You may think that email, Twitter and Facebook are all slight variations on the same tune, but the ExactTarget Research Series, Subscribers, Fans and Followers has shown that each venue has its own X-Factor which makes it special. The trick, which is summarized in their newly published final report, is figuring out how to make them all work as a team.
The study begins by breaking down the numbers and there was a surprise here. 93% of online consumers say they receive at least one permission-based email a day. These are the subscribers. 38% said they are a Facebook fan of at least one brand. These are the fans. The surprise is in the followers, those U.S. online consumers who say they follow at least one brand on Twitter. That number is 5%. That’s it.
I probably spend more time on Twitter than the average person, so my idea of the usage is likely skewed by that, but I would have guessed the number at 10-15%. The upside is that of that 5%, 37% said that following a brand it made it more likely that they would purchase something from them. 27% of subscribers agreed as did 17% of the Facebook fans.
I’m not great with math, but I’m pretty sure that means that a larger number of people are getting emails and are getting influenced by them as compared to Facebook and Twitter. But all three venues have their success rate, which is why it’s so important to make them work together.
Many of the people surveyed said they were confused by where to look for information because the branding across the venues wasn’t consistent. For example, if I want a company’s monthly coupon offer, will I get it if I sign up for the email, or only if I become a fan on Facebook? Consumers didn’t like being told they had to subscribe to any one particular method in order to receive information.
Ideally, you want consumers to follow all three channels. To do this, you must cross-promote one channel with another. Announce Facebook winners in the email newsletter, Tweet about content that’s exclusive to Facebook, create a special email newsletter for Twitter followers. All of that takes time and that’s money – two items most businesses don’t have in abundance. That means you have to pick your battles. Try mixing and matching and monitor the results. If a campaign isn’t getting results, try something else. Social media is so new, there isn’t a proven pattern for success.
There are a few tips you should keep in mind and these come right from the consumers you’re trying to reach.
• Make it worth their time.
• Show gratitude for their business.
• Deliver quality products.
• Honor their individual preferences.
• Provide excellent customer service.
• Be honest.
I’ll bet you already knew those things, but are those points coming across in your email, Twitter and Facebook campaigns? That’s what is important.
You’ll find a lot more detail in the ExactTarget Subscribers, Fans and Followers report. If you haven’t downloaded this six part series, do it. It’s free and there’s a wealth of information in each report. As a bonus, the reports are light on text and big on graphics, perfect for those of you who want to be informed but don’t have the time to plow through a twenty page report.
Finally, let me leave you with this thought. If your audience is on the go, they may prefer Twitter over email so that’s where you should be concentrating your efforts. More of a social audience? Hook them in with fun games and community events on Facebook. The point is, the only statistics that really matter, are yours after you run a social media marketing campaign.
Do you have any ideas for making you email, Twitter and Facebook accounts work together? We’d like to hear about it.
Social Media Monitoring in Just 60-Seconds. Guaranteed!
In the last week, I have been asked three times to give away significant amounts of my time and expertise to people who are putting on programs or putting together materials for a good cause. In two out of the three cases, the people asking were actually fairly rude and demanding about what they wanted from me. And by the third request-- which came this morning -- I snapped.
Why is it that so many people think authors can give away so much of their time for free? Where do they suppose we get the books that they ask us to donate? How do they expect us to fund the time that it takes to prepare for their event, to get to their event, to perform at their event? It's the craziest thing! I would never ask my dentist to work for free, or my lawyer, or my hairdresser, and yet people seem to think that it's part of an author's job to do programs and events for free. Maybe they mistake all authors for best-selling authors. Maybe they think that because Dan Brown and J.K. Rowling make so much money, all authors are raking in the dough.
I like it that people want me to show up. I think it's wonderful that they think I have something to offer. I appreciate that they are trying to support worthy causes.
But for the foreseeable future? I'm saying no. I am, after all, trying to write a novel....
Olbermann On Sharron Angle Video | Fox <b>News</b> | Media Matters | Mediaite
You'll never believe this one, but it appears Keith Olbermann isn't the biggest fan of Fox News. But in case there was any doubt, on last night's Countdown he made it clear again, going after what he sees as the network blatantly ...
Bookninja » Blog Archive » <b>News</b> roundup
News roundup. I'm in Manitoba, Canada's Minnesota, for Winnipeg's THIN AIR authors festival. So I'll be sporadically blogging from my very nicely appointed hotel room (they know how to treat the authors here, perhaps because when you ...
Small Business <b>News</b>: The Times They Are A Changing
In the 60's it was a song of revolution when change was just not as common. Today, it reflects a fact of life, at least for small business owners and.
robert shumake
Olbermann On Sharron Angle Video | Fox <b>News</b> | Media Matters | Mediaite
You'll never believe this one, but it appears Keith Olbermann isn't the biggest fan of Fox News. But in case there was any doubt, on last night's Countdown he made it clear again, going after what he sees as the network blatantly ...
Bookninja » Blog Archive » <b>News</b> roundup
News roundup. I'm in Manitoba, Canada's Minnesota, for Winnipeg's THIN AIR authors festival. So I'll be sporadically blogging from my very nicely appointed hotel room (they know how to treat the authors here, perhaps because when you ...
Small Business <b>News</b>: The Times They Are A Changing
In the 60's it was a song of revolution when change was just not as common. Today, it reflects a fact of life, at least for small business owners and.
