http://metia.com/seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:26:00 +0100 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:26:00 +0100 Amber Whiteman /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2013/04/i-admit-it-i-was-wrong/#number-of-comments Working at an agency means I can do something different every single day, which I love. In my role, I get to work with people, build relationships, create great experiences, and deliver amazing solutions. It also means I am constantly learning new things, face daily challenges, and often have more to do than I think I can fit into one day. As a result, I have long lauded the benefits of multitasking and felt that it helped me get everything done that I needed to. In fact, in some cases I believed that people who instead blocked out periods of time where they were only doing one thing actually accomplished fewer things. For me, it feels risky to focus on one thing at a time. What if I don’t see that urgent email?  What if I’m a bottleneck to getting something done? I never felt that I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing; I just was also aware of the emails in my inbox, IMs flashing at the bottom of my screen, and conversations going on around me. I was constantly aware, and thus constantly performing at a peak level, right? Wrong. I recently read an article that completely shattered my viewpoint. It focused on the damage that multitasking does to brain function and productivity. I was reading the article to find out how to be more productive, and I found out that I was actually reducing my productivity by doing the very thing I thought was increasing it. After digging in and doing some research, it’s obvious that that this is not new news. Chronic multitasking, as researchers have dubbed it, is often seen as a desirable skill or trait in employees, but chronic multitaskers are actually using their brains less effectively, even when they are not multitasking. A quick Bing search brought up dozens of stories similar to the one that I read, each one confirming what the first one said.  So what’s actually happening, and what does it mean for all of us chronic multitaskers? And more importantly, can we change? According to this Inc. Magazine story, a study in 2010 by neuroscientists at French medical research agency Inserm indicated that there is a two-task limit that the brain can handle without increasing the risk for errors. In fact, you are not “multitasking” (and I was not actually working on all of those things all at once); your brain is just switching focus rapidly from one thing to the next. So, you’re reducing your quality of work and increasing your level of distraction. Each of the studies I read suggested reducing the number of things being worked on at one time. They also encouraged people to block out chunks of time and focus on one thing during each of those chunks. Even this self-proclaimed (although no longer proud about it!) chronic multitasker has stopped taking her laptop to meetings (normally I am 100% connected), unless it’s needed specifically for the meeting (e.g., sharing/projecting my screen). Another suggestion was to turn off email, except during specific email-checking periods. I haven’t quite brought myself to that yet, but I’m slowly but surely integrating other tips (including looking at pictures of cute animals to increase productivity – it’s science!) and taking 30 minutes away from my computer to eat lunch. The result is a focused, error-free me who is still 100% focused on working with people, building relationships, creating great experiences, and delivering amazing solutions for all of our clients – just one at a time. What are your personal experiences with multitasking? I’d love to hear feedback from someone who has already renounced multitasking and the results! (Distraction image credit: Rick Belden) /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2013/04/i-admit-it-i-was-wrong/ /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2013/04/i-admit-it-i-was-wrong/ Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:26:00 +0100 Amber Whiteman /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2013/04/metia-selected-as-a-microsoft-preferred-supplier-program-excellence-award-finalist/#number-of-comments We’re thrilled to announce that Metia has been selected as a Microsoft Preferred Supplier Program (MPSP) Excellence Award finalist in the Brand Value category for our work designing, building, and maintaining the Microsoft Business Hub website. The project is a success; the site has generated more than 100,000 pipeline salesleads to date, exceeding goals. Project Summary: The Microsoft US SMB Customer Marketing Team is responsible for ensuring that small business customers in the US are highly satisfied with Microsoft’s offerings. Additionally, they are tasked with driving sales revenue through the SMB channel.  The SMB team needed Metia to create a user-friendly community for small business customers that encourages increased engagement and interest in Microsoft products, with the ultimate goal of increasing sales. We designed and developed a Microsoft-branded web platform that enables customers to quickly find relevant content. A key focus was social integration throughout the site, the first implementation being a custom login (via LinkedIn, Facebook, Windows Live ID, or Spiceworks) that creates a seamless customer sign-in experience and increases the likelihood of a return visit. Once a user signs in, the site dynamically surfaces targeted content and special offers based on the user’s industry, company size, and job title. At the same time, the site hides content that isn’t relevant to that person’s business needs. Customer engagement extends far beyond the web portal. We also conceived and delivered targeted demand-generation campaigns via email, social, and online media channels. With an eye on diversifying the customer base, we focused on engaging female entrepreneurs through channels such as the ltd365 community. Additionally, we placed industry-specific campaigns in market for the healthcare, legal, and construction industries. Finally, we emphasized supporting early-stage startups by engaging companies of five or fewer employees.  