The best content marketing is storytelling”, says CC Chapman , author of the marketing book 'Content Rules'. And as a reader of Frankwatching you are probably already familiar with Simon Sinek's 'Golden circle' . In short, his vision is: many companies and brands focus on the what (what they sell) and should instead focus on the why : why they do what they do, what problem do they solve. Companies should focus on telling their own, specific story in their content marketing. People can then identify with your product or service. By telling the story in Simon Sinek's way, it becomes more digestible for your leads.
Smart content
In 2013, the buzzword in email marketing was 'Big Data': personalizing content as much as possible (making it relevant) by using available data such as open and click behavior, purchasing behavior, age, gender, etc. Much has been written about it, but in practice it proves to be stubborn. It is difficult, we tend to see patterns in the data where they are not and are focused on transactions instead of deepening the relationship. According to the Content Marketing Institute , it is not about the dry data, but about the emotional experience of the lead and customer. What are they striving for, what are their fears, dreams, wishes? 2014 will be the year of Smart Content.
The available data needs to be put into context. Therefore, start by asking questions to your customers (newsletter reader survey, customer satisfaction) and combine the results with the available data to create your content. This requires a slightly different way of thinking, but is the most effective.
Timing is everything
You strengthen the relationship with leads and customers, I wrote above, by offering valuable content. You inform and entertain with relevant content. I have just explained what that entails, but an aspect that is also important is the timing of your e-mail messages. If you want to respond to the behavior of your recipient with content, the message must reach him at exactly the right moment. In 2014, more and more e-mail campaigns are being sent automatically.
The better email tools have the ability to send automated emails. This can be done by defining triggers, which ensure that the email messages you have prepared are sent at the right time. A specific event triggers the sending. The expiration of a certain period of time, the download of a whitepaper, the birthday of your customer. This way you ensure that your recipient receives your message at exactly the moment he is open to it.
Trend 4. Lead Nurturing is indispensable
Leads are scarce and we can’t afford to miss opportunities. Lead nurturing ensures that you approach the lead with the right message at the right time. And that’s how you nurture them, until they are ready to become a customer. In 2014, we will become increasingly smarter at guiding prospects through the sales funnel.
Five phases
Your relationships go through 5 phases in the marketing-sales process:
Prospect : interest is shown in your products/services.
Nurture : interest is converted into willingness to buy.
Activate : the willingness to buy is converted into action – the purchase.
Retention : Retaining existing customers for repeat purchases.
Reference : customers are moving to act as a reference for prospects.
I have previously described the lead nurturing principle in my Frankwatching article 'Lead nurturing in 5 phases with converting content '. Each phase requires a different type of content and a different broadcast frequency. For example, in phase 1 you welcome the prospect with educational content. In phase 2 you warm up the lead and tell about your solutions for his problem. Only in phase 3 do you come up with concrete offers and in phase 4, when the lead has become a customer, you send activation content to achieve follow-up orders. Finally, in phase 5 you try to persuade customers to act as a reference for you in order to attract new prospects.
It's about short messages with only one subject each time. Stick to the motto: 'less is more'. So not only one long newsletter for everyone, but also a lead nurturing program around the individual lead or customer should be part of your 2014 email marketing strategy.
Trend 5. Video in email finally a reality
Due to the abundance of information that we receive daily, we are becoming increasingly visually oriented. In order to be able to digest it, information must be able to be absorbed quickly. You can also see this in the increasing popularity of infographics. But video in particular is found very attractive. According to MarketingProfs, 2014 will be the year of video in e-mail. In a survey, 80% of e-marketers said they would definitely or probably use video in the coming year.
Photo courtesy of Fotolia
Photo courtesy of Fotolia
Nowadays, producing a video doesn't cost a fortune. With not too expensive equipment and editing software, anyone can make a video. In addition, new technologies such as HTML5 make it possible to include video directly in the e-mail itself. Email Uplers claims that an e-mail containing a video yields 280% more return than an e-mail without a video. 58% of your recipients see the video formatted in HTML5 immediately (based on market shares of the various e-mail clients) and 42% only the image. Make sure that the video can be shared via social networks.
We are all becoming somewhat more positive about the economy, both consumer and producer confidence italy mobile phone number list are rising slightly in the Netherlands. International research shows that e-mail marketing budgets are also increasing in 2014. I think that this also has to do with the easier determination of the ROI of e-mail programs.
Uberflip : In 2013, companies spent 20% of their marketing budget on email marketing, in 2014 this grew by 10%.
Strongview : In 2014, 52% of marketers plan to spend more on email marketing and 46% of them will spend more on social media. Also, 38% of marketers have a larger budget for automated email programs.
How do you use your budget as efficiently as possible? It is difficult to respond to all trends at the same time. Make a clear plan and focus on a few core activities within your e-mail marketing. In any case, make sure that recipients also get the right experience on mobile devices. And, in addition to your newsletter, also try to make a start with an automated lead nurturing program. That can be set up in a few weeks. And once it is up and running, it only needs to be updated periodically.
In summary: in 2014, in addition to your periodic newsletter, you will send more short, highly relevant e-mail messages that also come across well on mobile devices, that are cleverly linked to social media and that occasionally contain a video. What does your e-mail marketing plan for 2014 look like? Do you also see these trends for your organization? I would love to hear from you in a comment below.
Photo intro courtesy of Fotolia