Oh, 2004. The Red Sox broke the curse and won the
World Series, Martha Stewart broke the law and went to jail, and
Justin Timberlake broke Janet's shirt during the Superbowl halftime
show. Of course we remember - it was just a few years ago. But
imagine if, five years ago, a colleague offered to "write on your
wall," to "tweet," "friend," or even (we have to go there) "poke"
you.
It was in 2004 that Facebook was first launched. As of this week,
the social networking site has 350 million registered users (to put
that in context, this week there are about 308 million people
living in the United States). The average Facebook user spends 55
minutes a day on the site, and the time spent on sites like
Facebook has increased 90% in the past six years.
How does this relate to your business? Well, studies suggest
that more and more people are using social networking sites rather
than email for their personal communication. By turning to social
email marketing, you can integrate social networking communication
into your current email system, thus potentially reaching a much
broader, self-selected audience while also showing your current
customer base how much you value them.
How to make social email marketing work for
you
Setting up social email marketing is fairly simple. There are
several downloadable snap-in tools, including Xobni, TwinBox, or FeedMailer,
that will allow email recipients to follow your company's social
site and post links to their own. But after providing the software
that makes sure your customers can post your email to their social
site, you need to provide the content to ensure they will. One of
the best ways to do this is to make sure the content of your email
fits into what's already happening on social networking sites. Here
are a few tips to make your content fit in.
Your customer is...
One way to get your customers to click that "post to social" tab is
to connect your brand to their identity. From running shoes to
class rings to new software systems, what we buy says something
about who we are. And if one of your customers likes your product
(and what it says about him or her), odds are that customer's
friends will like it, too.
Post a status upgrade.
When designing promotions, try to consider incentive programs that
will allow your customers to build status and share that status
with their friends. Preferred customers, who hear first about new
products or sales, or even get updates on product development, are
likely to feel valued. As an added bonus, they can share this
information with online friends, publicizing both their own status
and your product.
Give a gift.
Customer rewards are nothing new. Providing loyal customers with
discounts, or offering free products or services in exchange for
referrals, has long been a way of rewarding loyal customers. By
encouraging recipients to post these rewards to their social sites,
you'll allow them to let their friends reap the benefits of these
programs, too. And, of course, you'll gain exposure and
customers.
Support a cause.
What to you get for the customer who has everything? Recently, many
companies have rewarded loyal customers by donating to worthy
causes for each purchase or referral they make. From carbon offsets
to money for schools, supporting causes can encourage customers to
return and make them feel good about their purchases. And you'll
feel good, too: appealing to altruism shows your customers that you
value not only their business, but also their world.