PTE on Social Fresh East 2013

 

By: Tiffany Whitaker

Communications Ally

In April our Grand Poobah, Samantha Scott, APR, gave us (me and Alex Fernandez, our Internet Marketing Strategist) the incredible opportunity to attend the 2013 Social Fresh East conference in Tampa, Florida. The event included numerous guest speakers presenting a wide range companies.  From JetBlue to ESPN to author and marketer, Chris Brogan, we were inundated with insights, thought provoking concepts and marketing advice from top strategists in the industry.  Here of a few highlights from segments and that inspired me:

Don’t worry about content, worry about “Youtility”

In Jay Baer’s segment, Youtility: Why Smart Companies are Helping, not Selling, he talked about a kind of marketing that was so useful, people would pay for it. In a world where everyone is on social (your Mom, your sister, your grandparents, your best friend… and your favorite hang-out), companies are competing for attention.  Mr. Baer, a best-selling author, asked, “Are you more interesting than my wife?” That’s the level your content needs to be at!

So, what is “Youtility”? In summary, it’s content that educates, informs, helps the customer… it answers the consumer’s questions. Did you know B2B customers contact a sales representative after more than 70% of the purchase decision is already made? He offered up a great example executed by Hilton Hotels and their activity on Twitter. A customer of Magnolia Hotel, a competitor, on Twitter asked where there were some good local restaurants in the area. Hilton Hotels responded with helpful suggestions. Do you think the chance of that customer checking for a room a Hilton Hotel will increase on their next visit? Most likely.

Remember, Youtility is not a project; it is a process that never ends.

If Content is King, Connection is Queen

Ted Rubin, a leading social media strategist, provided insight into content creation, building relationships, and connecting. In his segment, Content Creation is the Ultimate Fan Advocacy, Mr. Rubin pointed out a common question we (social media advocates) hear from potential clients all the time, “What is the ROI of social? He went on to explain that the answer is… actually another question.

What is the ROI of Trust? Loyalty? Social media is a means of building relationships with your customers and to do that we must provide emotionally connected content! So, how do you connect with people in a way that builds a relationship? Build trust. With interaction as a foundation, a company must be true to their word, authentic, genuine and consistent. He referenced Saks and how they hug their customers instead of just handing them a bag after a purchase.  On social media, look to embrace your customers, hear them, and aim for ongoing engagement. “Relationships are the new currency… honor them, invest in them, start measuring your ROR.”

Remember, social is not the relationship itself and just “being on social” is not enough to build relationships.

Don’t be Data Rich and Insight Poor

The Campbell Company’s leader of social media and digital marketing, Adam Kmiec stresses, “Don’t measure data if you’re not going to do something with it!” And you should be doing something with it. Mr. Kmiec’s segment, Building an Insights Driven Social Organization, focused on insights, not data. We must turn data into insights and insights into action or it’s useless.

So, how do you accomplish this? He advises finding the right platform to measure (and we know there are so many that is a feat in itself) is the first step. Decide what you want from the model/platform (part of the planning process we’ve stressed so many times before).  Then, choose the one that will get you the right data so that you are capable of gathering the insights you need. Leverage those insights by turning them into action. Simply, capitalize on strengths and improve where weak. Identify missed opportunities and take advantage of them moving forward.

Remember, having the numbers isn’t enough. That’s just the start. Use them to determine what’s working (and what isn’t) and then implement plans to enhance your efforts moving forward.

Hungry for more?

For more insights and advice on maximizing your social media efforts, visit our NEW website , follow us on Facebook, or give us a call at (239) 221-2858.

Four Quadrants of Time Management

 

 

By: Alex Fernandez

Internet Marketing Strategist

A couple weeks ago, we started a Productivity Series based on an awesome seminar that Matt Mernin and I attended for PTE. The seminar was on “Managing Multiple Priorities, Projects and Deadlines with Larry Singer from Fred Pryor Seminars. Hopefully you’ve gotten a chance to read part 1 of the Productivity Series, “5 Tips for Managing Your Email Inbox.”

This week, we’re sharing more from what we learned, on the topic of prioritizing! We have 168 hours in every week. That’s a lot of hours, but it can be wasted if we don’t do the right things, in the right order. Have you ever worked all day long – only to wrap up and think “I’ve gotten nothing done!”? Prioritizing is the process of designating in what specific order tasks should be handled. This is a rewarding process that ends with the satisfaction you feel, knowing that your most urgent and most important tasks are off your plate, leaving you with a manageable schedule.

