heavenly pink is our favourite rosé for 2017, and spring is our favourite season for the simple fact that extravagantly beautiful peonies become a must-have in our office.
10 > Hello Christchurch
Our savvy little company branched out into Christchurch this year. Starting with a bang, we worked on the PR launch for the new Crowne Plaza Christchurch. (Image: Designworks)
11 > Moving Mountains
Back in March we secured a 12-page spread for our client Southern Landmarx in NZ House and Garden. Yes, 12 pages. A fantastic result off the back of a double medal trifecta award win.
12 > Brain Food
With an unstoppable energy for delivering morning to night experiences, the Yonder team is rightfully winning the hearts of locals by offering something new in Queenstown.
Our favourite on the menu – the Kimchi Bowl. (Image: Whitelaw Mitchell)
13 > Networking
There’s nothing we love more than connecting with Queenstown’s vibrant business community. We’re lucky to have so many inspiring people and entrepreneurial masterminds on our doorstep.
Every event or breakfast meeting is an opportunity to ‘wow’ people with our snazzy square business cards. Who said print was dead? Make an impact.
14 > Upskilling
Don’t get left behind. Invest in your business and your people.
We’re delighted to be working with Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRINZ) to help bring more communications-based courses to Queenstown.
Our little resort town can sometimes be ‘off the radar’ due to our ‘remote’ location, so join us for a two-day course early next year to learn how to master communication and gain skills for the digital era. View course details here.
15 > Supporting culture in Queenstown
Yes we love all our clients. But we love LUMA differently because they don’t pay us. That’s because they put all the money they DO get into this awesome event that’s growing bigger by the year. We’re OK with that. (Image: Esther Small)
16 > Reputation management
Reputation is key. Knowing what to do when things go wrong (and they do) is all about having a plan. We sincerely hope you never have to use your plan. But when the s**t hits the proverbial you better have one. Talk to us.
17 > Clay Target Shooting
There’s something really, really satisfying about shooting stuff (bad day at the office, anyone?). That’s shooting clays and rabbits (clay discs of course)! We just channelled our inner sharpshooter thanks to the wonderful team at Break One Clay Target Shooting.
Amidst the stunning landscape on the private Queenstown Hill Station, Fiona revealed her ‘wild side’ and took home top score at our office Christmas party! (Image: Break One)
And there you have it, happy holidays and see you in 2018.
We’re looking into two of our favourite W’s – the what and why – in our latest blog to inspire you to think outside the box when creating content marketing strategy for 2018. Whatever the channel, it’s all about curating timely, well thought-out and attention-grabbing stories that tick all the boxes for the editor or…
We’ve attended a number of seminars since September including the Auckland-based Social Media Conference NZ and Destination Queenstown’s (DQ) Queenstown Week Insights Programme. Huge thanks to DQ for bringing international speakers to Queenstown for an exciting week of inspirational presentations on how businesses can ‘talk’ to the Australian market.
A key message that comes up time and time again, one that resonates strongly with us and ‘what we do’ is…
Think beyond your product and tell your story.
So we’ve compiled some top tips to help you on your way.
In short, it’s a description of a connected series of events. Storytelling’s an age-old craft, enabling people and businesses to transform perceptions and share experiences.
We’re ALL human, and stories help show you’re human.
New Zealand Story’s Marketing Manager Gary O’Neil shared this in a recent presentation – ‘stories are up to 22 times more memorable than facts’*.
So, let’s think how you can turn your (potentially dry) product or company fact sheet into a series of stories. Can these facts be broken down? Is there a news hook or angle about your history, a ‘day in your life’ or the one thing that makes you different to any comparative business? What’s your USP’s?
Our question to you is how are you planning on capturing attention and what is your Kiwi story?
Are you a 25-year-old tourism business which started off as a one-man-band or the oldest winery in Central Otago with stories to tell about your land, people and wine?
In today’s fragmented media landscape, journalists are being asked to produce double the content but with less resources. As a PR agency, we’re producing increasing numbers of editorial pieces for clients (in addition to traditional media releases) so we can pitch to journalists with content they can pick up and run ‘as is’.
