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by admin on March 5, 2010
Every now and then, there is a discussion about where email stands as social network use becomes the "it" thing. We've all heard mutterings like, "email is dead" and "social media is killing email," but it's just not the case, and there are plenty of reasons why (even if Google thinks it's time to start over). Do you think email is on the way out? Share your thoughts. Last year, we ran a piece titled 10 Reasons Social Media isnt' Replacing Email that got a pretty good response from readers. In a nutshell (read the article for elaboration), these ten reasons were:
1. People still send hand-written letters 2. Nearly all sites on the web that require registration require an email address 3. Email notifies you of updates from all social networks 4. We haven't seen any evidence yet that Google Wave really is the next big thing 5. Email is universal, and social networks are not 6. There are plenty of people who have no interest in joining social networks, but already use email 7. Email is still improving 8. Even social networks themselves recognize the importance of email 9. More social media use means more email use 10. As far as marketing is concerned, email is doing pretty well
At the Online Marketing Summit last week, there was an interesting session about email marketing, led by Joel Book, Director of eMarketing Education for email marketing firm ExactTarget. In that session among other points of discussion, he provided the following concept equations: Email + CRM = lead nurturing Email + CRM = Reseller education Email + CRM = trade show follow up Email + CRM = sales support for dealers Email + analytics = Personalized recommendations Email + analytics = live offers Email + retail = product education Email + retail = scannable coupons Email + retail = subscriber acquisition Email + social = driving demand Email + social = using social forward to expand customer database Email + sms = mobile immediacy Email + SMS = lead generation Email + sms = subscriber acquisition Some things to think about. Also at the Online Marketing Summit, WebProNews discussed the integration of social media with email, with Kara Trivunovic, Sr. Director of Strategic Services at StrongMail, who makes some great points.
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by admin on March 3, 2010
by admin on March 1, 2010
Small and medium-sized business (SMB) marketers are becoming increasingly convinced of the positive results of video email, social media and personalization, according to a new report from GetResponse. Over 80 percent of respondents plan to use video emails in 2010 and over 90 percent of SMB marketers who use video emails report it delivers significant conversion rates. More than half of respondents said video emails can increase click-through rates. One in three marketers believes video can improve brand image and increase customer loyalty. Over 20 percent of marketers believe that video emails can also reduce support and training costs. Only 4.7 percent of email marketers do no see any benefits from using video email.
"Today's marketers are mindful of the importance of delivering relevant content and one-to-one messaging based on preferences and behaviors," said Simon Grabowski, founder of
GetResponse
. "It's all about putting the 'human element' back into marketing through the use of video and social media conversations." Other highlights from the survey include:
by admin on January 14, 2010
by admin on January 12, 2010
Someone with a very interesting political background will soon be in charge of Google's corporate communications. The company's hired Jill Hazelbaker, who's worked with both John McCain and Michael Bloomberg in the past, to replace Matt Furman. A quick note about Furman's departure: according to Jessica E. Vascellaro, he's leaving on his own terms be closer to his family, and has already lined up another job. So you didn't miss some major PR fiasco, and this development shouldn't correspond to any big changes in policy at Google. Hazelbaker may bring a unique perspective to the table as the search giant has to deal with the government more and more, though. Her experience in politics is impressive, considering that she was the communications director for John McCain's presidential campaign. More recently, she's served as a spokesperson and media strategist for Michael Bloomberg's mayoral reelection campaign, too. Of course, these connections imply that Hazelbaker is a Republican, and it's no secret that Google leans to the left. It'd be interesting to know whether the search giant is trying to diversify and appeal to different groups, or if it just hired the best person for the job regardless of political affiliations.
Related Articles:
> Google Arranges To Expand In Pittsburgh
> Important Product Director Moving From Google To Digg
> Google Ranked World's Most Attractive Employer
by admin on January 11, 2010
Starting in mid-March, Yahoo Shopping will no longer be a solo act. Yahoo announced today that it's arranged to have PriceGrabber take care of some of the technical details, and it'll be able to make one more cutback thanks to the adjustment. A post on the Yahoo Developer Blog explained, "[W]e have decided to enter into a strategic partnership with PriceGrabber to power the Product Submit functionality of Yahoo! Shopping as of March 11, 2010. As a result of these changes, Yahoo! will no longer provide the Shopping Web Services API, including Shopping Results (the 'Yahoo! Shopping Syndication Services') to you . . ." Not all developers are taking the news well, and considering that Yahoo and PriceGrabber haven't offered anything in the way of free alternatives, it's a little hard to blame them. Yahoo might hurt itself with this move, too, since less interest from developers could equate to less attention for Yahoo Shopping. Still, Yahoo's accounting department surely had a say in this decision, and it's hard to imagine that traffic statistics weren't taken into account. So this may help Yahoo save a significant amount of money while also allowing it to make a new corporate friend. For what it's worth, Yahoo also told developers, "It has been our privilege to provide you with Yahoo!'s shopping syndication product, and we hope to continue our relationship with you in other areas long into the future."