One of the key takeaways from the seminar was the “Four Quadrants of Time Management,” adapted from the book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Steven R. Covey. The idea is that every task falls into one of four “quadrants”:

• Crisis: Urgent / Important
• Productivity: Not Urgent / Important
• Distraction: Urgent / Not Important
• Waste: Not Urgent / Not Important

The Four Quadrants of Time Management

• Waste: Covey recommends keeping these activities at a minimum – but be realistic. Everyone needs a sanity break from time to time. The idea is to keep these activities in check, but still partake every now and then.
• Distraction: These are all of the little distractions throughout your day. From people walking in to your office with questions, to phone calls and emails. Beware of forfeiting too much of your time here. You have a job to do!
• Productivity: This is obviously where we want to be. Planning for future success, being prepared, preventing problems before they happen, making new connections and broadening our horizons. This should take the most time out of your week.
• Crisis: Unavoidable at times, but this is NOT where you want to be. If things get pushed back to the last minute, and work is fast and frantic, mistakes will happen; valuable time will be lost. Sometimes there will be crisis, and it has to be handled before anything else – but the idea is to minimize it.

We have modified Covey’s model slightly, to reflect the 80/20 principle. The purpose of the Four Quadrants model is to maximize time spent on high importance / low urgency tasks. We have added recommended percentages next to each item to reflect the 80/20 rule.

• 80% of time = important tasks / 20% of time = not important tasks
• 80% of time = not urgent tasks / 20% of time = urgent tasks

• Example:
  • In the “Not Urgent” column, 75% productivity + 5% waste = 80%
  • In the “Important” row, 75% productivity + 5% crisis = 80%

Make sense?

TIP:

When you have multiple tasks of the same HIGH importance (welcome to the agency life), order them a few different ways to find the best one to start with:

• From least time consuming to most time consuming
• From most visible/impactful to least visible/impactful
• From items you can’t easily delegate to items you can easily delegate.

Now, try and think of your workweek so far…

Where has most of your time gone? Which quadrant would that time fall into? If you’re like I was before this seminar – you’re probably spending too much time dealing with unimportant tasks, which leads to crisis later on (as important tasks are left unaddressed today).

Hopefully, you’ll find use of the Four Quadrants of Time Management in your job. We only have so many hours in a week, and those hours need to be spent on the IMPORTANT tasks in our jobs. Keep checking back for more on the Productivity Series! Until then!

Note from the author: When you first start using this process, it may be difficult to adapt right off the bat. It may take a few days or even weeks depending on what has piled up for you in past months. There IS, however, a great reward once you reach your ideal productivity level. That reward is less stress. You won’t be constantly rushing, and you’ll be getting just as much (if not MORE) done, because you’ll be productive. So hang in there!

Alert Today. Alive Tomorrow.

 

By: Samantha Scott, APR
Grand Poobah / Owner

If you live in Southwest Florida (aka Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Estero, etc.) then you’ve probably seen the Florida Department of Transportation signs saying “Alert today. Alive tomorrow.” While their signs refer to paying attention to the road, I thought this could also apply to businesses and their marketing efforts.

Being alert today, in a business sense, means many things…

Competitive Advantage and Unique Value Proposition (UVP)

To start, it means being aware of what you offer (services products, etc.) and what your competitors offer. How do your services stack up? What can you add or research? Better yet, are you providing what your customers want/need? Addressing your competitive advantage is key. Take a little time this month to really think about what it is that sets your company apart then follow up with a plan to communicate that, as your UVP, to your consumers.

Trends, Fads and New Tech

It seems that with each new day new widgets, devices and tools are developed. Music stars are made, and crumble, over night. Trends come and go, but in the midst of all this chaos, we must pick out the changes that really shift (or should) our business model and/or our customers’ lives. Two great examples are social media and cell phones.

Many people, both the general public and business leaders. brushed off sites like Facebook and Twitter saying they were just fads and would pass. While the application or specific site might fall to the wayside (ever heard of a little site called MySpace?), the concept is here to stay.

Check out Nextiva’s infographic on Visual.ly

People have evolved their communication styles and want instant, quick ways to communicate news and share information.

The cell phone – a similar situation. What used to be just a tool for vocal communication can now send text messages, operate apps, access the Internet and more. Smart phones have virtually taken over the cell phone market making it easier for consumers to find information about products or services on the go.

So the question is, are you paying attention, being alert today, to trends in your industry that will impact your business tomorrow?

