Posts Tagged eBrand Interactive
Other aspects of the Facebook phenomenon
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
Over the years we’ve compiled a large database of contacts who did not respond to our attempts to engage them regarding our services. Last month we decided to try and connect with these, “not viables”, through the social media site, Facebook. We weren’t expecting much. However, much to our surprise, 98.2% of those business contacts, those who already had Facebook pages, people who wouldn’t return an e-mail or a voicemail, accepted our invitation to be “friends”; thereby allowing us access to intimate details about their lives, families, and friends.
To be clear; we didn’t, and still don’t, try to hide the fact that we’re marketers; it’s right there on our Facebook page under the “Info” tab. We were, and still are, stunned by the positive response to our invitations. Why would they do that? Why invite us into their private worlds when they wouldn’t, otherwise, give us the time of day?
Maybe people just automatically respond to a “friend” request. There’s a likelihood that the branding process we initiated with our repeated attempts to contact them achieved enough of a familiarity where that person felt they probably knew us. I suspect that there’s no easy answer. However, Facebook has succeeded in creating a positive experience which, in turn, breeds trust. Another key driver may be the need, particularly when times are tough, to feel good about ourselves. Membership in a community and the accumulation of lots of friends, who without fail will post positive comments about our pictures, and musings, is a way to do that.
Speaking of which; we’ve yet to see a negative comment from, or directed to, any of the hundreds of people who are now in our circle of “friends”. This attests to the power of “Social Proof” which means we determine what is correct by what other people think is correct. The downside is that, as Walter Lippman put it, “Where all are thinking alike, no one is thinking very much.”
Posted by Tom Polanski in Ethics, Opinions on February 18th, 2009
Increase ROI & build brand equity by cultivating good relationships
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
eBrand Media has always been a proponent of relationship management. This is done in a number of ways; give and get clarity, stay away from presenting yet another emotional “dog and pony show”, target your offer based on expressed preferences, and give something valuable to the recipient for free. If you’re using social media, personalize your homepage, and be willing to accept the possibility that you may have to give more than you get back.
The giving away of something is of critical importance. This invokes what is known as the reciprocity rule. It’s deeply ingrained in all of us. Society was built on it. I do something for you, I give you something, and the unspoken agreement is that you’ll reciprocate. E-mail is a great way to create, cultivate, and manage relationships with clients, and customers.
Sending an e-mail is so cheap you might as well send e-mail to every as often as possible, right? Besides the ROI is so good at the beginning why wouldn’t you, correct? Dead wrong, say, Arthur Middleton Hughes and Arthur Sweetser. Hughes is senior strategist and Sweetser chief marketing officer at e-Dialog, an e-mail service provider that was acquired last year by e-commerce technology provider GSI Commerce Inc.
They argue that bombarding consumers with e-mail blasts is akin to hunting, in that the marketer is setting traps, hoping to capture new customers. Instead, marketers should adopt a strategy more analogous to farming, cultivating their best customers by sending them relevant e-mails and using e-mails to build a relationship. At one major retailer an e-Dialog analysis found that 1% of the customers on the list accounted for 50% of the revenue from e-mail marketing, Sweetser says. But the retailer was not marketing to those customers differently. And that’s not atypical, he says. “Maybe 10% of our e-commerce retailers have messaging tailor to prior purchase and loyal customers,” Sweetser says.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Growing a Business, Marketing on February 17th, 2009
Here’s why companies shouldn’t have music on a website
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
Yesterday, a new client asked if there was any evidence, either way, as to the effect music has on conversion rates. My first thought was that music is unnecessary and dangerous. The eBrand Media belief is this; we want the end-user to take as many actions as possible to get to a site e.g. turning on the computer, opening a browser, typing a long-tail term in the search field, clicking the search button, and so on. However, once the guest arrives at the site, we want the guest to take as few actions as possible to find and buy.
The love of music is a personal journey defined by culture, beliefs, and generation, among other elements, so it’s safe to assume that the music chosen for a site is a hit or miss proposition, mostly missing. That means while on the site the guest will probably have to reach over to turn off the music. Not only is this an added action while on the site but it causes a loss of focus, which if we’ve marketed correctly should have been honed by the time the guest arrives at the site.
In the end we ask, why take the chance?
In addition, sites with music are neither quick nor convenient. A few years ago they may have been the rage, but today music or voice playing on a website is somewhat dated. It won’t work, and chances are you will annoy your customers and they will be relaxing with a competitor where things are more peaceful.
Why is noise such a bad idea? We could fill pages, but here are another three reasons:
Posted by Tom Polanski in Marketing on February 13th, 2009
A few of my favorite quotes. Hope you like ‘em too!
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
I thought I’d post a few of my favorite quotes this morning, because they inspire me, spark my thinking in different directions, sum up a truth in a line or two, and finally, because I have to add fresh content to the blog, and don’t have the time to write today.
“This is the true joy of life, the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish, little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and for as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it off to future generations.”
– George Bernard Shaw
“I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who sought and found out how to serve.”
– Albert Schweitzer, Humanitarian
“A high standard of living will not lend itself to a high quality of life unless it is rooted in honesty.”
– Anonymous
“You make the world a better place by making yourself a better person.”
– Scott Sorrell
Posted by Tom Polanski in Personal Growth on February 9th, 2009
eBrand Interactive creates great permission based direct marketing e-mail campaigns!
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
eBrand Interactive currently manages Can-Spam compliant, permission based, e-mail marketing campaigns, to third party lists, for a number of name brand advertisers. An increasing number of companies are moving management of their e-mail campaigns to us because of the length and breadth of, not only our experience, but our relationships across the internet. eBrand Interactive can deliver to a wide variety of preferences, aspirations, habits and purchase histories. We have successfully created, launched, and managed, hundreds of e-mail campaigns, from mass broadcasts of tens of millions, to small mail outs for niche products.
There are thousands of databases but only a handful has any real value. Six years of experience has taught us the following:
E-mail Lists
We know which databases keep their e-mail lists fresh, and offer truly high quality e-mail recipients, and which don’t. In addition we can target, with statistical confidence, databases that have the highest probability of meeting or beating a targeted CPA for the advertiser while backing into an eCPM for the e-mail database. This knowledge gives our advertisers an opportunity to roll their initial CPM campaigns into ongoing, scalable CPA programs.
Audiences
We have historical and current information regarding the audience demographics, and sometimes, the psychographics, of the highest quality e-mail databases. This in-house intelligence includes, but is not limited to, the percentages of women and men in that audience, their average household income, their level of education and their lifestyle preferences. For example one database we work with is comprised of 87% women, with an average household income of $77,000. 70% of that database is college educated, and 80% of the database shops online. This type of database is perfect for some products/offers but not others.
Posted by Tom Polanski in E-mail marketing, Marketing, eBrand Interactive on January 13th, 2009