The Battle for Your Marketing Dollars: Email vs. Social Media

email vs. social media

In my book, I define several kinds of “marketing batteries,” two of which are the “Subscriber Battery” and the “Social Battery.”

Marketing batteries store attention, and are charged through your online properties. Your email list is your subscriber battery and your friends, followers and fans are charge your social batteries.

The subscriber battery can pack a real wallop, and so marketers get a scared of looking like spammers. The social battery is unpredictable in its ability to deliver attention back to your website.

Business people let email drive their daily tasks, checking their mail multiple times per hour. As a general rule of thumb, you want to get your email marketing program working before investing in social media.

We like email. The best way to make social media work for you is to charge your subscriber battery from it. Your email list is an asset you own. Your subscriber battery is at the mercy of people like Mark Zuckerberg. It can be taken away or shared with advertisers.

We feel vindicated by this infographic, which we think treats both batteries fairly.

If you think about it, email is the largest social network on the planet anyhow. So stick them both in your marketing petri dish and see what grows.

In 2012, email marketing delivered a return on investment (ROI) of 4,000 percent. And it’s easy to understand why – no matter how swiftly social media platforms have developed; email remains the single most popular online activity with 97% of users sending and writing emails. 

Still, social media marketing is not just resting in a neutral corner. It is growing, and exponentially. In 2012, small to medium sized businesses projected to increase their social media spending 100%.

So wouldn’t it make sense to pair these two golden gloves together within your marketing plan?

  • ·         94% of internet users using email
  • ·         61% of internet users are using social networking sites

Looking at those figures, you have to assume that 33% of the internet is using both, and that number is bound to grow. Think of the jabs will you land if you apply both tactics.  By using these tools cooperatively and proficiently in your marketing plan,you can strengthen your brand’s awareness, significantly increase your influence, and maximize the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

Now, throw your lab coat over your chair, take a seat, and get ready throw the throw-down of the year. 

The Matchup:  The pioneering folks at HostPapa created this knockout infographic. See how email fares in a scrap with social media. You might be surprised by the judge’s decision.

Hat tip to Marketing Tech Blog for drawing our attention to this.

Let’s Get Ready to Rummmblllllllle!

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Scientific Advertising by Founding Conversion Scientist Claude Hopkins

imageIs it possible that this book was written in 1923?

Is it possible that a book written before the depression is the foundational work for those of us optimizing our online businesses?

Yes, it is possible and true.

Before the Internet, there was Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins. It’s a brief, clear and even motivating read. You will find Claude Hopkins Scientific Advertising free download in the Conversion Lab.

Claude definitely earned his lab coat in our opinion.

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Using Google Tag Manager: Software Review

IT vs Marketing

Don’t be nervous, IT. Be afraid.

Marketing is slowly but surely slipping control of technology from your keyboard-calloused little fingers. Your long release cycles and distrust of marketing technology will no longer be tolerated.

The newest tool in marketers’ control is Google Tag Manager, and it is a powerful tool for marketers, if used right.

We recently reviewed Google Tag Manager, which makes it dangerously easy for marketers to manage the javascript “Tags” that are on their sites.

Marketers can use this tool to implementing new site features without asking IT to make changes.

The review was voted one of the Fab 5 Business Software Reviews on IT review site TrustRadius. Who are we to argue with them?

Here are some Pros and Cons we found:

* Integrates well in Google Analytics

* Lists a history of site changes

* Won’t support AB software

* Requires extensive Q&A

Google Tag Manager makes adding features and analytics to a site easy. But, “with great power comes great responsibility.” Brian advises to thoroughly test changes and be ready to debug any sudden problems.

Read Fab 5 Business Software Reviews for more comprehensive tools and software for your business.

Getting Our First Book Published: The Stories Behind the Stories

In South Austin, just a few miles from the new airport lies Patsy’s Cowgirl Cafe. Even in a Texas town, this is the kind of place that makes you look twice.

The smart and amiable Joe Pulizzi sat across from me separated by his plate of migas and my chicken fried steak marinating in cream gravy and Tabasco sauce.

Had I known this would be an important turning point in my professional life, I couldn’t have picked a more memorable place.

Cowgirl

This is how my story of getting published begins, and is just one of the stories behind the story found in 13 Top Authors Explain How To Get Your First Book Published.

1. Building Strong ConnectionsFound in these gems are some tips for the aspiring book author.

2. Creating a “Blog To Book” strategy

3. Outline a marketing plan before writing or a selling a book

The fact that you can buy Your Customer Creation Equation on Amazon is a testament to the story’s ending. Joe became my publisher.

For more tips and advice head on over to The 60 Second Marketer and read 13 Top Authors Explain How To Get Your First Book Published.