Reputation Management

One HUGE and often overlooked opportunity is reputation management. I’m not referring to high school days when you were protecting your “cool factor.” I’m talking about what your consumers are saying about your business, its product and/or services. Even before there were websites specifically designed for reviews there was word of mouth. People love to share their experiences with others, especially if they have a bad one. With the creation of sites like Yahoo! Local, Google Places, and Yelp it’s more important than ever to monitor your company or brand’s online reputation.

Other sites, predominately thought of as social media or social networking sites such as Foursquare, Facebook,  and LinkedIn are also viable reputation management platforms. Specifically, LinkedIn has launched business pages where business owners can “own” their page and post updates while also receiving comments from visitors. There are also sites for specific industries too, such as medical field such as RateMDs.com.

Are you listening? If you are, are you responding and showing that you care about your customers opinions – good and bad? Consider setting up a weekly routine to monitor these sites. We provide this service for a number of clients who’ve seen drastic, positive changes in their online reputation just from monitoring and responding to reviews.

Alive Tomorrow

Let’s focus on being more alert today for a better tomorrow. If you need help focusing on the many marketing and communications tasks at hand or maybe want a little help managing your reputation, contact us. It’s what we do and we’d be glad to help.

Have questions? Post a comment here or feel free to share on our Facebook page. You might also enjoy our chili pepper flake challenge video!

3 Easy Tips to Avoid a PR Nightmare

By: Samantha Scott, APR
Grand Poobah / Owner

Life doesn’t come with a manual, nor do many of our jobs, so here’s my gift to you this holiday season – 3 quick and easy tips to help avoid some unnecessary, potentially embarrassing, definitely unprofessional moments. Consider it an early Christmas present.

Plan

I know, that doesn’t sound so hard. If that’s the case, however, why is it that so few businesses have a public relations or marketing plan? Planning involves focus and time, which scares most people away, but it is one of the most important steps in any public relations or marketing effort. Take the time to develop a strategy with SMART goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) or milestones. Then, incorporate steps to measure the plan’s outcomes – successes or failures. They’re both learning experiences.

Proofread

Yes, it’s a bit of pet peeve of mine, but really, if you’re writing for business proofreading should be an integral part of the process! Check your work before it goes out to the media, clients, co-workers, etc. We’ve all seen embarrassing mistakes in copy that could have been avoided. Don’t be “that” person.

Measure

Most us have to develop some kind of report at the end of a project. From year end reports to quarterly board meetings, there’s usually some kind of round up done that reports how effective our efforts were, but why wait? Measure your efforts as you go (start with a baseline at the beginning, measure incrementally throughout, then do an end measurement) so there aren’t any surprises at the end! This affords you the opportunity to make adjustments and potentially succeed ultimately even if the campaign starts out a little rocky.

None of these concepts are nouveau or highly technical, but I can virtually guarantee that if you employ them, they can help you avoid errors and potential problems. However, if you still need help, give us a shout. We’re just an email or a phone call away.

5 Ways to Improve Your Brand’s News Feed Visibility

By: Alex Fernandez
Internet Marketing Strategist

Over the past few weeks, many of us have seen business timelines posting something to the effect of “adjust your interest lists because Facebook is pushing people to paying to promote posts.”

First, this is a completely false rumor, and we’ll explain why – but more importantly:

The visibility of your brand’s social media posts is up to you!

So, about these silly posts (that will make your brand look silly if you share):

“Add to Interest Lists” is not a ploy that Facebook has developed to gain more advertising dollars. It’s a feature that allows users to conveniently organize their connections into different interests. This was necessary in order to remain competitive to popular features of Twitter and Google+. This is a convenient feature for users, and it’s completely optional.

You can also check out Facebook’s official explanation of Interest Lists, here.

One thing that Facebook openly admits is that the news feed is discriminating. A minority of posts actually find their way into a users news feed, because every past user action is taken into consideration when news feed content is generated: Who the user “likes,” what posts they “like” or comment on, or anything they click on in general. Another thing worth mentioning is yes, you can advertise to increase visibility via promoted posts, etc. There’s nothing wrong with that approach.

SO! How can you appear in your audience’s news feed more often, without paying for ads? Many companies are beginning to offer a service called “News Feed Optimization.” What this boils down to is posting engaging content that encourages user action – something we’ve always promoted and adhered to. Here are few tips, without “giving away the farm” as they say .

