Email Marketing: Does it Work?

Posted on January 24, 2013 by DoubleDimond PR

Often neglected or forgotten, email marketing is the stepchild of the social media world, regularly taking a back seat to The Next Big Thing. Yet, depending on your business goals, it may be one of the best ways to expand your client base.

Email marketing is “one of the most effective means of communicating your brand identity and generating sales,” according to Michael Beaulieu, group manager for digital media at Wayfair – a U.S.-based multinational e-commerce company – who is quoted in a recent article on Digiday.

At our firm, we have had success with e-news – a more subtle form of email marketing that includes newsletters, news announcements and articles on topics of interest to the people on your email list. Clients who were initially reluctant to try it have been surprised at the positive feedback they get with this means of communication.

Obviously, it’s just one tool in the PR toolbox, but if your firm is trying to reach a specific market, rather than promote to a broad consumer base, it is a cost-effective way to get your message out. In addition, by using a professional program, you can see who opens your email and how often they do so. A regular reader might be someone who is interested in hearing more from you.

So while e-news coming from your company will not replace external media coverage, it does offer distinct benefits:

Clarity: Your message is sent – exactly as you want it worded.
Frequency: You can send emails as often as you have news to impart.
Targeted: You can send directly to the decision-makers who can influence your business.
Feedback: You will know if and when your news is welcome – if your email is opened; if you get new subscribers; or if your subscribers “unsubscribe.”

Some cautionary notes to keep your subscribers interested:

Keep the content valuable. If your email is all puff and no substance, people will stop opening it.
Don’t send it too often. You don’t want to overwhelm your audience to the point that you are a nuisance.
Make sure everyone on your list is part of your target audience. Sending information to the wrong person can put you in a Spam category.
Have a recognizable design and layout for your email. You want to look as professional as you are.

Posted by Margot Dimond

Does Your Company Need a Social Media War Room?

Posted on October 29, 2012 by DoubleDimond PR

Social media war rooms are in the news right now. In fact, they recently were a featured part of a story by Ned Hibberd of Houston’s FOX 26 TV News. The story, which was prompted by Hibberd’s own experience as a consumer, quoted Lisa Dimond, principal of DoubleDimond Public Relations.

It isn’t surprising that this topic is gaining more attention. While social media channels are great for creating interest, hearing from and targeting consumers, they can create havoc with your company brand. All it takes is one embarrassing video posted on YouTube or one thoughtless comment on Twitter and, with the speed of light, you are dealing with a PR crisis.

Most companies – especially those who sell products or services to the public – are taking this possibility very seriously. It’s dangerous not to do so, considering such recent social media missteps as the tweet by a KitchenAid employee during the presidential debate. The tweet was quickly disavowed by the company, which helped tamp down on the negative publicity they were receiving.

Although corporations are not known for moving quickly, social media demands immediacy. You have to communicate in real time – engaging with consumers and responding quickly to online comments and complaints. In fact, with the appropriate response, you can turn a complaint into a positive experience for your customers.

And that’s where war rooms come in. Many large corporations have in-house war rooms within their marketing or public relations department to monitor the use of their name across social media.

Do you need a war room? Unless you are a big company sporting a well-known brand name, it’s probably not cost-effective.

But reputation monitoring is essential for all businesses.

Posted by Margot Dimond

The Wrong Fight: Social Media Management Is Not About Age

Posted on August 16, 2012 by DoubleDimond PR

From what I can tell, the dust-up over the proper age for a social media manager started in July, with an article on NextGen Journal by recent University of Iowa graduate Cathryn Sloane. Her article, “Why Every Social Media Manager Should Be Under 25,” asserted that, since people her age have grown up with social media, they should be the ones who are in charge of that function professionally as well.

The response to the article was overwhelming – to the point that the title was referred to as “link bait.” If so, it worked. (Just Google “Cathryn Sloane” to see for yourself.)

Most of the comments criticized the author’s “arrogance” and “sense of entitlement,” quoting statements such as this one: “To many people in the generations above us, Facebook and Twitter are just the latest ways of getting messages out there to the public, that also happen to be the best. . . .The specificity of the ways in which the method should be used is usually beyond them, however.” And this one: “Yet, every time I see a job posting for a Social Media Manager/Associate/etc. and find the employer is looking for five to ten years of direct experience, I wonder why they don’t realize the candidates who are in fact best suited for the position actually aren’t old enough to have that much experience.”

