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As digital marketers, we can only try to stay on top of the tools available for our use. New apps and services are being created by the minute; for mobile apps alone, TechCrunch projects 352 billion by 2021. With all this noise, it can be difficult to prioritize your marketing channels correctly. So we recommend covering your bases and researching the classics. One of our favorite classics here at GeoFli? Email marketing.
Believe it or not, email marketing has been around since the late 1970s. But it seems its age has only aided in its sophistication and relevance. Marketers in a 2018 study named email the most effective digital marketing strategy, beating out both social media and SEO.
It’s not often that digital marketers have the opportunity to speak directly to a specific user, but it’s possible with email marketing (and some considerate segmentation). With an email address, you have access to an individual’s buying behavior, rather than an anonymous online ID. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of delivering personalized content to the individual consumer.
Additionally, email as a marketing channel boasts the following advantages:
It’s tapping into a large audience. Data from 2017 shows that 85% of adult internet users in the US use email on a daily basis. Compared to the 22% on social media, 85% is certainly considerable.
It’s cost-effective. In fact, depending on the size of your subscriber list, shooting out a marketing email could be free. And once you start spending on email, the return often makes it worth it. A 2015 study found that for every $1 spent, email has a $38 ROI.
You have total control of timing. Rather than rely on an ads platform algorithm to deliver impressions, you set the time and date of when your email reaches your recipients. This can be especially useful for sales or events.
It’s personal. Email is a direct marketing channel, meaning you have the opportunity to personalize your messaging directly to the recipient. No custom intent audiences necessary!
In an online world with a lot of clutter, it’s important to offer your customers value — something that will make them choose you over your competitors.
The value rule applies in email marketing, too. Whether it’s a discount or a piece of useful information relating to your business, emails should offer your subscribers value.
One of our favorite ways of offering value to email subscribers is sharing an informative blog, especially a GeoFli’d post customized to the viewer. Using GeoFli on shared content allows you to personalize your message depending on the viewer’s location. Whether you mention local weather temperatures or just a city name in the region, viewers can better relate to information relevant to them. And GeoFli can help you serve up this relevant information for each desired location quickly and conveniently!
Your customers will appreciate the information without the immediate push for purchase, and we’re sure you’ll appreciate the opportunity to relate directly to potential customers.
In email, it’s also especially important to use segmentation. While GeoFli can help improve your bounce rate once someone has clicked away from the email, you can more easily earn these inbound clicks by personalizing your email content, too. It means a personalized message for your customers, every step of the way!
Most email marketing platforms, like Mailchimp, offer the ability to create different campaigns for each of your targeted locations; this allows you to change email content, including subject lines and in-email text and images, to attract the eye of different audiences. You can take advantage of any information your email subscribers have given you — even their first name to give your emails an especially personalized and informal touch.
According to a 2016 study, 80 percent of marketers say “say personalized content is more effective than ‘unpersonalized’ content.”
Marketing publication Marketing Land also reports that, “Millennials [who are projected to wield enormous buying power annually] have a growing expectation of authentic, personalized experiences that reach the channels they use most.”
Turns out, people like relevant content on relevant channels — and GeoFli makes it possible for your content to resonate with many people all at once. Coupled with appropriate segmentation, GeoFli is a great tool to improve your email marketing and content marketing strategies.