The results have been impressive. Compared with the previous SMB site, we saw increased average visit duration and decreased bounce rate. Additionally, the site generated more than 100,000 pipeline sales leads. With this platform, Microsoft can attain its goals of improved customer perceptions of Microsoft products and increased opportunity for revenue-generating transactions.    “Metia is flexible, creative, and technically adept across multiple platforms. I really value Metia for their ability to always deliver on time and on budget and that they always play a consultative vs. straight production role in our projects.” –Jennifer Post, Sr. Marketing Manager, US SMB&D /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2013/04/metia-selected-as-a-microsoft-preferred-supplier-program-excellence-award-finalist/ /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2013/04/metia-selected-as-a-microsoft-preferred-supplier-program-excellence-award-finalist/ Wed, 17 Apr 2013 22:54:00 +0100 Amber Whiteman /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2013/03/why-are-subject-lines-so-important/#number-of-comments Subject lines are often an afterthought, but they shouldn’t be! Your chances of having a high open rate are dramatically improved when you have the right subject line. Getting someone to open the email in the first place is the gateway to getting them to engage with your email. The subject line should provide a glimpse of why the email is important. It should be short, direct, and strategically worded. This also means you have to stay in tune with trends of your customers and potential clients. Convey something important, timely or valuable to the recipient...You know what they say about first impressions.   Subject Lines with 4-15 characters have the highest open rates. There is an 8.5% increase in CTR when personalization is used in the body copy, in addition to the subject line.      /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2013/03/why-are-subject-lines-so-important/ /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2013/03/why-are-subject-lines-so-important/ Fri, 29 Mar 2013 23:32:00 +0100 Deborah Hanamura /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2013/01/marketing-automation-in-2013-what-is-it,-really/#number-of-comments Customers demand relevant, timely, and personalized communications. The days of sending out high volumes of generic marketing messages, hoping for conversion, are over. But how does a marketer or marketing team send personalized communications to each customer when they’ve got 50, 100, or 100,000 customers? We work with companies of all sizes, and marketing automation is the only way to scale to meet that customer demand for personalized, relevant interactions with your brand. “Marketing Automation” has become quite the buzzy term lately. Despite all the attention automation is getting, it’s pretty clear that there are lots of people who don’t understand what it is or how it applies to them. Eloqua describes marketing automation as “the art and science of automatically managing the targeting, timing, and content of your outbound marketing messages in response to prospects’ inbound actions and online behaviors.” In a nutshell, marketing automation gives you the ability to take data from existing customer behavior to target your content and messaging to gain better results. Automatically. Marketing automation is enabled by a software platform or multiple integrated software platforms that allow you to automate many of the formerly standard, manual processes. These processes often include auto-response communications, lead scoring, sales notifications, CRM integration and workflow triggers, newsletter communications, and more. In addition to automating those processes, you can leverage existing data and collect new data that allows you to make smarter decisions about the ways to reach your customers. When you sync your email marketing, social media, and CRM systems, you can actually create a two-way flow of data that keeps your customer information up-to-date in real-time. An effective automation platform includes the following capabilities: Demand Generation Lead Generation Lead Qualification Lead Management Lead Scoring Lead Nurturing Metrics/Analytics Sales Effectiveness Marketing automation won’t replace marketing savvy, but it does free your time to focus on your content and strategy, which is where your time is best spent. So who has a marketing automation solution for you? There are generally different solutions for B2B and B2C (although sometimes they do both). B2B: Eloqua HubSpot Marketo Silverpop Pardot B2C: Revenue Automation MarketingPilot (B2B and B2C) Are you planning to, or currently using marketing automation? Why or why not? I want to hear your plans for marketing automation in 2013. By the way, we talk about marketing automation and a lot more in our 2013 Trends report. /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2013/01/marketing-automation-in-2013-what-is-it,-really/ /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2013/01/marketing-automation-in-2013-what-is-it,-really/ Thu, 24 Jan 2013 00:55:00 +0100 Amber Whiteman /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/11/microsoft-partners-with-metia-for-windows-enterprise-and-windows-8-pro-site-launches/#number-of-comments A passion for emerging technology is built into Metia’s DNA, and we are sharing in the world’s excitement and buzz about the release of Windows 8. We’re even more excited to finally announce that we had a chance to be involved thanks to our relationship with the Windows team, who engaged with Metia to design and develop the Windows 8 Pro and Windows Enterprise sites. What started as a maintenance engagement for the previous Windows 7-focused sites became a redesign of both sites in time for this fall’s Windows 8 launch. Metia worked closely with both Windows teams to deliver a heuristic review of the Pro and Enterprise sites with goals and objectives for each and strategic input.Metia then designed site architectures, updated navigation, and redefined the user experiences to make the best use of content available or site visitors. Both sites take advantage of the new Microsoft Visual Brand Identity and align closely with the consumer-facing Windows.com site.   