There are plenty of reasons email marketing is still an effective strategy. .
We have over four billion email users around the globe—far more than Facebook and Twitter users combined.
In other words, more than half the world’s population has access to email accounts they check regularly. It makes email marketing a gold mine for brands that use it properly.
How do you use it properly?
Let’s explore this strategy and several other digital marketing strategies you can leverage to grow your business.
1. Email Marketing
The strategy is about sending emails to existing and prospective customers to maximize awareness, nurture leads, introduce offerings, and make sales.
To start off your email marketing campaign:
- Identify the goal of the campaign. Is it to drive website traffic, generate revenue or nurture leads? Your goals will give your campaign efforts direction.
- Define your ideal audience according to their unique characteristics and needs. Segment your subscribers according to the campaign that suits them.
- Choose an email campaign type to help you achieve your goals:
- Welcome email (series) for subscribers who sign up or make purchases.
- Cart abandonment campaigns for shoppers who load the cart but don’t complete the purchase.
- Newsletters for sharing industry news and trends, tricks, tips, and blog roundups, etc
- Re-engagement emails aimed at inactive subscribers to encourage them to re-engage with your company.
With preparations taken care of above, here’s how to do next:
- Craft engaging emails and adopt a conversational tone over a sales-y one. You’ll build relationships with your subscribers if you speak to them as people, not business entities.
- Add your logo and brand colors, retain plenty of white spaces, and ensure the email can fit on desktops and smaller screens too.
- Personalize emails by mentioning the subscriber’s name and tailoring recommendations based on their past purchases. Use Quick Lines to generate personalized first lines when you do a cold outreach.
- Study data like open rates, click-through rates, bounce rates, and unsubscribe rates to establish your campaign’s success rate. Use this data to improve the campaigns.
Time your emails so they reach your audiences on days and times when they are most likely to be opened. 10 am Midweek is favorable, but some audiences also view their emails at 2pm and at 8pm.
2. Attend or Organize Virtual Trade Shows
While virtual shows may not replace live events, their “everywhere” nature allows businesses to reach potentially larger audiences, get new clients, and make sales.
Whether you’re using a virtual trade show platform or virtual trade show software, the high-resolution 3D visuals and customized exhibition booths replicate physical environments.
They provide realistic and immersive experiences for attendees to explore their surroundings and stop by the booth of their choosing.
The attendees can view product demos, chat with reps, browse brochures, and download content.
Here’s how you can maximize your investment in a virtual trade show:
- Have a captivating video at your booth to generate interest.
- Promote your booth before the show to drive awareness. During the event, be actively available to answer questions and explain your offerings.
- Create show-specific hashtags to monitor and participate in the conversations attendees are having.
If you decide to create your very own event, here are several things to consider:
- Invite select businesses (prospects and customers) to the event
- Provide pre-recorded content, Q & A sessions, expert panel discussions, live demos, and open conversations to increase engagement.
- Send invitees a bag of coffee or goody box so they have something to munch on or drink as they attend the show.
- Assign roles to teams from different departments for all-round participation.
3. Cold Calling
Research from Rain Group showed that 82 percent of buyers willingly set up meetings with reps following cold calling tips.
It tells you that cold calling is an effective marketing strategy for driving engagement.
But we also have some sobering news.
42 percent of customers who submitted their phone numbers on web inquiry forms never received phone responses from those companies.
It’s time to wake up and make cold calls.
Here are some best practices to consider:
- Research potential prospects. Look at their motivations, industry pain points, and see how your offerings can solve their issues.
- Know how to handle a script. Scripts provide great practice for pitching and building confidence. Find the courage to venture from them after a while and have human conversations with your listeners.
- If you’re in a different country, get a local number to inspire confidence and trust in your prospects. You don’t want them thinking you’re a scammer.
- If your company uses web inquiry forms, call those prospects first. They are already familiar with you and may be looking forward to hearing from you.
- Review the calls you’ve made along with the responses received and progress made for future improvements.
4. Influencer Marketing
Research indicates that up to 96 percent of B2B buyers avoid sales messages, preferring trustworthy content from industry influencers.
It makes sense since consumers are likely to trust each other more than the messages pushed out by brands.
B2B influencers are industry analysts, experts, customers, or opinion leaders trusted by B2B customers to guide them through the sales cycle.
These influencers have built stellar reputations over an extended period through their experience and expertise in the industry.
What are the basics of influencer marketing? How can you leverage this strategy:
- Consider existing advocates like business partners, employees and existing customers. These are people with a proven affinity with your brand and offerings.
- Identify influencers that your ideal audiences are following and listening to. They are the people they will resonate well with.
- Set realistic timelines. Unlike the B2C space, where purchases are made on a whim, the B2B sales process takes time. Give this strategy time to take root.
- Come up with influencer dossiers that capture the influencer’s social channels, best performing posts, and engagement ratios.
- Beware of influencer conflicts. Identify any relationships, job restrictions, or company partnerships that may keep the influencer from participating fully in your campaign.
- Bond with the influencer by listening to their wisdom, ideas on promotions and customer engagement. Co-create content with them.
5. Social Media Advertising
Social advertising is perfect for companies looking to reach new audiences fast.
The advertising opportunities range from one platform to another, but here are some common ones you can capitalize:
- Photo ads. These ads may help drive unique traffic to your page and website. Some platforms allow you to add headlines and limited text, which is great for jotting down that call-to-action.
- Video ads. These standout from the typical static news feeds and are perfect for showcasing products/services.
- Stories ads.Since the stories only last for 24 hours, these ads are great for posting limited time offers and other in-the-moment marketing tid-bits.
- Carousel ads. These are great for showing product features, presenting multiple offerings, or providing step-by-step explanations.
- Slideshow ads: Here you create videos from several static images. It’s like having video without using video-specific resources. Why not use your company photos to express your vibe?
- Collection ads. These work like your digital storefront. Visitors get an instant peek at your products or services without leaving the platform.
Platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn offer messenger ads (Sponsored InMail for LinkedIn) that allow brands to start automated conversations with potential customers.
Namaste UI collaborates closely with clients to develop tailored guest posting strategies that align with their unique goals and target audiences. Their commitment to delivering high-quality, niche-specific content ensures that each guest post not only meets but exceeds the expectations of both clients and the hosting platforms. Connect with us on social media for the latest updates on guest posting trends, outreach strategies, and digital marketing tips. For any types of guest posting services, contact us on info[at]namasteui.com.