Publications and social options
Custom magazines and well-designed catalogs
These types of publications are ideal platforms for storytelling and in-depth content, but many companies claim that the cost of production and postage is prohibitively high. With careful and targeted use of mailing lists and offers, however, custom magazines and catalogs can generate new customers and re-engage with past ones. While the number of emails an individual receives has increased greatly over time, the number of printed marketing messages they receive has likely decreased. The electronic mailbox might be bursting at the seams, but the actual mailbox is probably looking a little light. Go against the grain and give the consumer something they can hold in their hands and provide quality content with which they can connect.
Social media
Social media is the ideal strategy for any company looking to form a connection with or make a lasting impression on its audience. A company can and should use social media to build an interactive, engaged, and permission-based relationship with legions of "fans" or "followers." A recent study by marketer researcher Invoke Solutions showed that social media users are avid followers of companies and brands. Sixty-five percent of social media users follow a company or brand on Facebook, and 47 percent had posted a comment on a company Facebook page. Additionally, more than 31 percent of social networkers follow a brand or company's tweets.
Because these consumers have chosen to follow your company online, they have self-selected to be your target audience. You must find your company's correct level of social media presence according to the audience's demographics, expectations, and frequency of social media use. Once that level is established, use the medium (or media) to post relevant company news, special deals, new product releases, employee profiles, contests, new content, or to ask for customer feedback. Customers tend to be more interested in a company when a company shows genuine interest in them.
The shift in communication preferences from one-way emails to permission-based social media relationships means that a change in marketing budget allocations is on the horizon, particularly for those who are not online retailers or in a transactional business. Ben & Jerry's has delved into this developing trend by announcing that it will be cutting back on email marketing in the U.K. and depending on social media instead. The company has found that its interaction with its nearly 1.5 million engaged Facebook fans is a much more effective marketing tactic than sending customers a purely promotional email. The company has used Facebook to create an active dialog with loyal customers, to limit the amount of "spam" email it sends out, and to recruit future brand loyalists (and customers).
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