1. Engage your audience with your posts, by ASKING them for a reply or action.
   1. Like or Share
   2. Enter a caption for an image
2. Social media is becoming more and more visual!
   1. Photos and videos get more engagement than text
   2. Consider incorporating Instagram and/or Pinterest in your social effort
3. Time your posts to when your audience is online.
   1. “Dead times” or “slow times” for B2B audiences
   2. Nights and weekends for certain consumer audiences
4. Publish simple posts that can easily be shared.
   1. Images, memes, and other visual content with mass appeal
   2. Use questions and surveys
5. Leverage contests or sweepstakes that encourage viral sharing.
   1. Voting contests
   2. Contests offering additional incentive to share

At PTE – we do not offer a service called “News Feed Optimization”. That would be a disservice to you. We do everything we can to improve news feed visibility for all of our social media clients, all the time. That’s the way it should be.

I’ll end with a question: Are you doing all you can to get noticed in your audience’s news feed? Contact us if you have any questions about social media marketing at 239.221.2858 or Info(at)getpushing.com.

3 Spooky Social Media Facts

By: Susan Frantz
Online Communication Assistant

It’s beginning to feel a little bit spooky over here at PTE! Since we are in the Halloween spirit we thought we would share with you some “scary facts” about Social Media

3 Spooky Social Media

Negative reviews really impact the consumer.

Did you know that about 80% of consumers will change their mind about purchasing, booking, scheduling, etc. if they see even a single negative review? This is why it is so important to constantly manage all of your social media channels in order to respond promptly and address what ever issues the negative reviewer might have.

Social media leads to lead generation for B2C and B2B.

You may already know that Facebook is the largest and most effective social media channel, but did know that 77% of B2C marketers have gotten customers through Facebook. For B2B companies, it was reported by marketing charts that 65% companies who used LinkedIn acquired customers. This is scary good news.

Tweet it out.

Twitter is one of the fastest growing social media outlets. 8% of the United States uses Twitter with 460,000 people creating a new account daily.  There are 200 million members of the “twittersphere” and 24% of those users are checking their tweets several times per day. With numbers like these it’s no wonder that 72% of U.S. companies are tweeting!

We hope these spooky facts have helped you to understand just how global social media is. One small review can affect what millions of people are seeing, and one fan can help to draw in multiple more.

References:

• http://blog.zuberance.com/blog/3-scary-facts-about-social-media/
• http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/frequency-of-blogging-makes-a-difference-for-customer-acquisition-21276/
• http://www.mindjumpers.com/blog/2012/01/social-media-stats-infographic/
  

Branding: Consistency is Key

By: Samantha Scott, APR
Grand Poobah / Owner

I’ll admit it. I’m a bit of a “consistency stickler.” It doesn’t matter if it’s in the tone of writing used on a website or in PMS colors, I can’t help but notice when something isn’t consistent. In our field, marketing communications, it’s important. All too often business owners, marketing folks and other people communicating on behalf of companies don’t maintain consistency in their branding or marketing. This week we’re going to address this – and why it’s important.

What is Branding?

According to the mighty Wikipedia, “A brand is a “Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.”Branding began as a way to tell one person’s cattle from another by means of a hot iron stamp.” Simply, branding started as a means of differentiation. That’s what it’s meant to today, as well.

Importance of Brand Consistency – Face Time

Let’s start with the basics. A company’s brand is their image. It’s their face, so to speak. Just like we differentiate people by their appearance, voice, and other attributes, we (consumers, people in general) differentiate companies and products by their logo and/or packaging, colors, etc. As Michael Tasner points out, “It’s the image, words, feeling, etc associated with your company.”

Not only should the aesthetic of the company, the logo, company colors, etc. be pleasing to look at and easy to read, it should also accurately depict the company and its offerings. If your logo is in Cowboy font, but you’re a tech company, something’s not translating. Keep in mind, people could see your brand/logo without knowing anything about your company. They have to be able to look at it and understand what you’re all about. Are you traditional or edgy, a modern and tech-savvy Internet firm or a mom and pop lawn service? Make it clear from the start.

Decrease Confusion

Another key component in marketing as it relates to brand consistency is avoiding the risk of brand confusion. Did you do a double take when you saw that image? That’s what consumers do when they look for a certain package or product and can’t find it or see something similar. The more consistent your branding can be the safer your market share is.

Put yourself in the shoes of the consumer. You are one after all! If you go to the store and look for a specific product, say laundry detergent, and can’t find the brand you usually buy, what do you do (after seeking help from an associate, etc.)? You might try another brand or wait to buy it elsewhere. Now, what if the product was there, but the packaging had changed and you just overlooked it? That company, the one you were loyal to previously, just lost a sale and perhaps a lifetime customer or future purchases.

