How many junk emails do you get every day? It’s probably upwards of 20 emails you never read from companies who’ve somehow got your email address, or from brands you’ve since lost interest in.
Think about your own email marketing – are you just feeding junk filters? How many of your emails are read and acted on? How many are deleted without opening? With average open rates of around 20% and click-through rates of between 2-3% being seen as favorable, you probably already know the answer.
So what can you do?
Marketers have overused the email method. Brands send out too many, so even the truly interesting, informative ones lose their value. While emails are useful as a base method, and to keep your audience engaged, you shouldn’t be relying on them for your leads. Instead, it’s time to look at new methods of marketing, and the good news is that there are a number of other tools at your disposal.
Social media marketing
Nearly every brand has its own social media account now. From LinkedIn and Twitter, to Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook, there’s a platform to suit your business’s aims and brand. For example, if you’re a formal, serious brand, you’re probably better off on LinkedIn, compared to being a fun, young brand, which might do better on Twitter or Instagram. Find out where your audience is, and put the most effort into their most visited platforms. It might not look like you need to put much effort in, as posts are often short, but that makes it even harder. You need to have a strong tone of voice and know what you want to post and where you want to direct your readers to. However, it’s a more personable way to engage with your followers.
Influencer marketing
You’ve probably seen a lot about influencers in the media recently. These individuals have cultivated enormous communities who follow them and their recommendations. Influencers are valuable allies to have, as you appeal to your audience via someone you trust. Being given suggestions from a person you follow will always have more impact than being told that a certain product, brand or service is best, from the company itself. Before you hire an influencer, you can use an influencer intelligence platform to draw analytics from bloggers and countless social media accounts; telling you which influencer would be best for your brand.
Interactive events
Old school methods are coming back. More and more people are using direct mail to attract new leads. In the same way, hosting events are growing in popularity. With so much being online and digital, people forget the importance of meeting their customers – both existing and potential – in person. So, start putting on small events, like breakfast meetings, and invite your hottest leads. You could slowly grow your events in size; eventually buildingup to bigger networking events. If a physical event is beyond your budget, a webinar is a great way to interact with your audience, while giving them something of high value.
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