Social Media and Generation Next

Most of you have either seen or read about Old Spice's groundbreaking social media campaign (if not, check it out - you won't be disappointed).  What made their marketing strategy so unique and successful was how they leveraged several social networks to promote the Old Spice brand.  Marketers invited followers of Old Spice on Twitter, Facebook, and more to ask questions of the humorous, shirtless spokesman.  As inquiries came flooding in, funny questions and famous people on social networks were responded to directly in short YouTube videos.  In two days, over 180 video responses were produced all of which were done in real time.  Reports from video analytics companies state these clips exceeded 110 million views.  Proving the campaign to be financially successful, Nielsen released data of a 107% sales increase of Old Spice products in the past month.  Not all of that can be attributed to the YouTube campaign with certainty but BrandWeek reported in the same article that individual products with declining sales saw spikes after the internet ads went viral.

So what can all email marketers learn from this success story?  The main takeaway is that consumers are responding very positively to online video.  An article from eMarketer shows companies are reacting with a increase in the use of video.  US online retailers appear to be ahead of the curve as the percentage of these retailers that offer video content has more than tripled since 2008.  Fortune 500 companies with public-facing blogs have also responded with increased use of video blogging over the past two years.

Online video is proving itself to be one of the most engaging and effective forms of media available.  How can you incorporate it into your email marketing strategy?  On August 12, experts from ExactTarget and Flimp Media will discuss findings from a 2010 Video Email Marketing Survey in an exclusive webinar.  Learn how to achieve results with video by hearing information on new video email marketing technologies and practical tips on how to execute these campaigns.  

Click here to learn more about the webinar and to get a sneak-peek of the survey.  Register for this webinar today and learn how to reap the benefits of online video in your email marketing campaign!