The Business Porn Crackdown

You may not even know it, but your website could be flooded with porn. No, not that kind (dirty mind). I’m talking about “business porn.”

What exactly is “business porn?” It’s all that irrelevant stock photography that is supposed to bring a corporate edge to your website.

So cover your eyes, because you see it all the time!

Now when is stock photography business porn? Brian Massey gives a basic tip to identify it, just add a caption to your stock photo. Take a look at the image below:

Here’s my caption: Oh look at us, we’re all so corporate looking, wearing fancy suites, and doing absolutely nothing!

Now would you put place a caption like that on your site? I sure hope not… Brian’s are way more clever though. Don’t believe me? Click HERE to read his post.

And just how important is eliminating “business porn?” It just might help better increase your conversions. In fact, it’s one of the 27 Ways To Reduce Shopping Fears On Your Ecommerce Website according to Visual Website Optimizer.

Case in point, use real photos to represent your company or brand. Go to a studio, use Photoshop, and make them look pretty! You’ll be glad you did.

For more on identifying “business porn” ready Brian’s post via Customer Creation Equation.

Lon Safko Sees Marketing Connections Everywhere

Lon Safko wrote the bible, that is, the Social Media Bible, now in its third edition. When you take on a subject as sweeping and fast-changing as the entirety of social media, you can’t come away from it unaffected.

I met Lon. He’s been affected.

But Lon’s affliction is that he now sees connections between marketing channels that others would miss. He’s like a marketing version John Forbes Nash, Jr. who was depicted in the movie A Beautiful Mind.

He’s written his visions down in a  book called The Fusion Marketing Bible. I got to see him present at Engage Mexico and took copious notes. For you.

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Your Mobile Customer Equation with Jamie Turner [INFOGRAPH]

When talking about mobile marketing strategy, Jamie Turner claims, [pullquote]”The smaller the screen, the closer the visitor is to buying.”[/pullquote]

If you hear him talk, you understand why it makes sense.

I got to hear Jamie talk, and captured his wisdom in an Instagraph for you.

jamie turner mobile marketing engage mexico instagraph

Jamie Turner tells us exactly how to make mobile a part of our Customer Creation Equation.
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LinkedIn Can Generate Business for You. Ask Viveka Van Rosen [INFOGRAPH]

For Viveka Van Rosen, LinkedIn is a results-oriented tool that is great at generating new referrals for your business.

It’s not just social media to her.

Find out how she makes LinkedIn work for her clients in my live instagraph of her presentation from Engage Mexico.

Viveka Van Rosen Notes from Engage Mexico by Brian Massey

Instagraph recorded live during Viveka Van Rosen’s LinkedIn presentation at Engage Mexico.
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Please include attribution to customercreationequation.com with this graphic.

 

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What’s Working on Facebook with Andrea Vahl [INFOGRAPH]

Thank god for people like Andrea Vahl who can in one hour bring you up to speed on what is and is not working in social media. They’ve spent the time to stay on top of things so we don’t have to.

This is my live Instagraph of Andrea’s presentation from Engage Mexico in Puerto Vallarta.

Andrea Vahl Facebook Instagraph Infograph Engage Mexico Brian Massey

Instagraph recorded live during Andrea Vahl’s presentation at Engage Mexico.
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When Landing Pages Break Promises [Updated]

This is a tale of two companies who can’t afford to blacken their reputation any more than they already have.

It is the story of one letter, one landing page and a broken promise.

Experian doesn’t have many friends in the public domain. Their main job is to prevent people from getting homes, cars and frozen pizzas. Their second job is to make it hard for victims of identity theft to redeem themselves.

Adobe is a company who gave 2.9 million of their customers’ account information to thieves.

I love my Adobe software, so I was philosophical about the security breach. I got a nice letter saying that they’d hired Experian to make sure I didn’t fall victim to identity fraud.

The letter gave no hint of irony.

“You have until February 28, 2014 to activate this complimentary credit monitoring membership by using the following activation code: XXXXXXXX. This code is unique for your use and may not be shared. To enroll, please visit http://www.protectmyid.com/adobe, or call …”

I visited the link in the letter: http://protectmyid.com/adobe

The letter made a clear promise and this link contains a promise by including the word “adobe” in it.

The link sent me here:

image

No blank for an activation code.

No mention of Adobe on the page.

A broken promise.

I took the time to try to sign up. They wouldn’t take my activation code.

The best brand experience is giving visitors what they expect. These companies are pissing on the people they have already let down.

How many times are your ads making promises that your landing pages are breaking?

UPDATE

The landing page has changed. Now THIS is a promise kept:

This is a landing page that keeps Adobe's promise. But, who's the woman?

This is a landing page that keeps Adobe’s promise. My only criticism of this page is the use of business porn.

Now, where did I put that letter?

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