For this to work, you need to know who you’re writing for (what stories have they previously covered?), what’s of interest to them and their readers, and have a basic understanding of what’s ‘media-worthy’.
If your strategy is to create your own editorial content, you’ll need to ensure you’re curating and delivering high quality pieces, written in a journalistic-style and voice to suit your desired publication. Maybe think about hiring a writer for your team or outsourcing to a PR or content agency.
An angle is the specific emphasis you choose for a story that you’ll use as your pitch to media.
We’ve compiled a list of ideas to help you ‘dig deep’ so you can ‘wow and wonder’ in interesting and emotional (adds the human element) ways in 2018.
While brainstorming these content ideas, you should apply Lauren Quaintance’s (Storyation co-founder) ‘so what’ test.
“Great stories pass the ‘so what test,” she said at a recent presentation on storytelling.
“Journalists want quirky or unique stories that generate talkability or ‘water-cooler’ conversation. Ideas that will grab attention in the social feed.
“Ask yourself, is it surprising, different or eye-catching. Or is it a case of so what?”
It’s our business to communicate client messages accurately to their audiences through relevant channels. Do you need help telling your story? Get in touch.
*Jennifer Aaker, Social Psychologist. Professor of Marketing at Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
We all do it. The days when your inbox is so overloaded you get the greatest satisfaction from a mass ‘delete’. Or you fervently unsubscribe to all your sign ups at the start of the New Year – it’s so cleansing, right? But then something catches your eye when you’re trolling the interweb. You read…
Email marketing continues to be a vital communications channel for all businesses in the days when inbox competition for attention from email subscribers remains fierce. There’s plenty of newsletters that don’t hit the mark, that’s for sure. But every now and then, we get a newsletter that’s so good, not only do we read it, but we click it, share it, and recommend it to our friends.
SMB’s are stepping up their game in the email marketing world. Focus on email marketing should be in your content marketing strategy for 2018 because it’s such an important strand in your multi-layered business growth strategy.
Think about it. You’ve got a potential or existing client who has already engaged with you to the extent that you’ve got their contact details. They’re willing for you to send them stuff they want or need to know, or want or need to buy (you get the drift).
So don’t stuff it up. Planning and good quality content is KEY to success. You want this to be a long-term relationship not a quick fling.
Take ‘How to Dad’. He’s built a trusted brand by saying it like it is, with a good dose of Kiwi humour. He’s real. He’s so real and trusted a local electricity company has brought him on board as their brand ambassador to peddle a ‘good cause’.
So, back to your ‘how to’ newsletter.
Keep it real. Don’t be one of those automated email newsletters that just give us another morning task – deleting or marking as read (not read).
Exceptional newsletters or email marketing campaigns need to be cleverly written to attract attention. They should be personalised, filled with interesting graphics or images, and designed for mobile and desktop.
Above all, newsletters must contain a meaningful call-to-action. Every message must have a point to it.
Try awesome subject lines and preview text. They’re always short and punchy, and they’re consistent and logical. BuzzFeed does this exceptionally well – they know their market.
Keep it simple. If you’ve got a deal or promo on the table, give it a brief initial description paired with a very clear call-to-action. The ‘skimmer’ subscribers can get the basics in a matter of seconds, while those who want to learn more are treated to a more detailed (still pleasingly simple), step-by-step explanation of how the deal works. Uber is a master at this.
Be consistent with your branding. Look at your website, social media photos, your app or other parts of your visual branding, and make sure your newsletter’s singing from that same songsheet. All communications and marketing assets should tell your brand’s story, and it makes your newsletter stand out from the inbox crowd.
There’s a few ways to measure what’s working and what’s not. Use your analytics, look at clicks etc. For relatively straightforward newsletter templates and measurable campaigns use something like Mailchimp to see how you’re going. Try sending out newsletters on different days of the week, different times, then look at which gets the most opens or clicks. Which parts of your newsletter are being read? Ask for feedback on content or timing – you can easily incentivise that. Keep changing and evolving and most of all, keep it real.
Regular, consistent and relevant communication with current clients is a crucial tool. Know the importance but stuck for words? Let us help, we’re wordsmiths after all.