Both sites involved simplifying the message and creating a navigation that no longer hides the content. The target audiences (which included small business, ITDMs and IT Pros) are now able to easily find information that they are looking for whether that be benefits, customerstories, resources, or devices. The imagery, simple content, and clear calls to action help drive affinity for the Windows brand and contribute to a stronger customer experience. A localization effort is in progress to roll out the sites across all supported languages and locales. “Metia continues to be the trusted advisor to Windows Enterprise marketing team. For the redesign of Windows Enterprise site for Windows 8 launch, Metia played the central role in innovating, managing and implementing the redesign. The team from Metia is reliable and solid in their competency and simply great people to work with. I have been really happy with the service and overall quality of work. I would recommend anyone in Microsoft to consider Metia for digital marketing projects and beyond.”          - Hye Jun, Senior Marketing Manager, Microsoft /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/11/microsoft-partners-with-metia-for-windows-enterprise-and-windows-8-pro-site-launches/ /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/11/microsoft-partners-with-metia-for-windows-enterprise-and-windows-8-pro-site-launches/ Tue, 13 Nov 2012 21:45:00 +0100 Amber Whiteman /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/08/mind-your-cta/#number-of-comments All emails, with the exception of some transactional-and trigger-based emails, should have a strong call to action (CTA). The CTA should resonate with the audience and their perceived challenges. It can include special offers, and should be easy to act on. Use urgent language, and position it strategically within the message. It should be surrounded by white space and should be easy to see at first glance. Depending on your industry, different colors of CTA buttons perform better than others. It's important that you test out what works best (blues and greens often have a higher clickrate, for example) with your customers, and use that consistenty - from your email, through your website or landing page, and all the way through to the end action.  /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/08/mind-your-cta/ /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/08/mind-your-cta/ Thu, 30 Aug 2012 23:55:00 +0100 Amber Whiteman /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/06/list-hygiene-and-list-fatigue/#number-of-comments Hygiene Many marketers believe that the bigger their email marketing list, the bigger and more powerful their emails are. But this is not always the case. If the people you are sending email to are not active and engaged, there are potential consequences to you continuing to send them email including bringing down your email statistics and hurting your sender reputation. It's important to regularly review your list and do list hygiene in order to keep it as valuable as possible. This doesn't always include removing subscribers, but it should be part of your process. You also can separate out subscribers and move them to a re-engagement campaign. It's better to have high impact with a smaller list than to have low impact with a group that doesn't want to hear from you. List hygiene is as important to your email program as having a list itself.   List Fatigue Another common mistake marketers make with their email lists is over contacting their lists. When there is a sale to be made, an event to be registered for, or an article to be read, there tends to be a push to get communications out to people for awareness. However, over contacting your list has similar consequences as not regularly cleaning up your list including hurting your sender reputation and leading people to opt out of your communications. In general, keep an eye on the number of emails you are sending to any particular group and regularly review your metrics to identify areas of over contacting. Additionally, you can allow customers to choose how many times per week/month they would like to receive communications from your organization, and build mechanisms to adhere to those preferences.  /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/06/list-hygiene-and-list-fatigue/ /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/06/list-hygiene-and-list-fatigue/ Mon, 04 Jun 2012 19:35:00 +0100 Amber Whiteman /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/05/did-anyone-get-my-email-reply/#number-of-comments Testing of every kind is important to email. A/B testing compares two versions of an element (A and B) against a metric that defines success. To determine which version produces a better result, subject both versions to experimentation simultaneously (and equally), then measure which version was more successful, and select that version for real-world use. You can test a number of variables depending on your industry and the email type, including the subject line, call-to-action, headline, product description, layout, pricing, promotions, and images. True A/B testing is a blind split of a sample group - if you send test A to more people than test B or if you send to different segments of your customer base, you won't end up with a true test result. So, make sure your base is evenly, yet randomly split down the middle and test away! /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/05/did-anyone-get-my-email-reply/ /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/05/did-anyone-get-my-email-reply/ Wed, 16 May 2012 01:01:00 +0100 Amber Whiteman /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/04/att-developer-program-60-increase-in-facebook-fans/#number-of-comments AT&T’s ChallengeThe AT&T Developer Program needed to enhance its existing social media presence in order to increase engagement with the developer community and expand the program’s reach. The AT&T Developer Program team was already using channels like Twitter and Facebook, but it was stretched thin and needed help to effectively develop and implement its social media strategy. Additionally, there were goals for the year but no plan on how the team would achieve them. Both Metia and the AT&T Developer Program teams recognized that all developer engagement experiences need to be exceptional, including the social media content. OutcomeMetia proposed an integrated social approach that would deliver content across all social media channels using consistent messaging, calls to action, and visuals. Since January 2012, the enhanced program has already resulted in a 60% increase in Facebook fans and a 33% increase in Twitter followers. It has also vastly increased the reach of the program’s channels during events. For example, when AT&T held its annual Developer Summit in early January, the @ATTDeveloper Twitter account achieved a total reach of approximately 285,000 people. The effects of this spike in engagement continue to reverberate through the developer community and their engagement with the AT&T brand. Metia’s efforts have helped to produce a more engaged developer community and an increase in positive social buzz about AT&T’s tool and services among friends and coworkers. Metia’s SolutionMetia proposed an all-up social media strategy that integrates Facebook, Twitter, and other channels including AT&T Developer Program Community Forums, developer blogs, and a branded YouTube channel. The goal of this strategy is to create a cross-channel social marketing presence that gives developers the option to choose the social media channel they prefer. The program focuses on everything from frequency, best time to post, SEO-friendly content, and authentic engagement. The program has redefined AT&T’s standards for developer engagement, and success is tied directly to the AT&T Developer Program team’s KPIs, such as community registrations and program buzz. Why It’s WorkingMetia's full-service approach, including design, development, editorial, and social media services, means that the tactical output such as content, visuals, and digital experiences can be delivered at the rapid pace demanded by the community. Further, Metia works closely with the AT&T Developer Program team to produce engaging content about hot topics, events, and product releases. How We Know It's WorkingMetia produces weekly and monthly reports that measure against the established KPIs to inform recommendations on when, what, where, and how to post content across the various media channels. These reports allow Metia and AT&T to keep constant tabs on the performance of each post and interaction, so that course corrections can be made on the fly. The easy-to-read reports provide insight into community engagements that are often missed when not understood in context of both the entire program and the goals that we are trying to achieve.  /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/04/att-developer-program-60-increase-in-facebook-fans/ /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/04/att-developer-program-60-increase-in-facebook-fans/ Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:43:00 +0100 Amber Whiteman /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/04/it's-not-goodbyeit's-see-you-later/#number-of-comments Goodbye Message When you say goodbye: Newsletters end all of the time, but senders rarely send a goodbye message. Users may miss that newsletter and wonder where it went. If you have a newsletter ending, send a goodbye message to provide closure. It's also a good idea to provide links to other resources readers can use to get the information that had been provided in the newsletter. When readers say goodbye: Use a goodbye message and offer a chance for unsubscribing readers to give the reason they unsubscribed. You can learn a lot about your readership by collecting such information. And you can take the feedback and apply it towards your existing readership to improve their experience...and to hopefully keep them from unsubscribing.  /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/04/it's-not-goodbyeit's-see-you-later/ /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/04/it's-not-goodbyeit's-see-you-later/ Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:25:00 +0100 Amber Whiteman /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/04/this-post-brought-to-you-by-the-letter-e/#number-of-comments Email Service Provider (ESP) ESPs provide email servers to send, receive, and store email. ESPs may provide the service to the general publish (e.g. Hotmail, Gmail, and others), or they may provide email to members (e.g. employees). Commercial ESPs such as ExactTarget, offer email marketing services and tracking information with the status of emails sent to each member of a list. ESPs also provide the ability to segment a list into categories, allowing marketers to send targeted information to their customers. Choosing and ESP is probably one of the first and most important steps