You may think that email, Twitter and Facebook are all slight variations on the same tune, but the ExactTarget Research Series, Subscribers, Fans and Followers has shown that each venue has its own X-Factor which makes it special. The trick, which is summarized in their newly published final report, is figuring out how to make them all work as a team.
The study begins by breaking down the numbers and there was a surprise here. 93% of online consumers say they receive at least one permission-based email a day. These are the subscribers. 38% said they are a Facebook fan of at least one brand. These are the fans. The surprise is in the followers, those U.S. online consumers who say they follow at least one brand on Twitter. That number is 5%. That’s it.
I probably spend more time on Twitter than the average person, so my idea of the usage is likely skewed by that, but I would have guessed the number at 10-15%. The upside is that of that 5%, 37% said that following a brand it made it more likely that they would purchase something from them. 27% of subscribers agreed as did 17% of the Facebook fans.
I’m not great with math, but I’m pretty sure that means that a larger number of people are getting emails and are getting influenced by them as compared to Facebook and Twitter. But all three venues have their success rate, which is why it’s so important to make them work together.
Many of the people surveyed said they were confused by where to look for information because the branding across the venues wasn’t consistent. For example, if I want a company’s monthly coupon offer, will I get it if I sign up for the email, or only if I become a fan on Facebook? Consumers didn’t like being told they had to subscribe to any one particular method in order to receive information.
Ideally, you want consumers to follow all three channels. To do this, you must cross-promote one channel with another. Announce Facebook winners in the email newsletter, Tweet about content that’s exclusive to Facebook, create a special email newsletter for Twitter followers. All of that takes time and that’s money – two items most businesses don’t have in abundance. That means you have to pick your battles. Try mixing and matching and monitor the results. If a campaign isn’t getting results, try something else. Social media is so new, there isn’t a proven pattern for success.
There are a few tips you should keep in mind and these come right from the consumers you’re trying to reach.
• Make it worth their time.
• Show gratitude for their business.
• Deliver quality products.
• Honor their individual preferences.
• Provide excellent customer service.
• Be honest.
I’ll bet you already knew those things, but are those points coming across in your email, Twitter and Facebook campaigns? That’s what is important.
You’ll find a lot more detail in the ExactTarget Subscribers, Fans and Followers report. If you haven’t downloaded this six part series, do it. It’s free and there’s a wealth of information in each report. As a bonus, the reports are light on text and big on graphics, perfect for those of you who want to be informed but don’t have the time to plow through a twenty page report.
Finally, let me leave you with this thought. If your audience is on the go, they may prefer Twitter over email so that’s where you should be concentrating your efforts. More of a social audience? Hook them in with fun games and community events on Facebook. The point is, the only statistics that really matter, are yours after you run a social media marketing campaign.
Do you have any ideas for making you email, Twitter and Facebook accounts work together? We’d like to hear about it.
Social Media Monitoring in Just 60-Seconds. Guaranteed!
In the last week, I have been asked three times to give away significant amounts of my time and expertise to people who are putting on programs or putting together materials for a good cause. In two out of the three cases, the people asking were actually fairly rude and demanding about what they wanted from me. And by the third request-- which came this morning -- I snapped.
Why is it that so many people think authors can give away so much of their time for free? Where do they suppose we get the books that they ask us to donate? How do they expect us to fund the time that it takes to prepare for their event, to get to their event, to perform at their event? It's the craziest thing! I would never ask my dentist to work for free, or my lawyer, or my hairdresser, and yet people seem to think that it's part of an author's job to do programs and events for free. Maybe they mistake all authors for best-selling authors. Maybe they think that because Dan Brown and J.K. Rowling make so much money, all authors are raking in the dough.
I like it that people want me to show up. I think it's wonderful that they think I have something to offer. I appreciate that they are trying to support worthy causes.
But for the foreseeable future? I'm saying no. I am, after all, trying to write a novel....
robert shumake
Olbermann On Sharron Angle Video | Fox <b>News</b> | Media Matters | Mediaite
You'll never believe this one, but it appears Keith Olbermann isn't the biggest fan of Fox News. But in case there was any doubt, on last night's Countdown he made it clear again, going after what he sees as the network blatantly ...
Bookninja » Blog Archive » <b>News</b> roundup
News roundup. I'm in Manitoba, Canada's Minnesota, for Winnipeg's THIN AIR authors festival. So I'll be sporadically blogging from my very nicely appointed hotel room (they know how to treat the authors here, perhaps because when you ...
Small Business <b>News</b>: The Times They Are A Changing
In the 60's it was a song of revolution when change was just not as common. Today, it reflects a fact of life, at least for small business owners and.
robert shumake
Olbermann On Sharron Angle Video | Fox <b>News</b> | Media Matters | Mediaite
You'll never believe this one, but it appears Keith Olbermann isn't the biggest fan of Fox News. But in case there was any doubt, on last night's Countdown he made it clear again, going after what he sees as the network blatantly ...
Bookninja » Blog Archive » <b>News</b> roundup
News roundup. I'm in Manitoba, Canada's Minnesota, for Winnipeg's THIN AIR authors festival. So I'll be sporadically blogging from my very nicely appointed hotel room (they know how to treat the authors here, perhaps because when you ...
Small Business <b>News</b>: The Times They Are A Changing
In the 60's it was a song of revolution when change was just not as common. Today, it reflects a fact of life, at least for small business owners and.
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