The War of the Ages was on! Inc.com published an article by Hollis Thomases, president of a digital marketing and advertising service company, that presented an entirely different point-of-view. Entitled “11 Reasons a 23-Year-Old Shouldn’t Run Your Social Media,” it seemed to challenge Ms. Sloane’s position directly: “Just because you don’t understand social media doesn’t mean you should forfeit all common sense and hire your niece, nephew, or any other recent college grad (say, your best friend’s sister-in-law’s kid) because ‘they’re really good on Facebook,’” Ms. Thomases says and goes on to enumerate the reasons why she thinks this is not a good idea.

Her post also generated lots of criticism, as well as a response by Lauren Rothering, PR and social media coordinator for a Wisconsin PR agency. In “Why millennials should handle your social media,” published in PR Daily, Ms. Rothering asserts that millennials are creative, trustworthy, individualistic, more familiar with social media and more mature than Ms. Thomases gives them credit for.

Stop, please! My head is hurting! The main thing about social media is not the method, or even how it is used. It’s whether or not it fits into a company’s overall public relations/marketing strategy. Each social media platform is a tactic for reaching and motivating a particular audience – one that is important to the success of a business or nonprofit organization. Like any tactic, it should be used as part of an overall strategic plan to advance the goals of an organization.

Now that can be done by someone in their 20s or even 60s, but whoever that person is should have the overall communication strategy as the driving force behind their activities. They also should have some experience in crisis communication, since social media can be a double-edged sword, with negative comments or postings traveling the globe in a matter of hours.

Take Ms. Sloane. As numerous others have noted, she never responded to any of the criticisms of her article, as is usually done in this type of post and as others writing about her have done with critics of their posts. She has “virtually” gone into hiding. She had an opportunity to start an interesting “social media” conversation, but chose instead to essentially strike and run – not a good move for anyone wanting a job in social media, where monitoring of comments and reputation management are essential.

Maybe she will do so in a future article. She should; that her article caused such a long-lasting stir shows she has a flair for writing that gets read.

Posted by Margot Dimond

Nonprofit Organizations and Social Media

Posted on May 17, 2012 by DoubleDimond PR

Nonprofit organizations are lagging in the use of social media for outreach to their constituents, according to a recent survey by software and service company Sage, covered in an article in this week’s PR News.

Almost two-thirds of respondents in the study said they don’t use any digital tools to manage social media programs. Not surprisingly, more than half of the respondents weren’t happy with their social media efforts.

Since social media marketing would seem to be made for nonprofit organizations and their communications programs, this is an unfortunate situation. But from my point of view as someone who has handled public relations for many nonprofit organizations – large and small – there is no mystery as to why this is happening.

While there are many large nonprofit organizations, there are also many more than have limited budgets and operate with a small, multi-tasking administrative staff whose work lives are stretched pretty thin. Very few charities have an in-house public relations person – let alone a communications staff.

Outsourcing these activities is the answer for these organizations, but they often opt for pro bono work by an outside agency, where necessity dictates their taking a back seat to paying clients.

To be effective, social media marketing takes strategic planning, time and dedication.

It can be a vicious circle: nonprofit organizations who don’t communicate with their publics on a regular basis miss out on fundraising opportunities, and lack of fundraising opportunities keeps them from adequately funding their communications programs.

Nonprofit organizations that eventually become financially stable have one thing in common: they have leaders who think big and look to the future. they invest in a public relations program – and in today’s world, that program includes social media.

Post by Margot Dimond

Starting a Social Media Marketing Program for a Small Business

Posted on April 17, 2012 by DoubleDimond PR

You own a small business – maybe a retail shop or a professional services firm – and you keep hearing that social media marketing is the way to go to get and keep customers. But you don’t know where to start. With so many new social networking sites, it can be confusing.

Don’t give up! Social media marketing was made for businesses like yours – businesses that want to connect with potential customers, engage them in a dialogue and build the kind of relationship that leads to long-term business success.

The important thing to remember is that, like any other public relations or marketing venture, you cannot dabble. You have to commit for the long-term. And it may be best to designate one person or an outside agency to manage your program because, if done correctly, managing social media sites will take many hours per week.

