Attention all e-commerce businesses…if you’re not running a bounce-back email campaign to your buyers, you’re missing out on some major additional revenue.   What is a bounce-back offer? Let’s first review…what exactly is a “bounce-back” offer? Think of something like this: We’re not talking email delivery failures here. Plain and simple, a bounce-back offer is created to entice the client to “bounce back,” or return and buy more from you in the future. Brick and mortar retailers invented the bounce-back with return offer mailers, and with good reason: the cost […]

Looking for ways to add visual content to your social messages and email campaigns? It’s easy to ❤ the personality emojis and gifs can bring to your brand, but they aren’t meant for everyone…or every situation.   Before you turn yourself into a marketing unicorn, read our tips on incorporating visual content into your messaging—without overwhelming your audience.   Here’s how:   🦄Understand Your Audience This is probably the #1 rule to remember when it comes to using visual content in your everyday marketing strategy. Understanding your audience should help […]

On May 25th, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be officially in effect. The GDPR is designed to update the rules on personal data collection and retention and will significantly alter how all organizations can handle customer information. Check out Dave Cacioppo’s previous blog post covering the broader impact of GDPR for Marketers. This post is going to be focused on a more granular facet of the impact of GDPR – Google Analytics (in truth, all web analytics platforms).   What Does GDPR Mean for Google Analytics? […]

Making some big changes to your website? Change is good! But if you aren’t careful with site migration, it could be disastrous for your SEO presence. Here’s our site migration SEO checklist for changing domain names or moving to HTTPS: Ask Yourself: Why Are You Migrating Your Site? The two main reasons you may be migrating your site: A domain name change Moving from HTTP to HTTPS Both are long-term investments in the site’s future. A domain name change is typically sparked by a branding overhaul. Moving to HTTPS is […]

Summer vacation is almost here, but don’t swap your shoes for flipflops just yet. For marketers in higher education, this is the perfect time to map out your social media calendar for the academic year.   Social media is a key component of a good content marketing plan, and like any plan, you should start your social media calendar for the academic year with goals and KPIs. Here’s how:   Social Media Marketing Goals Content marketing is most successful when you understand what you hope to achieve. Setting goals (examples […]

I’ll be the first to admit that the amount of data available to marketers can be a little overwhelming. Consumers want their online experiences to be personalized, but if it’s too personalized, they get a little creeped out. How do we use the data that is readily available tastefully? And before that, how do we get started with sending personalized messaging to our customers? Here’s where a milestone email can come in handy.   What’s a Milestone Email? A milestone email is a type of behavior-based email you might send […]

With an increasing amount of attention and commitment to accessibility in recent years, you’ve probably given thought to optimizing your website for individuals with disabilities, but what about email accessibility? Natalie offers some considerations in a recent post on what you need to know about website ADA compliance, but it’s important to think beyond your website and consider how you can make all content you offer to your users online easily accessible. Among that list is your email content, which is an extension of your website user experience in many […]

If you’re reading this blog I’m sure that by now you’ve done some research and have heard the phrase, “Content is King.” Well, for most it’s a fact. For those to whom the phrase rings true, content marketing is a major component of ongoing digital marketing strategies. Establishing well-defined content marketing goals is the critical first step in developing a successful content strategy to drive business growth. But what makes it worthy of such a title? Creating unique, high-quality content that is engaging and useful adds value to your products […]

How to evaluate your email mistakes so that you can use that information to become a better email marketer. At some point, everyone sends a bad email, whether that’s an email with clunky design or mistakes or image issues, and some of these email mistakes can be embarrassing at the least. But look at the bright side: there’s good that can come from carefully examining email mistakes. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? Same goes for making mistakes. By learning from the email marketing mistakes you make, you’re […]

On a scale of 1 to 5, how do your customers feel about your business?   That question is getting asked and answered about your business every day online. If you are not actively tuned in to this dialog, you are both putting your business at risk and missing a great opportunity to elevate your brand.   The Importance of User Reviews Online review sites started gaining traction around 2012 and since then, their growth has become exponential. Unlike a Net Promoter Score survey that you might hire an outside […]

Once upon a time, community banks and credit unions cornered the market on personalized communications and a neighbor-to-neighbor experience for their customers. But now, with the help of marketing automation platforms, big banks are poised to take back the customer experience. If community banks and credit unions hope to challenge those big banks, they’ll need a strong content strategy and an engine to deliver useful content to their customers. A great place to start is by building a user generated content guide for community banks or for your credit union. […]

When creating content, one of the biggest challenges we have is marketers is the balance between writing for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and writing for our customers. At least, that is the internal challenge we think exists. In reality, the challenge is not nearly as big as we think. Let’s look at how to create a content marketing SEO strategy.   In its most recently product SEO Starter Guide, Google has made it clear that “optimized content” is one of the most important ranking factors to consider. But what exactly […]

There’s nothing that makes us happier than hearing from happy emfluence Marketing Platform users, which is why we’re excited to share the Spring 2018 G2 Crowd Report results with you.   G2 Crowd is a business solution review platform with a robust (and busy) marketing automation platform category. Each quarter, G2 Crowd releases reports to help buyers understand how software users feel about business software solutions, like the emfluence Marketing Platform. Rankings in each report are based on the data provided by actual users, which are averaged for the category—in […]

Testing your website or software application can be time-consuming, but it can help ensure a smooth user experience for your visitors and backend users. We build testing phases into every project or feature rollout; but it’s helpful to repeat testing activities, even well after deployment, to identify vulnerabilities and breakdowns before they are reported to you by your users.   The Regression Testing Template There are many types of testing procedures for documenting and validating software functionality at every stage of its development. Perhaps one of the most under-utilized, but […]