you can take when you are starting an email marketing program. Do your research and be sure whichever ESP you choose both meets your needs now, but also allows you to grow. Questions about my thoughts on commercial ESPs? Write them in them in the comments below! /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/04/this-post-brought-to-you-by-the-letter-e/ /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/04/this-post-brought-to-you-by-the-letter-e/ Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:08:00 +0100 Amber Whiteman /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/04/a-z-of-digital-communications/#number-of-comments We've created "Digital Communications, A-Z", which is a must-read primer for anyone who wants to connect with their customers via email. I'll treat you to Metia's perspective here on the blog, and you can also email me (amber.whiteman@metia.com) for a copy to the full report in PDF. I plan to arm you with information, tips, and best practices for a variety of digital communications processes, including: Email Campaigns; Mobile Solutions; Social Strategies; Marketing Programs; Viral Content; Marketing Infrastructure; Reference Programs; Intranets and Websites; and Applications. If you've got a question about digital communications, or a suggestion for an A-Z topic, let me know in the comments! Ok, in no particular order, first up is the letter O: Opt In/Opt OutThis is Marketing 101. Members of your marketing email list need to ask to be on the list and/or they need a mechanism to remove themselves from the list. Typically opt-in is preferred, but some organizations use opt-out methods, requiring the recipient to uncheck an automatically checked box to decline communications. Remember - whichever method your company uses, you don't want people on your list who don't want to be there in the first place! /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/04/a-z-of-digital-communications/ /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2012/04/a-z-of-digital-communications/ Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:35:00 +0100 Amber Whiteman /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/08/another-way-to-think-about-email-and-social-media/#number-of-comments Another day, another dollar, and another blog/article written about email being replaced by social media. Or that's how it seems, anyway. Not that it's not an important topic; it just seems that we've covered it by now and all of the same points are being made across the board (I've already written a blog post on it and will debate it at length if anyone ever broaches the topic with me). Even so, I can't help myself from reading articles about it, so when I saw the HubSpot Blog, Is Email Marketing Dead? I had to read it. The article does make some good points, and actually moves quickly from the debate of whether or not email is dead to focusing on marketing automation and the success many businesses have had and how to implement a successful marketing automation program at your own company. What I found really interesting, however, was one of the comments in response to the blog. It made the point that social media doesn't happen independent from email. In fact, social media engines (Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn in particular) use email to notify their users of a ton of different things including at the basic level, notifications, new followers, friend requests, etc. The commenter goes on to say that while he may not check his Facebook or use Foursquare on a particular day, he will indeed check his email. When you think about this in a business setting specifically, how can you argue that users arenotchecking their email when inevitably it is a main way in which professionals communicate? The main argument when people discuss email vs. social is that social is replacing email in the way people receive their information, businesses are communicating to customers, and so on. So the rather basic idea that even social media outlets use email to communicate with their customers I found very interesting and a point I hadn't yet thought of in depth. All in all, this isn't a revelation or a topic that people haven't already thought about themselves. However, it does reinforce what I have been saying forever, which is that email and social media are not in competition with each other, but are actually complementary of each other. /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/08/another-way-to-think-about-email-and-social-media/ /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/08/another-way-to-think-about-email-and-social-media/ Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:07:00 +0100 Amber Whiteman /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/05/my-oh-my-what-a-great-day-for-baseball/#number-of-comments As you might have recently heard, Metia was voted into Seattle Met Magazine’s Top 20 Places to Work. As a thank you and congratulations, the Metia Seattle office took a half day to see the Seattle Mariners beat the LA Angels at Safeco Field. It was one of the first days of the year to hit 70 degrees, and the buzz around the office was like the last week of school before summer break. From the comfort of our luxury suite, we enjoyed free lunch and drinks, watched red Teletubbies dance in the sun, and all cheered as Angel’s Center Fielder Torri Hunter dropped Carlos Peguero’s fly ball with two outs in the 9th inning, allowing the Mariners to score and win the game 2-1. We then enjoyed post-game drinks at Sluggers, the local hangout, and were greeted by a coffee cart this morning whipping up free lattes and mochas. It was a great day for a ballgame, and just one more thing you’ll see in the list next year when we’re the #1 place to work!   /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/05/my-oh-my-what-a-great-day-for-baseball/ /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/05/my-oh-my-what-a-great-day-for-baseball/ Fri, 20 May 2011 22:56:00 +0100 Amber Whiteman /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/04/email-marketing-and-social-media-engaging-through-integration/#number-of-comments Every few months there is a new article published somewhere that discusses whether or not email marketing is "dead". The reasons people argue it is dead usually have to do with the popularity of Social Media and how it is replacing email. Last summer, the rumor was Ben and Jerry's were going to stop sending emails to customers in lieu of Social Media. While Ben and Jerry's were quick to respond that they would continue with an integrated approach of email and social, some people's opinions are that email is quickly to be completely replaced.   While you can likely argue either point with the information that is out there (for instance, according to ComScore's 2010 U.S. Digital Year in Review, web-based email usage declined 8 percent in 2010 in the United States), it's important to keep in mind that as the digital world changes at a rapid pace, digital marketers need to be willing to change as well. It's unlikely that one digital medium will completely replace another as digital has been doing to print (i.e. online news versus print newspapers). It's more likely that things will continue to diversify and new digital mediums will increase in popularity quickly, making it seem as though the new is replacing the old. This brings me back to Email Marketing and Social Media, which are a perfect example. Social Media has emerged as a fast growing and popular means for people to get news, brands to interact with their customers, and for people to connect with one another. These are all things that email has been doing and will continue to do even with the popularity of Social Media. A lot of it comes down to how people prefer to consume their information. Your best marketing strategy is going to have both email and social as part of it. Using all channels to drive the result you want (website visits, event attendance, product purchases, etc.) will ensure you are reaching all audiences through the way they want to consume their content; not the way we think that it should be distributed.   /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/04/email-marketing-and-social-media-engaging-through-integration/ /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/04/email-marketing-and-social-media-engaging-through-integration/ Mon, 25 Apr 2011 21:18:00 +0100 Amber Whiteman /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/03/content-a-monarchy-or-currency/#number-of-comments I recently drafted a post about the importance of content in email marketing. It was a follow up to my previous blog about writing content to get the click and the importance of keeping content short, concise, and engaging enough to garner interest. I had titled that particular blog draft as "Content is King". On Wednesday, however, I attended MarketMix 2011 here in Seattle, WA, and one session in particular about Content Marketing made me rethink my post. The session was mediated by Sharon Long, from We Know Words, and discussed by Chris Baggott, CEO of Compendium and Russell Sparkman, President and CEO of Fusionspark Media. Although the discussion was about the broader topic of marketing in general as opposed to just email marketing content, the point both Chris and Russell made was that thinking of content as the king of a monarchy is not the way to think about it, and that content is more like a currency or gold. The idea is that you should create your content in a way that compels those who read it to share it. They even went so far as to say that cool content is the “bling” of the marketing world. I’m not sure if I agree entirely with the last point, but have to say clothes, cars, etc. that are “blinged out” or “bedazzled” do draw attention as I’m sure the same type of treatment would do to your marketing, it’s just whether or not that’s the kind of attention you’re looking for.  All of this made me reflect back on my drafted post and whether or not I thought it was still justified. I’ve concluded that when I use the phrase “content is king” I’m not suggesting that it is some monarchy that rules all. I’m saying that content simply trumps all other tactics and best practices. If you don’t have compelling content, all the tactics and best practices in the world aren’t going to help the overall success of your email marketing activity. With that in mind, I’ve included some resources that I had compiled for my original post that are tips on writing compelling content: -          31 content tips and ideas for your B2B email newsletter (Email Marketing Reports) -          Webinar: Writing Tips to Improve Email Responses (Pinpointe) -          6 Tips to Get Your Email Opened and Read (Constant Contact) /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/03/content-a-monarchy-or-currency/ /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/03/content-a-monarchy-or-currency/ Tue, 15 Mar 2011 15:35:45 +0100 Amber Whiteman /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/02/which-test-won/#number-of-comments If you haven’t yet tested your skills on Anne Holland’s Which Test Won site, you should. For one, I think it gets you in tune with your gut and whether or not your instincts are correct. Second, it highlights some valuable testing and gives insight into why something won over another which is information you can use to optimize your email campaign. The site also highlights landing page tests, lead generation tests, eCommerce tests, and more. /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/02/which-test-won/ /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/02/which-test-won/ Thu, 24 Feb 2011 17:50:43 +0100 Amber Whiteman /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/02/smart-phone-operating-systems-in-the-u-s-android-versus-iphone/#number-of-comments I read an article recently that Google’s Android OS has overtaken Apple’s iPhone as most used in the U.S. and that China was soon to follow. iPhone is still the number one selling smart phone, however. This is hot on the heels of the iPhone being available for Verizon users, so I wouldn’t be surprised if iPhone makes a comeback this quarter (January-March 2011). With that being said, I feel like we’re not comparing apples to apples here. Google’s Android OS is available on a number of different devices available on nearly every carrier. Apple’s iPhone, until recently, was only available on AT&T, and although it has different “versions” (3G, 3GS, etc.) they’re still essentially the same phone, aren’t they? Not to mention the striking similarities between the user interface on an Android phone versus that of an iPhone. What I think is a more interesting conversation and one that I will be keeping a close eye on is the new Windows Phone 7 operating system from Microsoft. From my point of view it's completely rethought and different from their previous Windows Mobile operating systems as well as operating systems that are currently in the market. Perhaps that is what some iPhone hackers recently thought as well. According to this YouTube video, you can even get the Windows Phone 7 OS on Android...they always say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/02/smart-phone-operating-systems-in-the-u-s-android-versus-iphone/ /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/02/smart-phone-operating-systems-in-the-u-s-android-versus-iphone/ Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:27:00 +0100 Amber Whiteman /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/02/marketing-emails-the-goal-is-to-get-the-click/#number-of-comments One of the main points emphasized at MarketingSherpa’s 2011 Email Marketing Summit was the importance of “getting the click”. This is a topic that has been near and dear to my heart since I started in email marketing some 5 or so years ago. We do so many different types of digital communications, and the most common theme we see across all of them is too much content. A lot of marketers seem to look at their email marketing program as the catch all for content. In an extreme case (not saying this has ever happened!), every bit of content that is being published to their sites also gets put in their communication, and then also includes a link to their site where the content is repeated. While there are types of emails that get sent (typically transactional messages) where you want to include most if not all important information in the email, marketing communications are just the opposite. They are a gateway to the additional information, and should be treated that way. A best practice at Metia is to always optimize content to get the click. The best written content is short, concise, and gives just enough information to get interest from a reader. It doesn’t have to be long, full of links to resources and references, or even have full product information. All of that information (if done right) is available on the site, and that’s where it belongs. I can almost guarantee that shortening and optimizing content will easily increase your click through rates. If it doesn’t, there is another issue at hand. Which is a topic for another day: Content is King. /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/02/marketing-emails-the-goal-is-to-get-the-click/ /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/02/marketing-emails-the-goal-is-to-get-the-click/ Mon, 07 Feb 2011 16:44:00 +0100 Amber Whiteman /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/02/marketingsherpa-s-email-marketing-summit-2011/#number-of-comments Last week I attended the 2011 Email Marketing Summit presented by MarketingSherpa in Las Vegas, Nevada. Anyone who has been to Las Vegas knows you can’t go down there and not enjoy the city a little, so in addition to some great key takeaways for email marketing, I also left with my wallet a little lighter then when I had arrived. I attended the Summit a few years ago when it was still in Miami, but our business was much more B2B focused and very newsletter heavy, so not entirely relevant to the type of work we were doing at the time. This year, knowing that our business had shifted, I made a point to attend again and was happy that we did. There was a huge amount of of useful and helpful information presented, both new tactics and strategies, but also reinforcements of the work that we’re already doing with our clients. It was nice to hear what other marketers are dealing with, and know that we’re not alone. The Summit focused for the most part on answers to the biggest challenges facing email marketers for 2011, based on a recent survey of MarketingSherpa readers. Those were: Targeting Quantifying ROI Improving deliverability Growing opt-ins Relevancy Marketing strategy From an agency perspective, we have two different sets of challenges: those we face with consulting with our clients about their email marketing programs and why they are important, and then those we face when actually implementing the email programs and making them successful. For the most part, I believe organizations all face the same types of challenges across all forms of marketing. Relevancy, timing, strategy, and ROI, applied specifically to the type of marketing activity(ies) you are engaging in are sure to be top concerns or challenges year over year. I’ll be diving into email marketing specifically in future posts with Metia’s approach to facing and overcoming these challenges.  /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/02/marketingsherpa-s-email-marketing-summit-2011/ /seattle/amber-newcomer-dyer/2011/02/marketingsherpa-s-email-marketing-summit-2011/ Thu, 03 Feb 2011 18:47:00 +0100