HAPPY SPAM DAY?
Experian
Email volume is up 18.4% over 2010 so far this holiday season.
More than 9% of all email traffic on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday this year went to the top 500 retail sites.
THOUGHT: It’s the most spam-mi-est time…of the yeeeeeearr!
I’ve been deluged with email offers this holiday season, many from merchants I haven’t heard from since…probably last holiday season.
The thing is: Spam is in the eye of the beholder. If people think it’s spam, they treat it like spam even if they have signed up for your double opt-in email list. The most simple definition of spam for most folks is simply unwanted email. And when your inbox is being assaulted, most of that email is unwanted.
But as the numbers above indicate, email is really effective at driving sales.
So what can you do to guard against the spam button and not get lost in the clutter.
Smart retailers have developed a relationship with their customers (and future customers) well before the holidays, well before people are thinking about holiday shopping, so they don’t feel like some unannounced guest who stats hitting you up for sales.
And, again, that means providing people with quality, valuable content, however that is defined by your target audiences. It also means being present and accounted for in the channels in which they play, such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as email.
One new channel that I think will be changing the way people, particularly women, shop during the holidays is Pinterest. I discussed Pinterest last month, focusing on the visual aspect of the network, but I’ve since noticed that people are building visual shopping lists there. Things they want.
Start now to be ready for next year by thinking about your inventory and how you can make it as visually appealing as possible because the images at Pinterest are mostly nothing short of stunning.
SUPER COOL TOOL TUESDAY: Pollowers is a tool to create polls on Twitter. Your followers simply have to respond with a tweet containing an answer to the poll to participate.
Thank you for the work of nonprofits.
The e-Strategy Academy covers all aspects of digital marketing including search optimization & marketing, email marketing, social media marketing, video marketing, mobile marketing & public relations.