{ { + Social = Engagement. Deploying Social Tactics to Deepen Your Subscriber Relationship. Copyright 2012 icontact LLC

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1 { { + Social = Engagement Deploying Social Tactics to Deepen Your Subscriber Relationship

2 In the ever-evolving landscape of marketing, social media is playing a more integral role in the subscriber relationship. It s critical that we as marketers learn to use our marketing programs to deploy effective social tactics that respond to the customer life cycle and engage beyond the first click. In this whitepaper, we will outline five tactics to leverage in your strategy today to drive impact from the basics of social sharing to advanced mechanics such as social shopping. Whether it s implementing social content in your marketing or utilizing social channels to deepen the breadth of your customer service, it s important to identify how your customers and prospects identify with your brand and drive tactics that facilitate immediate engagement. Is Social Necessary? The reality is that implementing social media tactics into your marketing mix shouldn t be done simply because everyone else is doing it. Depending on your business objectives, deciding how and when you will use this mix is critical. In addition, it s imperative to ensure you have the appropriate resources. Here are a few questions to ask yourself: 1. Do we have share-worthy content? 2. Can we measure the impact? 3. What kind of content/offers should we develop that give subscribers value? After you ve answered these questions and believe that social tactics will deepen the subscriber relationship, it s time to begin defining how you will integrate social into your marketing mix. 1. Share It Adding sharing tools to your campaigns is an easy win to maximize value and allow for your content to have viral appeal. Most solutions allow for easy accessibility to sharing through Facebook, Twitter, and more. Creating content and offers that relate instantly is critical to ensure that there is value in what you send, and more importantly, value in sharing it with friends, colleagues and family. Sharing tools give you access to viral performance as well, making the measurement of impact an easier achievement. Here are a few that have positioned their social sharing well. 2

3 ebags also leverages a social footer. In determining what strategy works best for you, test different locations with your marketing campaigns to drive awareness. 2. Join Us Allowing subscribers multiple channels with which to interact with your brand is important in today s environment. First, ask yourself, if you use to get people to follow up on Twitter, get the blog feed or become Facebook fans, are you creating extra contact points to engage with your base or are you simply switching people from channels? Second, identify the value of subscribers versus Twitter, Facebook or RSS followers. Ultimately, you want to create high-value messaging that delivers at the right time to the right person with the right medium. CB2 pushes their subscribers to like them on Facebook in a prominent position of their header. 3. Take It Mobile According to Nov 2011 comscore data for US consumers, 89.6 million mobile users accessed through a mobile device, with 57.3 million doing so on a near-daily basis. The same company s Mobile Year in Review 2010 report revealed that personal was the biggest content consumption category for mobile users, with more users checking personal on a smartphone than participating even in social networks. What does this mean? If you haven t thought mobile, it s time to. How you engage on a smartphone is just as critical as your viral reach with social networks. Allowing your subscribers to access your content across any channel or device they choose, without sacrificing the experience, is critical as we think about social media. As a result, make certain that you create s that can be successfully read without compromise cross-platform. 3

4 CB2 has a larger social footer that engages subscribers from mobile to social sharing. 4. Go Old School There aren t enough marketers tapping into old-school viral marketing tactics like FTAF forward to a friend. Content forwarded by friends and family is much more likely to be responded to. It s an easy win, that if you haven t had an opportunity to use, you should consider. The key points are still the same have an offer or content that is compelling enough to forward. Urban Outfitters goes old school with its prominent FTAF in its header. 5. Video Influence There s been a transition in marketing over the years, moving from how do you use video? to why you use video. Just like social media, utilizing video because it s attractive in an isn t a compelling enough argument. Ask yourself, Does adding video create a unique, enhanced experience for my subscribers? If the answer is yes, then there are a few things you should keep in mind: 4

5 How you render video in an is important to customer experience. The most common approaches today include linking a screenshot to a hosted video; using video gifs, optimized animation that plays like a video itself; and certified video, full rich-media audio and video content that also plays in the itself. Determining the right approach for your campaigns is dependent upon your resources. Use video as a means to an end. Setting aside the experience, it s important to make certain that the call to action is clear and engaging. You must strike a balance. Just as image to text is a balance, keep in mind that video to all other content needs to be balanced as well. Keep it short and clear. Remember, this is . A subscriber isn t going to take several minutes out of their day to view a video. Optimize for experience, make it concise and stick to the no more than 30 seconds rule. Williams-Sonoma does a great job of incorporating video with meaning in its ongoing marketing strategy. The video has substance and complements the call to action. 5

6 Here are some last-minute tips as you are defining how you will utilize social in your current marketing program: Give them something to talk about. We may have already mentioned this one, but thought it was worth repeating. If your content is weak, regardless of the experience, you will fall flat. To drive sustained engagement, the messages cannot be a carbon copy of the other channel. For example, if your Facebook page only contains posts of your s or blog posts, you are not effectively leveraging social. Make the experience unforgettable. A seamless experience means the difference between clicking/converting/sharing and doing nothing. Whether it s optimizing based on device, or creating a seamless entry into social media channels, make the experience easy to navigate. Don t just listen, engage. Let social be the place, where you start a dialogue with your subscribers. Respond to their shares, thank them for their forwards. Move from being a marketer who analyzes to one who engages. Don t forget, marketing remains the most important customer engagement tactic, but combining social media with strengthens the reach and viral marketing potential of both channels. Whether it s how you incorporate more traditional interactive tactics like video or FTAF, or exploring your strategy to use social channels like Facebook and Twitter for more reach, keep the subscriber top of mind throughout. PetSmart created a themed social footer for their subscribers mapping well to their brand. 6

7 About icontact Since 2003, icontact has helped small and medium businesses share their stories, ideas, and products through and social marketing. We take what we know about our favorite small and medium businesses a trendy boutique hotel in South Beach, the online poster store that helps us decorate our cubicles, even the local coffee shop you ll find us in on Saturday and we build the online marketing features we know those businesses need to succeed. We then pair our tools with award-winning support and expertise, so our customers never have to go it alone. And we top it all off with great personality, energy, and a commitment to creating a positive wake in our community. For more information, visit us online at on at our LinkedIn Group, and at our Facebook page. Connect with us: 7