Of Note: The average attention span in 2012 is just 8 seconds. That’s down from 12 seconds in 2000 and even shorter than that of a goldfish. This makes it all the more important for your brand to be visibly differentiable quickly. Source: Static Brain.

Different Departments or Products – Same Brand

So you say, branding and consistency are important, but what if I have a multifaceted company? How can our brand be consistent if we have different departments and/or products? Colors and a primary logo will be key.

Use Coca-Cola for example. They have a number of different product lines, but their brand is consistent throughout. They use the same primary logo, colors and packaging.

Have a Guide – Enter the Brand Book

We’ve discussed why it’s important to maintain brand consistency. You get it, so now how to do you ensure the rest of your team or co-workers will support this as well? Enter the brand book. A brand book is a critical resource for any business. Simply put, a brand book is a guide for anyone involved with the company. It outlines the brand logo, colors (PMS, so they’ll be EXACTLY the same), typefaces or fonts, acceptable layouts, email signatures and more.

BrandMaker News offers an excellent review of what a brand book is, what needs to be included and how to use it.

Go. Brand. Succeed.

Don’t be overwhelmed, be informed. You can do this – and you should do this! Use these resources (and maybe review one or more of these books) and of course, feel free to contact us if we can help!

5 Keys to Measuring ROI for Social Media

By: Susan Frantz
Online Communication Assistant

One of the hottest topics is today’s marketing world is how to effectively measure a business’ return on investment (ROI) with regard to social media. Most business owners/leadership want to be able to quantify the time and money being spent on activities like Facebook page posts, LinkedIn Group discussions and tweets. Or, also common, they question if there is any ROI to be had at all.

We’re here to tell you THERE IS! Here are 5 tips to help you start measuring ROI for social media.

1. Audience

Most marketers are at the very least familiar with this level of measurement. Audience can be measured through “likes”, mentions, retweets and shares. However there are ways to take this even further. Naturally, through an increase in audience size, you are gaining the ability to connect with and learn about your customers/clients. Once you know what they like and don’t like you can gear your posting towards this. The relationship you are establishing creates the ability for you to influence your audience to do something, whether that may be going to your event or visiting your website. Those actions are then measurable as well.

2.    Lead Generation

This is the end goal; The real measurement that translates effectively to the bosses. It’s what you are convincing your users to do. A “lead” could be defined as anyone who visits your website or social media channel with interest in (buying or using) your products or services. They are by nature, prospective customers and most of them do their research online and use social media. If your company has a business Facebook page, they could be engaging with you already. You didn’t know? Be ahead of your competition and even your colleagues. It’s time to start measuring social media conversions just like we measure website conversions!

According to the MarketingSherpa “2011 Social Marketing Benchmark Report,” only 54% of marketers monitor and measure the number of leads generated by social media, while 70% monitor website traffic from social media. 

3. Increased Web Traffic and Conversions

With an increase in your audience and lead generation there should be an organic increase in your web traffic, which let’s be honest, is what everyone wants (in addition to sales). The more views, and clicks on your website the more awareness about your product, business, or event. And hopefully, the more sales or “contact us” form completions.

4. Increased Awareness and Increased Likelihood to Buy

Awareness, it’s a magic word for business, and we’ve already mentioned it a few times so I’m sure that you can tell it is one of our favorites.  As you connect and create great content to be shared, you are creating an avenue to interact with your users. This does not mean that you have to be posting about things directly related to your product. It could be industry or geography based. Simply, there are three types of social media posts/engagement which can generate leads: entertaining, informative, or newsworthy.

“Social media plays an important role in raising peoples’ awareness of alternate options, with 28% [of shoppers] saying sites such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter help them learn about new brands and products” (Diana, A., Info Week).

As you continue to cultivate these relationships, your users will begin to think of your interactions and relate them to your business. Which leads us to our 5^th tip.

5. Word of Mouth

Social media and the interactions you conduct on the various channels create a buzz. People will begin talking about your product, online and in person, the more they interact with your page. Happy users tend to become advocates for you/your company, bringing more users, followers, fans and eventually customers to your “web door.”

We hope these tips are helpful as you look to understand social media, how it be measured and why it’s an important part of the marketing mix. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at Pushing the Envelope at, 239.221.2858 or info(at)getpushing.com.