That said, you definitely need to get on board. But which sites should you start with? Let’s keep it simple and start with these three:

Facebook. According to American gangster mythology, when asked by a reporter why he robbed banks, Willie Sutton replied, “because that’s where the money is.” Well, Facebook is where the people are. It’s the top social site for referral traffic. You can’t afford not to be on it if you are trying to reach potential customers. But just having a Facebook page won’t get you anywhere. You need to have a “call to action,” an opportunity to share, post photos and videos, and ask and answer questions. Make your current and future customers feel as if they are a part of your business.

Twitter. Got a sale coming up? Have a special two-for-one pricing on meals or drinks? Want to share a great tip on filing taxes? Hear of a new trend? Tweet all of the above – and more – in 140 characters or less. Also, you can tweet relevant and interesting articles, start a poll, re-tweet customer comments, and on and on. The important thing is to have an ongoing conversation with your customers.

Company Blog. Your blog isn’t really a social networking site, but it is your voice to the world. How is it promoting your brand? Do you post regularly, or do visitors see outdated information there? Are you linking back to your social networking sites and website, or does it just sit there – like an orphan?

Writing a blog is a real commitment, and it can become a chore, especially if you aren’t comfortable writing. You can invite subscribers to post as well, but don’t count on that. The important point here is that if you can’t keep it current by yourself, hire someone who can.

Posted by Margot Dimond

New Takes on Social Media Users

Posted on April 10, 2012 by DoubleDimond PR

A couple of interesting news items on social media came across my desk today. One was an article in a business journal about a social media contest the publication is sponsoring. It noted that of the 32 entries it had received to-date, 28 were from small businesses. Very few of the larger companies the writer contacted for the article were actively pursuing social media. Of those who did, most reported using it to communicate with employees or existing customers.

This has been our experience as well. Social media is a boon for smaller businesses, for whom traditional advertising and marketing can be cost-prohibitive. It’s an inexpensive way to reach potential customers quickly and efficiently and, in many cases, it can lead to rapid increases in sales and profits. It also works well for larger companies that sell directly to consumers.

For large business-to-business firms, social media is less likely to produce immediate results. The hierarchical structure of most large companies can make them less flexible when it comes to communicating, and flexibility is the hallmark of social media messaging.

The second piece of news is a report on Facebook fan pages in PR Daily. Apparently, brand promotion through Facebook is a dud with millennials – those cherished consumers born between 1980 and 2000. According to a recent survey of college students, while 86 percent of millennials visit Facebook every day, only 1 percent visit a brand page daily. If they are fans on Facebook, it’s usually for an organization they are personally involved with, such as a nonprofit organization or a sorority. This seems to be yet another example of social media tools being used to communicate with people who already know you.

Posted by Margot Dimond

Don’t let this happen to you!

Posted on February 17, 2012 by DoubleDimond PR

In a recent Twitter campaign, McDonald’s sought to promote the fact that the chain bought fresh produce from farmers. First came the #MeetTheFarmers hashtag on Twitter; later in the day, the company launched #McDStories to generate positive stories from consumers. Almost immediately users began tweeting stories about food with worms, food poisoning, and other such appetizing fare. The large number of negative tweets caused a flurry of press coverage, embarrassing the company.

McDonald’s is not alone in experiencing a social media disaster. Australia’s Qantas, car-maker Honda, and clothier Kenneth Cole are just a few more examples of corporate social media marketing plans gone awry.

Social media offers a great new venue for widespread exposure – especially for companies selling to consumers. But it’s a double-edged sword that can also offer an opportunity for widespread embarrassment – as disgruntled employees, disappointed customers or professional gripers vent their frustrations in a very public way.

Understandably, seeing campaigns such as McDonald’s fall apart may make a marketing executive shy away from using social media to promote his company’s products or services. But this type of unintended consequence can be avoided by remembering two important things:

1. Have a Strategy. As with any other public relations/marketing tool, you should know why you are doing the campaign. Does it advance your brand? Is it a good fit with your marketing goals? Does it reach the right people with the right kind of message? All of these questions should be asked before any campaign – of any type – is launched.

2. Be an Emergency Manager. A big part of emergency management takes place before the crisis happens. Good emergency managers think, “What’s the worst that could happen?” If there is a good chance your brand could be hijacked and trashed, you may want to try something else. Even if you can’t think of a worst case scenario, have a crisis plan ready for handling any negative fallout.

Finally, monitor your campaign on a regular basis, so you will know how it’s going, and be ready to spring into action if things go awry.

There are always risks when doing social media marketing, but if well-planned and monitored, it may be well worth it for your company.