Quality over quantity is usually a solid life motto to live by, and your newsletter email list shouldn’t be any different. If you want to grow newsletter subscriptions, start by placing emphasis on opt ins (i.e., people who signed up for your content). Quality users that have chosen to opt-in want to see your name in their inbox, look forward to receiving your content, and are typically your highest engaged customers that are likely to convert. However, getting opt-ins for that healthy list can sometimes seem more like a marathon […]

Images make any content more interesting and appealing by helping readers understand your content better. Plus, images add value to your SEO efforts by increasing user engagement and accessibility of your website. There are a number of important factors that can be optimized to help improve image SEO on your site.   Let’s walk through some of the best practices for optimizing images on your website to help you rank higher in organic search.   Improve Image SEO with Tools Since having images is crucial to image SEO, finding and […]

There’s hidden revenue potential in your existing customer base, and you can upsell using CRM data to find it.   Welcome to the art of upselling techniques: upselling is a way of encouraging existing, happy customers to spend more with you. On average, anywhere between 70 to 95% of revenue generated at B2B companies in a given year comes from upsells and renewals. For ecommerce and B2C companies, there’s a 30% chance a customer will make a second purchase, and a 50% chance that customer will make a third purchase. […]

Call it customer retention, customer loyalty, or brand affinity: what we’re really after as marketers boils down to one word, and that word is love. There’s nothing so powerful in marketing as the love of a customer, but fostering that kind of love takes patience, time, and maybe a little automation.   How to Build and Promote a Customer Loyalty Program Using a Marketing Automation Platform Your marketing automation platform isn’t just a lead nurture platform. If you want to improve customer loyalty, you can apply the same principles and […]

What Gets Measured Gets Managed – A FREE Content Calendar For SEO and Social Media   Peter Drucker was a legendary business thinker. If you’ve never read any of his books on business and management, you should (at the very least) memorize his most famous words. What gets measured, gets managed. It’s not rocket science, it’s pure common sense. At past companies, I felt like Marketing Departments worked in silos, which doesn’t help year-end goals. You have the Search Team over here working on X, Social Media is working on […]

Like it or not, the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is coming very soon. The legislation is designed to put control into the hands of consumers regarding how their personally identifiable information (PII) is obtained, used and shared. Most would agree that giving consumers control is the right thing to do. It does, however, present some significant challenges for businesses, including non-EU based companies, who do business with or market to individuals who are part of the EU.   GDPR consumer advantages:   Increased security. Companies are required […]

Are you subscribed to a regular or daily roundup email of some kind? Office Snapshots has been a favorite of mine since before we moved offices, for example.   One of our clients, YRC Worldwide, is a North American authority on shipping and is in the position to lead awareness of news coverage and recent industry developments. They started a daily news briefing email and it took off. The only problem was that the emails were cumbersome to build.   Extending the marketing stack with a daily roundup email This […]

Understanding the relationship between ecommerce and social media is essential when it comes to building your brand, connecting with your target audience, and launching a social media strategy for ecommerce sales. As digital marketers, it is our jobs to stay on top of the latest best practices and industry trends. But let’s be honest, there is not enough time in the day to keep up with the ever-changing world of digital marketing. Which is why I’m here to help you out!   How to Build a Social Media Strategy for […]

If you’re talking about a CRM system, love isn’t usually the first word that comes to mind. It’s not uncommon for CRM to be a source of conflict for sales and marketing teams, and I’ve heard members of both teams question why we spend so much time worrying about our CRM systems.   In an ideal world, Marketing deserves at least a 50% stake in every organization’s CRM system. It’s our source of truth—it’s where everything we need to create a custom experience for our prospects lives. We deserve a […]

Take a trip to a local business and you’re likely to see wheelchair ramps, Braille buttons, automatic doors, and other ease-of-access modifications designed to provide equal access to persons with disabilities—these are the physical accommodations that most businesses and nonprofit service providers must legally make to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). But did you know that the same businesses required to make physical accommodations for persons with disabilities are also required to make accommodations on their websites?   Not sure if your website is ADA compliant? Learn […]

If your retail email ROI isn’t generating the highest return of your marketing budget, you might want to take a second look at your strategies. That’s because across all industries, email ROI can be as high as 3,800% (according to the Direct Marketing Association). For retailers who have limited ways to connect with customers, that rate of return is a good goal to set.   A recent report from market intelligence firm Retail Systems Research suggests that even retailers who are good at email could be doing more to improve […]

An engaged alumni base can help higher education marketers tap into a network of advocates that can refer future students, share stories about their experiences, and fundraise for future initiatives they care about. But first, you’ll have to create an alumni relations experience that’s worth engaging with.   How to Use an Alumni Email Series to Engage Post Graduates If you want to truly engage your alumni base with email, you’ll need to ditch the batch-and-blast approach. We’ve pulled together six of the best alumni email series campaigns that can […]

As is customary for many people around this time (okay, maybe I’m a little late), it’s time to make some predictions on the biggest trends I believe will dominate 2018 SEO trends discussions in the coming year. As everyone knows, mastering the Google Dance is not easy…they keep changing the steps to keep us on our toes. Nonetheless, we’ve wrapped up the seven trends we think will come into play this year.   Mobile First Index – Go Beyond Responsive On November 4th, 2016 Google began “testing” its mobile-first index. […]