Social Marketing Services

Everything was going fine. You had set up your email marketing campaigns properly, all of your subscribers were double opt-in, you were sending emails on the right frequency, and your content was exactly what you had promised.

As far as you knew, people loved this stuff.....

But then, out of the blue, Gmail and the other ISPs started blocking your emails! But why? Why? Because those subscribers aren't interacting with your email anymore. They've become disinterested. They've become what are now known as 'the un-engaged.'

Just sending email to your subscribers isn't good enough

Just sending email...

ExactTarget is excited to announce the launch of a new website across seven regions and a fresh brand experience. The vibrant new look, elegant navigation, and richer user experience reflect the evolution of our company’s growth over the past 12 years. A lot has happened since then and we’re excited to share new services, innovations, and partnerships that help marketers around the world connect with their customers across the spectrum of digital channels.

What’s New:

• 7 new sites spanning ExactTarget’s global presence in the US, Australia, Brazil, Germany, France, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
• W...

Cross-channel marketing. We're all trying to do it, but how many of us are doing it well? When it comes down to it, how do you put together a really successful cross-channel campaign?

Our advice? Build one campaign across email, mobile, and social media!

In this series of blog posts, I'm sharing three easy steps you can follow to accomplish this:

1. Create a Sweepstakes
2. Get a Committment and Follow Through
3. Measure, Refine, and Repeat!

Today, we'll explore the third and final step.

Step 3: Measure, Refine, and Repeat

In order to truly understand the impact of your campaign--and learn from the results--,...

I recently read an article on TFB (The Future Buzz) which argued against the principle of using simple communications to reach out to the mass of your customers. I must admit, I wholly agree with assuming that you have a smart base of customers! It is definitely apparent that "dumbing down" messages does not guarantee that they will be engaged with by everyone, especially in today's digital age of smart and service-focused consumers.

The same blog post argues that using generic and simple messaging can portray your brand as "cheap" and "untrustworthy." I am not a businessman, but I am sure...

Organisations have been using social media for a long time now. The focus seems to be on pushing content out to the audience and expecting them to consume. But how often do you consume the content that your customers are sending to you and act on it?

Conversocial recently released some data stating that “88% of consumers are less likely to buy from companies ignoring social complaints” and that “90% of upset customers can be retained with great social customer service.” You can see the details here.

This is occurring due to the focus on marketing in the social space. Traditionally, Facebook...

Permission-based email has become the foundation of successful one-to-one marketing, and a company's database of email subscribers is one of its most valuable assets.

And with good reason! As our 2012 Channel Preference Survey revealed, 66% of US online consumers report making at least one purchase that was triggered by an offer received via email. And for BtoB marketing, nothing tops email for aiding the customer’s buying decision. In a 2012 article, BtoB Magazine reported that 59% of BtoB marketers say email is their most effective channel for generating revenue.

At the recent 2013 MarketingShe...

Consumers continue to demand real time communications from brands, and it is important that those brands learn more about and engage with their audience. By learning about their consumers, companies are better equipped to custom tailor products and services for the price their audience wants. These real time communications have forced many companies to look more closely at their digital marketing efforts.

As traditional mass media continues to fragment and diminish, marketers are being forced to look at digital media. Technology and connectivity have made news and publications...

We are doing a lot of research around Twitter's new video application, Vine. I wanted to share the top 25 posts that I find the most valuable when defining, building, and activated a Twitter Vine video for your brand. 

1. Pro Tips For Marketing Your Own Stunning Vine - Mashable 

2. How Writers and Readers and Use Twitter's Vine - MediaBistro

3. 3 Tips to Help B2Bs Use Twitter Vine by Mathew Sweezey

4. 10 Tips for Using Twitter's Vine App - MakerMama

5. Have You Tried Vine Yet? Tips for using Twitter's New App - Good World Media 

6. Five Things to Know As You Get Started with Vine - CNet

7. 5 Tips to Help Business Get...

Well, Twitter is! Twitter is entering the ecommerce space in a bid to become the next social media shopping cart, allowing users to purchase products by tweeting a special hashtag. Joining forces with American Express, users will now be able to purchase products from Amazon, Urban Zen, Sony, and Xbox 360.

How Does it Work?

1. Sync your eligible American Express Card with Twitter
2. Tweet special #hashtags and look for a response from @AmexSync with the confirmation #hashtag
3. Tweet the confirmation #hashtag within 15 minutes of the response from @AmexSync to confirm your purchase
4. Use your synced card for a...

The online masses were first introduced to the wonders of webmail in the mid-90s, and one of the pioneers in that space was a service dubbed HoTMaiL, which launched to the general public in 1996. Their moniker’s odd use of letter case called out the technology that powered the service: HTML. From that point on, the market and landscape for webmail has immensely proliferated and evolved. (Microsoft eventually acquired HoTMaiL in 1997.)

