A social media saga

On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me – a Tweet saying ‘will you marry me?’

That was a bit of a shock, but on Twitter? Really?

On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me – a LinkedIn update telling me he’s still waiting for an answer.

He’s keen, isn’t he?

On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me – a link to a Pinterest board with lots of wedding related pix.

OMG! I’m beginning to worry about this – what bloke spends his time on Pinterest looking at wedding stuff?

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me a Facebook message reminding me he was still waiting.

This is beginning to get a bit scary.  More like stalking than romance.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me an Instagram pic of five diamond rings – asking me to choose one.

Hmmm!  Are diamonds really a girl’s best friend?

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me a YouTube video of him proposing – down and one knee and all!

My friends are over-excited – and begging me to put him out of his misery.

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me a link to a Facebook Page belonging to a wedding planner.

... and I haven’t said ‘yes’ yet.

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me a MailChimp email with articles about engagements, how to choose the right bridesmaids and writing wedding speeches.

He seems to have it all planned out – and I still haven’t said ‘yes’.

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me a link to an eBay auction for a beautiful wedding dress.

Gorgeous dress, but coming from China it probably won’t size up to UK sizes.

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me a link to a blog about the perfect honeymoon.

Lots of lovely pix of moonlit beaches and misty, romantic scenery.  Actually a holiday in the sun sounds wonderful, especially as it looks like snow outside right now.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me a virtual card that played music announcing that he loved me forever.

Together forever?  Bit cheesy, or is it really romantic?

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me – nothing.

However, he did turn up on the doorstep with a bunch of flowers, chocolates and a ring.  Should I say ‘yes’?

Customer service on autopilot

When someone buys something from you, you want to make them feel cared for – but if you’re selling high volume it gets harder and harder to keep up with staying in touch.

That’s where autoresponders can be really useful.  They put your communication on autopilot and your customers still get useful information at regular intervals without you having to spend half your day sending emails.

How does it work?

Here are some examples:

Customer has bought a product from you

Messages can follow with a thanks for purchasing, hope you’re finding it useful, don’t forget to register your guarantee on our website, tips for use, other products that other customers have also bought.  Perhaps reminders about servicing or insurance if that’s appropriate.

Delegate has attended a workshop, seminar or webinar you’ve run

Messages can include pre-event information, time to arrive, notes to support the learning and maps and location details.  Post meeting regular reminders of the key points to encourage people to take action, request for feedback and information on any follow up events or services can all be on autopilot.

Client has worked with you on a one-off project

As long as they’ve given permission to stay in touch you can send them a series of useful tips and advice that will help them to remember you next time they need your kind of help.

What makes a good autoresponder message?

A brilliant subject line.  If time is short, this is where you need to invest your time, if you don’t get it right they’ll never open the email.  You’re aiming at something that makes the reader want to find out more.  That might be words that ring a bell for them or something intriguing that sparks their curiosity. 

Short is good!  You don’t have time to read long, long email articles – so why should your customers?  Tips and information should be concise and to-the-point.

White space makes reading easier.  Make sure that you layout your message with short 2-3 line paragraphs, bullet points and at least a line space between paragraphs.

The content needs to be relevant to the recipients.  What would help them as a purchaser, delegate, client?  Understand what they want and your messages will be bang on target.

Now all you need is a system for setting these up.  If your internal CRM system can do this, that’s great, but there are plenty of online services – Aweber, GetResponse, MailChimp, ConstantContact, Infusionsoft – and many more.

Not another email ...

If you’ve ever got on one of ‘those’ marketers lists you know that you can count on at least one email daily – sometimes more than one.  They’re all trying to give you useful information, but it’s like a deluge.  Too much information just switches your brain into overwhelm – and you don’t get ANY of it.

It’s hardly surprising that so many people are nervous about embarking on email marketing, but there are a few things that you should know that might change your mind.

1. It depends on how people got on your list.
If they signed up via your website in order to download an information document that they wanted, they have already shown that they are interested in what you’re offering.
If you put them on your list because you met them networking somewhere, then you’ll need to check they want to stay on it – and maybe encourage them to download your free document so they actively opt-in.  This will ensure that you are compliant with GDPR (when it becomes law in May 2018) and also that they want more of the same value.
If they’re on your list because they’re a customer or a former customer, they already know and like what you deliver.
If they’re on your list for any other reason, they probably shouldn’t be on it at all.

2. Email marketing is not all about selling
A good email campaign is about building your reputation for delivering great value.  Then people are interested in paying for what you sell.  If they like the free stuff, they’ll be more than happy to pay you for the paid-for service/products.
This means that your email campaigns need to deliver a combination of value and promotion, ideally in the ratio of 2:1, so every third email is promotion.
Value can include tips, articles, formats for business processes, worksheets to simplify something, comparisons between similar products, opportunities to join something free, recommendations for books, webinars, websites, blogs, articles, video content, courses, etc.

3. Know your audience
When someone has already shown an interest, you know they are looking for more of the same kind of thing.  That means that you need to continue to deliver similar content of value.
Also you will need to know how often your audience will tolerate receiving information from you.  Some people are happy to get a daily email, some would find weekly too often.  It might be worth asking a few people that already know you (existing clients, perhaps) and giving them examples of the kind of content they can expect.

4. Make it personal
Most people respond better to emails that sound like they’ve been written by a human being rather than a marketing copywriter (although a good copywriter doesn’t sound like one).  Write in the way you would to someone you know personally and use an informal style so they feel like you’re actually talking directly to them.
Leave out the corporate stuff – you can’t have a conversation with an organisation – and make it about them.

Get your head around these things and you’ll find email campaigns are nothing to get nervous about!

Flexible Facebook

If you’re running a business having a Facebook Page is de rigeur!  There are some people who will tell you that, if you’re selling to other businesses, you’re better off on LinkedIn – and there is some sense in that.  But don’t overlook the value of Facebook. 

These are just some of the ways you can use Facebook to help your business:

Get attention

It may not appear to be your marketplace, but everyone works somewhere and you never know who will spot your ad and take a closer look, especially if you’ve got the demographics for your ad properly targeted.

Find new talent

It’s an excellent recruitment tool.  A short ad that leads to something more in-depth on your website is a great way to ensure that you get good matches.  Often the online job boards generate hundreds of applications, many of which couldn’t do the job.  The right words in an ad, coupled with a comprehensive job description and requirements, gets fewer applications, but much better matches.

Resource suppliers

It’s also a good place to find suppliers and unusual gifts for your clients or items to take your events up a gear.  There are businesses offering all kinds of goods and services, anything from flowers to fountain pens.

Customer service forum

It’s a wonderful customer support tool.  If your customers know they can talk to you directly on your Facebook Page then you’ll find you start to build a community.  People give you good reviews to enhance your credibility and, if you get the occasional disgruntled person, you have the ability to discuss their problem and respond positively.  The stats say that a customer with a problem that is solved is more loyal than one who has never had a problem!

R&D

It can be used for market research.  If you’re thinking of launching a new product, you can run a poll and get feedback from your target audience on whether it’s something they’d like.

Tips to get it right

Ensure someone monitors the Page daily.

Respond to comments promptly – even if you don’t have an instant answer, ensure you let people know you’re on it, not ignoring them.

Have clear audience demographics for any ads you run so you get the right people’s attention.

Aim to create a community so people feel they can talk to you.

Deliver value rather than just promoting your business.

Be human.

Facebook is a powerful tool – use it to help your business grow and gain a great reputation.