The variety of marketing channels has opened many doors for entrepreneurs looking to engage clients as readily as larger competitors. To reach a wide pool of clients without breaking budgets, businesses must optimize online channels such as social media networks, blogs, video sharing platforms and continue to leverage email distribution chains. The more efforts in place to reach clients through convenient portals, the easier it will be to turn prospects into sales.
When developing a multichannel marketing campaign, entrepreneurs should think of what content will be shared and how each marketing channel will be tied together through consistent messaging or branding. A YouTube video, for example, can offer visual and audio effects to engage clients in a short period of time, while a guest blog post can enhance the informative content being distributed to the public. While the two resources may vary in what is being shared and how they are delivered, the main messages should remain consistent and in line with business goals and an established online image.
What Email Offers
To ensure content reaches the appropriate endpoints, entrepreneurs should experiment with several marketing channels. Social media platforms effectively disseminate information and marketing messages to other users of the networks, while content can also be made available directly on the company website. Furthermore, many businesses utilize the affordable and efficient email distribution strategy to send out images, promotions, links and other information directly to a client’s inbox – whether through individual emails or a newsletter.
Every consumer likely has an email address that filters out spam messages, where most mass messages end up when blasts are blindly sent out. Therefore, entrepreneurs should consider a more targeted use of email branding that sends out information to clients who have already provided their email addresses and may want more information to encourage a first time or follow up purchase. When the client has provided his or her online information, the messages are more likely to be welcomed and viewed than when they are sent randomly to millions of email addresses at once.
Furthermore, targeted email distribution enables a company to examine a client’s purchasing history and make recommendations or offer insight based on this data to provide a more personalized message. The more a client feels like they are an individual in the eyes of the company rather than a statistics, the easier it is for them to make a connection and continue to do business with the brand in the future.
Email marketing messages can contain new promotions, links to webinars, videos, blog posts or other content, personalized resources or image-filled advertisements. The emails can vary in length and should be sent out at a pace that keeps the brand in the minds of the viewer without bombarding their inbox or making them resent the company.
Best Time For Email
GetResponse created an infographic outlining statistics on how email is performing in many markets, and ways to optimize the channel for best results. According to the data:
- 23.6% of all emails are opened within the first hour of being received
- The majority of emails are sent between 6 a.m. and noon
- The highest click-thru rates occur between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., as well as 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
- The most opens occur between 8am and 9am, as well as 3pm and 4pm
- Most email messages are sent in the morning, so early afternoon distribution increases the chance the message will be noticed, opened and clicked
- For international targets, consider all time zones when sending out email blasts, or segment email lists to ensure distribution at optimal times around the world
Getting Them Opened
Once you have mastered the best time to send out email messages, there must be characteristics of the resource that encourage viewers to open the message. Email marketing must do more than just advertise a sale or promotion. The content should offer to solve a problem for the client, save them money on a valued service or product, educate them on an industry trend or other topic, or provide them with a source of entertainment to make a stronger connection with the company.
There are many ways to utilize email marketing tactics as part of a multichannel campaign. Evaluate each online marketing strategy separately as well as in a unified campaign to ensure each channel is optimized and then connected into a consistent message. The easier it is for clients to interact with and understand a new company, the faster it will grow online.