Jewels of PR Wisdom from A Treasure Trove FPRA Conference!

By: Samantha Scott, APR
Grand Poobah / Owner

I had the opportunity to attend the 74th Annual Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) Conference this week – what an exciting time! Thanks to my local chapter, Southwest Florida, who provided a scholarship, I traveled to St. Augustine and found some real gems of information on public relations best practices. Below are just a few takeaways that I hope will you too!

It’s all About the Story

A repeating theme at conference this year was that PR is all about the story and storytelling. In the words of Mickey Nall, APR and PRSA fellow, Managing Director for Ogilvy PR, “we’re not talking about making up stories, it’s truth-telling.” Every company or brand has a story  – where they came from, why they were created, how they’ve evolved and where they are going. It goes back to something we often remind clients – people connect with people, not brands. If you can share the story of your company and put it people terms, give your audience something to connect to, then they are more likely to engage and remain connected.

Measurement is Key!

This was music to my ears! We are all about measurement – in terms of our social media efforts, SEO work, and public relations. While most PR practitioners measure their efforts in some way, the discussion at conference was how to do it better and that there ARE ways to measure activities formerly thought of as unmeasurable – like social media.

One speaker, Patrick O’Donnell, Senior Project Manager at Ketchum Global Research & Analytics presented an info-packed talk on the basics of research and how that initial step plays a big role in the evaluation and measurement. I was surprised how few people in the room are using social media, but aren’t measuring it. Nonetheless, it was made clear that all things PR can be measured and there are better ways than the old-school AVE process.

Big Winners!

We’re also VERY excited to share that we won a Judges’ Award for our work on the Scott Fischer Enterprises‘ VIB Reward Program project!

Samantha Scott, APR & Melanie Mowry Etters, APR, CPRC and State President (photo courtesy of FPRA)

I hope these gems of wisdom help you and look forward to seeing you at conference next year – in St. Petersburg, FL!

You can also read my guest FPRA blog post on Mickey Nall, APR, Fellow PRSA from Ogilvy + Mather on storytelling and Lou Heckler’s presentation on achieving peak performance. Want more? You can read a blog post on EVERY presentation via the main blog page. Plus, for a collection of images from the event, check out the FPRA Flickr account!

5 Tips to get your Emails Noticed

By: Susan Frantz
Online Communication Assistant

In today’s bustling business world marketers (PTE included) try to bring awareness to our clients in the best and most efficient ways we can. One of the best ways we’ve found to reach out to the consumer is through e-mail marketing. I have compiled the top 5 most important things to do when you are engaging in email marketing.

1. Create a Clean Email List

I bet you’re asking, what exactly is a clean list? Do they want me to Lysol the list of emails I’ve gathered? A clean list is one that had a minimal amount of undeliverable emails. In the industry this is called having a low bounce rate. It is ideal to keep your bounce rate under 5%. If you have too many emails bounce back, the email provider/host may block or limit your business’ ability to send emails.

 2. Maintain Brand Relevancy

Make sure  when people open up your email they will know exactly where it came from. You can do this by including your company’s logo and colors in the email. If a person doesn’t know where their emails are coming from, they are more likely to unsubscribe, which is the opposite of what you want.

 3. Get their Attention!

In order to make sure your customers are reading your email you need to get their attention. Make sure to use photos that are eye catching as well as exciting terms in the subject line and headers of your emails. The open rate is the percentage of people that open your email out of the total people the email was sent to. This varies per industry from about 15-20%. If you use attention grabbing subjects and photos perhaps you can be at the top of this statistic.

4. Create a Call to Action

What do you want from the people you are emailing? Do you want them to attend your event, or visit your webpage? Make sure you include this in your email content! While it seems simple, it’s often overlooked. People get caught up in the look and when the email will go out, forgetting the most basic ingredient – a call to action. One way to draw your customers to your event or webpage is to create an incentive. For instance, “Click on our webpage for the chance to be entered to win a gift certificate…”

5. Send a Test Email

No one wants to receive an email with typos or incorrect information. In order to prevent this, make sure you send a test email to more than just yourself. It is always helpful to have extra eyes look over what you are sending and make sure it opens correctly (does it work the same on PCs and Macs?), is grammatically correct, and has accurate information (dates, times, phone numbers, addresses, etc.).

So there you have it! I hope these tips will help you to put together a great email to help your customer base connect to your company. You can use these tips as a checklist the next time you go to send out an email reminder. Want to learn more? Check out MailChimp and EmailMarketing.com – or contact us!