How Social Media and Mail Can Partner for ROI

Social media and traditional "snail mail" seem a marketing odd couple, but they can work well together to deliver improved response rates, customer insights, creative testing, targeting and branding. Mail lists can build social audience, and social ads can build mail names. In fact, Facebook, the biggest consumer social media platform with more than 2 billion users a month, actively encourages marketers to upload direct mailing lists for matching against user information in order to run hyper-targeted paid social ads. Plus, Facebook ads can drive prospects to a landing page that offers an incentive to capture a physical mailing address in order to build up mailing lists. Social geo-targeting can be used to tailor mail geo-targeting, too. Before prospecting in a specific geographic area with a costly mailing, try inexpensive research using social media. Send a promotion to a social media platform's users in targeted zip codes and review the analytics to see which areas responded to which messages most favorably and then tailor direct mail list and creative. Social media also can help optimize direct mail via social apps and ad analytics that provide demographics, interests, and response data for targeting consumer and business audiences. Those insights can be applied to mailing list segmentation and targeting selections to increase direct mail response. Plus, social media ad creative can be tested and tracked to see which messages and images perform best with which audience segments, with the results used to inform the messages and images used in physical mailers. Finally, marketers can merge social insights and data from social media profiles with CRM and marketing automation to craft direct mail triggers and to create personalized mail content. Marketers can cross-promote on social media and direct mail to marry social media's ability to generate engagement and excitement with mail's ability to deliver personalized, lasting, tangible information. Of course, the creative and offer should mirror each other in both channels for consistent branding. For example, marketers can pump a product launch on social media and then mail brochures when product hits stores. Vice versa, direct mail pieces can include social icons and QR codes linked to a social page to recruit social media followers or promote social sharing incentives. For more, see https://www.acculist.com/social-media-allied-with-direct-mail-delivers-marketing-wins/

Prepping Non-Political Ads for Social Election Impact

The 2016 presidential election is already grabbing headlines, ad space and social media attention, and it's only going to get more intense. This election cycle, non-political marketers not only have to be concerned about competition for consumer attention in broadcast media and direct mail, they will need to plan for a political blitz in social media, such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Marketers need to start planning now for how to prevent their non-political messages from being drowned out, squeezed out, and priced out of the social media space. A recent Direct Marketing News magazine article by Perry Simpson, digital content coordinator, warns that cost-per-click (CPC) pricing--a popular way to sponsor and boost posts on Facebook and other social sites--is likely to increase significantly as politicians fight for attention. Simpson suggests three ways to prepare now for the social impact of the election frenzy. First, analyze your geographic performance, especially on a state level. Excluding battleground states, which are likely to see larger CPC spikes, is one option if those states are not key to performance. Next, test and hone messaging now to make sure your creative is as compelling as possible, since cost-per-click on networks like Facebook is affected by click-through rate (higher response lowers CPC). Finally, tighten up CPC bids before the election grabs the market. Lowering bids closer to your desired CPC will avoid outstripping target spend when bids start to climb because of political competition. For more detail, read http://www.dmnews.com/social-media/3-tips-for-non-political-marketing-during-the-presidential-elections/article/427133/

It's Full Speed Ahead for Mobile Coupon Use

Coupons are forecast to be mobile marketing's rising stars this year and beyond. As pointed out in a recent Target Marketing Magazine blog post by mobile industry veteran Greg Hoy, mobile coupons are redeemed 10 times more often than print coupons and mobile coupon users, set to reach 53.2 million in 2014, are forecast to post double-digit growth rates annually through 2016 per Business Insider stats. In fact, eMarketer has predicted that by 2016, mobile coupon users will represent nearly 83% of all digital coupon users, notes Hoy. So it would be a smart business-to-consumer marketing strategy to either initiate a mobile coupon program, or beef up existing mobile coupon efforts. Make sure that tablets are front and center in any plan, urges Hoy, noting that, according to eMarketer 2014 estimates, 80.2% of mobile coupon users redeemed with a tablet, compared with 75.4% using a smartphone. Look for other digital channels allowing easy access to coupons via mobile, too, such as mobile apps, daily deal and group buying sites, e-mail and social networks. Where appropriate, test geo-targeting; retailers are reporting high redemption rates from geo-targeted SMS-delivered coupons sent to shoppers close to stores, Hoy notes. Finally, consider using mobile coupons to boost loyalty programs, suggests Hoy, citing findings of a 2014 Bond Brand Loyalty poll that a better loyalty program would lead 6 in 10 millennials to switch brands and two-thirds to change when and where they shop. Targeted mobile coupons may be just the reward to tip the loyalty scales for mobile-savvy millennials. Read the complete post at http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/blog/extending-your-mobile-marketing-strategy-through-coupons

How to Use Direct Mail to Rev Trade Show Marketing

With direct mail accounting for 30% of trade show attendees' ad spending, snail mail is still essential to show marketing even in this increasingly digital world, points out Charles Dugan in a recent Trade Show News Network post. Based on his experience as owner of a trade show display firm, Dugan offers some good tips on direct mail tactics. Starting with the basics, he advises planning at least two campaigns: an early awareness mailing to get planners to put the show on their calendars and then a follow-up mailing closer to the show with exciting materials and attendance incentives. Then cut costs and boost response with targeting, both geographic and demographic. Use available mailing list data to personalize, ranging from gender all the way to ethnicity or specific hobbies. Offer incentives for attendance, with the inclusion of complementary tickets for example. Take advantage of direct mail's unique physicality to make a dimensional package that's fun and enticing, boosting open rates and response. And integrate snail mail with digital, via QR codes for example. QR codes can be used to promote access to exciting website materials, including videos, or something as simple as an online RSVP. For more, see the article at http://www.tsnn.com/news-blogs/why-direct-mail-should-still-be-your-trade-show-marketing-plans

Use the Weather Map in Your Geo-targeted Marketing

Is your geo-targeted marketing in sync with the weather map? A Business2Community article recently reminded marketers that they should leverage weather as a variable in geo-targeted campaigns. Although author Ruthie Ackerman provided examples based on this winter's snowy and icy conditions, geo-targeting by weather variables can be applied to summer sizzlers, too! Retailing, travel and hospitality industries, and online banking are three areas that can use weather news to their advantage, she pointed out. For example, rather than cursing the polar vortex this past winter, smart apparel stores push cold-weather items, travel industry ads entice frigid consumers with a tropical vacation, and online banking could tap browser history and real-time e-mail to offer helpful vacation savings calculators to fund that tropical getaway. See the full post at http://www.business2community.com/marketing/leverage-weather-geo-targeted-marketing-campaigns-0773590