> Yahoo Partners With Electus On Original Content
> Carol Bartz Gives Self A B-
> Yahoo Sale Of Zimbra To VMware Rumored
by admin on January 7, 2010
by admin on January 5, 2010
A while back, Google launched an extensions gallery for its Chrome web browser. Ad-blocking add-ons are among the most popular for Mozilla's Firefox, so it stands to reason that they will be for Chrome as well. With Google's primary source of revenue being its ads, a lot of talk has surfaced about Google letting people block its own ads with its own product. Is Google was smart to allow ad-blocking extensions for Chrome? Discuss here. A recent article from the New York Times has elevated the discussion, calling the allowance of ad blockers a "test" for Google. Google wants people to use Chrome. For that to happen, it has to give people what they want. One point of view would be that the people who are most likely to block ads would just as use another browser that allowed them to do so if Chrome didn't. Google doesn't think that ad blockers will have much of an impact on advertising anyway. In December, Google Engineering Director Linus Upson participated in a panel discussion about the subject. He, Charles McCathieNevile of Opera, and Mike Shaver of Mozilla discuss it in the following clip:
Add-on-Con '09 ads and adblockers (closing keynote) from Robert on Vimeo.
Upson says it's "unlikely ad blockers are going to get to the level where they imperil the advertising market, because if advertising is so annoying that a large segment of the population wants to block it, then advertising should get less annoying." He thinks the market will sort it out. The others appear to take similar stances. The real question is how many people are really going to make the effort to block ads? As Wladimir Palant, who runs Adblock Plus on Firefox, told the NYT, ad blockers are still used by a "tiny proportion of the Internet population, and these aren’t the kind of people susceptible to ads anyway." Based on what Upton had to say in the panel discussion, Google is pretty confident that it can deliver ads people actually want, and that people (for the most part) will not want to block them if they see that relevance. What could hurt Google more is if Microsoft or Firefox implemented their own ad blocking capabilities by default. This would lead to average users browsing an ad-less web, because just as most people don’t go out of their way to download ad-blocking add-ons, they are unlikely to go out of their way to allow ads in such a scenario. However, it is pretty unlikely that this will happen, particularly on Microsoft's end. They of course have their own ads to worry about. If ad-blocking from the browser actually did become a big problem for Google, one would have to wonder if the company woulnd't find some kind of work-around. For example, what would stop them from serving ads directly in the Chrome Browser itself (in a toolbar area for example)? One could envision sponsored link-style ads like those served via Gmail. With Google's interest-based advertising, relevance would still be at the forefront. But it probably won't come to that anytime soon (at least not as a solution to the perceived issue). Wondering how many people actually use Chrome anyway? Ad-blocking from the browser does after all only matter if people are using that browser. Well, the latest numbers from Net Applications have Chrome's market share surpassing that of Apple's Safari browser. It's worth noting that Google just released Chrome for Mac last month as well. As Doug Caverly mentioned, "Chrome's only been around for about 16 months, after all, and Safari's had something like six years to make friends." Google's Chrome OS is set to make things interesting later this year, as well. Chrome use is growing and will continue to do. Ad campaigns from Google may ease that growth along. Google made a bold move when it opened up its extensions gallery, allowing for ad-blocking extensions. Could this turn out to be a huge mistake on the company's part or is Google's confidence completely justified? Only time will tell for certain, but Google has long stood behind the promise of trying to deliver the best user experience. If users want to block ads, Google is going to let them. Share your thoughts here.
> Chrome Cruises By Safari
> Chrome Ad Campaign Nets Positive Results
> Google Pushes Chrome With Newspaper Ads
by admin on December 29, 2009
Nearly half (40%) of email marketers plan on increasing their budgets for the channel in 2010 and 47 percent said their budgets would stay the same, according to a new survey by Silverpop. In the coming year, more than half (52%) of email marketers said increasing customer loyalty was a top email marketing goal. Overall, 51 percent of respondents want to drive incremental revenue with their email program; 65 percent of those with larger email budgets says that's that their top goal in 2010. "When consumers' purse strings tighten, savvy marketers remain respectful but attentive, so their brands are top of mind when their customers are once again ready to buy," said Bill Nussey, CEO of Silverpop. "Today's marketers are mindful of the important role relationship building plays in a successful marketing strategy, and they understand the unique ability of email to engage customers." While marketers remain positive about the role email will play in meeting their goals in 2010, they are also prepared to face related challenges. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said the biggest challenge in the coming year will be "inbox clutter. Overall, more than eight out of 10 (84 percent) plan to include social media into their email programs in the coming year, and 38 percent will add SMS. Marketers with budget increases are even more likely to add these to their programs; 89 percent will incorporate social media and 44 percent SMS. "Linking email to popular social networks can be a very successful strategy," Nussey said. "If the messages are timely and relevant, recipients will share them with their networks, and the opportunity for additional exposure increases exponentially. And as customers become more mobile, their marketing must reach them in more timely ways and through channels such as SMS."
>10 Reasons Social Media Isn't Replacing Email
>Emails With Coupons Achieve Higher Open Rates
>Majority Of Consumers Want To Interact With Brands Online
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