Out with the old, in with the new. In July 2012, Microsoft launched a preview of Outlook.com, their new email service that’s the planned successor to Hotmail....

The Super Bowl was slightly different than last year for the city of Indianapolis. IN 2012, we were the host city and millions around the world watched what has become America's largest sport event. With that said, New Orleans was an excellent host city and we were excited to track the social media experience of the Super Bowl once again. 

This year we asked our partner, Visible Technologies, to help us track the social media conversation relating to the Social Super Bowl. Visible is the leader in social media monitoring, analytics, and services for enterprises globally. They are an...

If Client Experience (CX) experts are right, companies that use surveys heavily to monitor the opinions of their customers will find their effectiveness wanes over time. This “Decline of Surveys” was highlighted as the number one CX trend to watch for 2013 in a recent blog post by the Temkin Group.

As they point out, “As more companies thirst for customer feedback, the number of surveys has escalated. But there is a limit to customers’ willingness to complete surveys. As completion rates get more difficult to maintain, companies will become more efficient with the questions they ask, target...

Yesterday Facebook announced a new “Gifts” product – the Facebook gift card. An actual physical card, users will be able to send friends monetary gifts to various retailers that will automatically load onto the card. A single card will be able to hold balances for multiple retailers at once.

Right now there are four participating retailers (Target, Jamba Juice, Olive Garden, and Sephora) and money is only added by “gifting.” However, as the concept catches on and expands there could be some very interesting results to this experiment.

One problem social marketers continually bemoan is...

Do you remember every business that has a stand in your local food market? How about every conversation you had at a networking meeting? What about all of the restaurants on the last street you drove on?

The law of diminishing returns is one brands know very well. You have to work for your customers’ attention, and you have to work even harder to retain it. Retention is a key differentiator that can be built using social media.

"Most big brands are still using Twitter as a publishing channel rather than an engagement channel," says Saif Ajani, Sling Digital’s co-founder. Do you hear that? It’s...

The margin for error in Marketing has become razor thin. Here are five "MegaTrends" that underscore why marketing professionals need to be at the top of their game in 2013.    

MegaTrend #1: Customers are More Informed, More Influential, and Less Patient

Today’s customers are better connected, more informed, and more technically savvy than even 3-5 years ago. They have considerably more access to information to make smarter purchase decisions. They are much less patient with brands that do not deliver the information and offers they want. And they are much more vocal in expressing satisfaction –...

Experts predicted that one billion users would be on social networks by the end of 2012. 62% already use Twitter and Facebook for product questions, discovery and support.  Ask yourself: When you launch that email campaign, where do you think prospects will go to ask product questions? Your website? Yes. Your blog? Yes. Facebook and Twitter, Yes!  So, are you monitoring, responding, and leveraging those product inquires to drive more leads and purchases?

By the end of 2012, 80% of companies planned to use social media for customer service. These brands understand that a customer’s experience on...

We had the pleasure of meeting Richard Pasewark and the Visible Technologies team at Connections this year. While chatting about their product and services, we asked Richard his opinion on the future of social media. Richard believes that social is the largest untapped source in the consumer and B2B marketplace.

What do you think?

You can read more inspired predictions in our Inspired Marketing Predictions for 2013 whitepaper, and don't miss our other video interviews about the future of marketing.

Marketers are not normal. 

By this, I simply mean that marketers are not average consumers.  We are creations of this very specific moment in history in which communications devices and channels are evolving at an unprecedented pace.  As a result--and much like risk-taking explorers, we rush headlong into the unknown, leading our own lives on the bleeding edge of technology, social networks, and revenue models that our bosses barely understand--let alone our target audiences. 

And in that knowledge, an idea was born for the 20th research report in our SUBSCRIBERS, FANS, & FOLLOWERS series: Market...

And so it begins again. The Consumer Electronics Show is currently running in Las Vegas and is full of technological advances and surprises. This year’s show boasts over 155,000 attendees and more than 3,000 exhibitors.

We know many of you are already at CES, and are looking to make the most of this crazy technology show. Whether you are exhibiting or just attending, it is important to remember some digital marketing guidelines to help make the most of your networking. So here are some quick tips on how to leverage mobile, social, and email to maximize your experience.

1. Create Twitter Lists to...

The popularity of our 140 Twitter Marketing Tips got me thinking about one of our submissions: 

People don't buy from logos. People buy from people. You social engagement should reflect that.

As a B2B social marketer, I often get asked if B2B can actually leverage social media. Even if you are responsible for a B2B social strategy, you are still marketing a product or service to a PERSON.  

As a result (and maybe even more so) B2B brands have to humanize their brand and social provides an easy way to do that. Some ways ExactTarget does this: 

• Our Twitter Background. While our Twitter avatar is...