MediaContact.ie hosted a brilliant seminar this week, entitled, “How to build a tribe online”. It centred on the use of “political marketing to grow followers for your business”. It was a little vague in terms of its title, but the trainer and content were far from it. I was drawn to the seminar as I have seen Ewan McIntosh (the trainer), in action. As CEO of NoTosh, Ewan helps organisations engage with people, whether they’re voters, customers or kids in a classroom. McIntosh has played various roles in his career, from language teacher to National Advisor on Learning and Technology Futures for the government to the coordinator of the $100m, 4IP Fund for Channel 4.
What did I expect from the event?
I wanted to learn more about how the merging of traditional and digital channels can be balanced fairly, so that I can advise our clients better. At Circulator, it’s my job to assist with the integration of email marketing with our clients’ overall strategy. While our offer to each client is the same (email marketing), we offer tailored advice to each individual, depending on their needs. We believe that email marketing should be incorporated with a traditional marketing strategy, rather than replacing it and look forward to sharing any relevant information with you.
What I learned?
The seminar lasted only a few hours, but there was a wealth of information to absorb. I’ve highlighted the core points, which I feel are beneficial to those looking to use email marketing more effectively.
Identify the Ask
What are you asking your target audience to do? As an organisation, identify the main action you wish your clients to undertake. In a roundabout way, you are also rolling your offer into this “Ask”. For example, Circulator could use “Reach Your Customer”. We want our clients to increase engagement with their customers which will result in increased interaction rates and overall sales. We work with clients to ensure that their commercial goals are clearly outlined and achieved. It’s a rough example, to highlight how simple it can be. Ewan recommends that each “Ask” should start with a verb and highlighted Barack Obama’s campaign website as a great example. There are numerous “Asks” such as “Get involved, donate now, volunteer”, and “connect with the campaign”. These “Asks” can be likened to our “Call to Actions” in email marketing. These are a vital part of any campaign in order to facilitate interaction and solicit action from the subscriber.
Who is your ask for?
Understand your “Ask” and then apply it to the relevant audience. The right message, to the right audience is a sure winner, by increasing interaction and ultimately, helps you reach your goal, whether that’s sales, votes or brand awareness.
Reinforce the positive
When Ewan recommended a “winning attitude”, I couldn’t help but giggle a little, as it reminded me of Charlie Sheen’s #winning and #tigerblood rants, but that’s a whole other train of thought. Ewan’s advice is simple; always carry a positive message in communications and avoid implying a “presence in need of improvement”, i.e. implying that the current supplier, approach or proactive of the audience is in some way incorrect. Using Circulator again as an example, “Send Better Emails” is clearly implying a “presence” in need of improvement. This implies that the audience is doing something wrong or is flawed in some way and need of a new supplier to solve this issue. Avoid this and use a more positive approach instead. This would involve phrases such as “Energise Your Email Marketing”, (referring to Circulator), or using words such as “Proven, Achieve, Strong” etc.
Understanding that building a digital footprint, is a little like equity
Email Marketing is similar to other forms of media in certain respects – it takes time to achieve long term goals. Rather than expecting a return overnight, you must understand that a strong digital following will not happen overnight. It’s an organic process that needs to be nurtured rather than rushed. It requires strategy, time and effort. The main benefit of email marketing over other forms of digital is the ability to track a subscribers’ movement, from open rates, to click through – right through to purchase.
Identify your “Beachhead”
Ewan gave an animated example of a child rushing to a friend’s house and asking for the toilet, a drink and permission to play with toys, all in one breath. Rather than asking for all this in one go, we are told (from an early age), to identify the most important request first (usually a toilet break), and ask for it, before following up with the next one. Again, it goes back to the Ask. Once the first “ask” is identified, then the next “Ask” can be revealed and offered.
There are many other fantastic ideas that I’m looking forward to putting it into practice with our clients to help them achieve their desired results – curious? Get in touch now and we can explain more about our approach to email marketing.