from hugh macleod of gapingvoid
Time and time again Hugh really nails it.
Moral of the story: embrace re-invention or become irrelevant and wither away.
What have you changed or re-invented in your organization this year?
Archive for the 'business' Category
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Found this great post at AWeber Communications on HTML versus text only emails.
There are some good comments (including my own, if I might add) on the benefits and disadvantages of both email formats. At Cre8tive, we typically will send both versions automatically and let the recipient’s server decide which version is appropriate. With Microsoft Outlook 2007 coming, the rules around HTML email coding have changed a bit. With the new version, Outlook will use MS Word as it’s HTML rendering engine instead of Internet Explorer. It does affect how you need to program and layout your HTML emails. You need to be aware of the new rules and issues. Here are the reasons behind the change.
The good thing about text only versions is that they are super stable. You don’t have to worry about horizontal or vertical viewing panes or images being disabled or your CSS/table layout being screwed up. It just works. Unfortunately, it’s not as trackable as the HTML version – but you can track all external links to your mini-site or landing page. And once on your website, you have the full benefits of your installed analytics engine to take care of the tracking details.
I recommend sending both. And in each version, include a full link to a web version as well. And like all good marketing efforts; test, evaluate, tweak, rinse and repeat. The beauty of email marketing is the immediate feedback and the cost effective nature. It allows very easy A/B testing, personalization and ROI tracking. It’s a great way to stay in front of your customers while offering a lot of value in a small package.
Thought I’d pass on a great email marketing trend report (PDF) from ExactTarget…
Enjoy!
For the last few years, Fast Company has been promoting profit-driven socially-focused organizations.
Here is the latest Fast 50 list of fifty people of companies that are making a difference in the world.
And here’s a little shameless self-promotion for my posts as an Expert Blogger for Fast Company.
Stowe Boyd of /Message has been stirring up a hornets nest on how the traditional press release fits into this new world of social media. If you’re responsible for corporate or marketing communications you owe it to yourself to check out his posts.
As this social medium matures, I think it’s important to realize that for the time being, social marketing avenues are just one of many marketing tools. It’s far too early for most businesses to abandon everything but blogs, ratings, and user generated content. And it’s still a little early to hang your hat on RSS. There are decades of infrastructure and communication channels that businesses leverage to get their message out – though few will argue that most do a poor job of communicating effectively.
Having said that, the sooner that traditional businesses get up to speed with this “trend” that is quickly becoming mainstream, the better off they’ll be (i.e. their brand communications will be more honest, more human, and more effective).
Spike has a great article on MarketingProfs on the declining effectiveness of traditional advertising – regardless of how great it may be. The marketing methods to improves sales are shifting so quickly that most firms do not know how to react. There has to be a shift from pure brand-focused advertising to community-driven action.
Todd Andrlick put together a Power 150 list of American marketing related blogs. I thought, “this will be great, all the best marketing blogs in one spot.” And guess who’s #103? Little ol’ me. What an awesome surprise. Todd’s blog is a great read itself and I’m honored to be included in the list – in fact it looks a lot like my Google Reader RSS feed list. I’ve seen my subscription #’s and views go up steadily over the last year. It’s nice to know that others are paying attention and value my thoughts.
technorati tags: power 150, marketing, blog, todd andrlick
I’m still amazed at the power an individual brings to the table:
Kohl’s obviously didn’t ask for this, but more importantly, how will they respond?
A small collection of white papers and presentations for those wanting to learn more about how social media is impacting marketing strategy. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it is a great start on learning the basics to take advantage of current trends. Social media can be a great addition to your marketing toolbox.
- B2B Ready to Blog from Forrester
- Forrester Mplanet 2006 Conference Presentation
- Word of Mouth 101 from WOMMA
- 2006 in Your Words – David Armano Logic + Emotion
- Do’s and Don’ts of Corporate Blogging from FORTUNE
- State of the Blogosphere from Technorati
- What to do about Negative Blogging from brandchannel.com
On Monday, Jan 8, I will be talking at the ISBO (Independent Small Business Owner) monthly luncheon on “The Impact of Social Media on Marketing”. This should be a great group to present to. Social media is a great way for small businesses to take advantage of market conversations. I know I’m preaching to the choir in the blogosphere, but a lot of small companies haven’t gotten on board yet – and the primary reason why they haven’t is that they don’t know how or didn’t know it was available. I hope to open a few eyes to why mainstream media and advertising isn’t the best bet for budget dollars.
If you’re in the area, feel free to join us:
The private room at the Golden Buffet Chinese restaurant on Richmond Rd, Lexington, KY, 12:00p on Monday 1-8-07
