We stumbled across this article by Randy Spurrier, NimbleFish CEO. It really hits the nail on the head! The most important point of the article? Keep the dialogue going! We concur! Read it and learn…
http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/24606.asp
If you have questions about getting your direct mail to work smarter, contact SouthWest Direct today at www.swdirect.com or call 800-968-5798.
Thinking about using Facebook to brand your business? Before you do, consider the Facebook Facts!
1. Facebookers (FB) like food! The FB pages with the most followers contain something about food – pages that has content about ice cream has the most followers!
2. Stay away from buzzwords! FB business pages with words like “optimizing, leverage, blogger, and marketing” has the least followers!
3. FB pages most liked by users contain content about movies, TV shows, and books. Least liked FB page content? Religion, bars and pets
4. FB has a mainstream audience who want to be entertained! Boring content will get you nowhere on FB.
5. FB post titles with numerical digits in them get shared the most.
If your product or service supports these audience characteristics, FB is a good fit! If not, better look elsewhere!
For more information about utilizing social media for your marketing campaign, contact Southwest Direct today at 800-968-5797.
1. Know the market. Know which markets respond to which print media. SWD can show you how to print wisely and make it count!
2. Mix it up. Know what mix of media gets the best reponse. SWD can help you evaluate and measure returns in order to use the right mix for your target audience and message. Let your print support other media.
3. Keep it clean. SWD will keep your mailing lists current, purged of duplicates or disinterested parties, and accurately targeted.
4. Use technology. SWD can help you determine the right printing method for the right job, including digital and variable data printing for personalization. Targeting a smaller, more specific audience gives increased personalization and ROI options.
5. Take advantage of valuable additional services. SWD is your consultant and can offer you a range of different services to get the most optimal ROI from your campaigns.
6. Make it stand out! Don’t forget to consider features such as embossing and special varnishes that will make your piece POP and keep it memorable for readers.
*Did you know that Direct Mail gives advertisers a whopping 13-to-1 return on their investment? Did you also know that nearly 80% of internet users surveyed said they were directly influenced to purchase an item or service because of a direct mail?
Wow, pint really pays off! Southwest Direct can help you increase your return on your direct response campaigns. Call us today at 800-968-5798!
*Rochester institute of Technology
Here is an updated trade show shedule as of 2/26/2010. Hope to see you there!
2010 studies are out and direct mail is still a heavy contender! According to the 2010 DMA Statistical Fact Book, 79% of households either read or scan advertising mail! Out of that 79%, 49% are readers and 30% are scanners! Not bad! And, postcard readership is up, along with all other formats being up, due to less crowded mailboxes. Better keep that direct mail budget on the books! However, the best results only come from expertise that is critical to launching a successful direct mail campaign. Here at SouthWest Direct, we have that expertise! You can’t afford to waste those direct mail budget dollars! Call us today at 800-968-5798 or visit www.swdirect.com To read the full article, click here: http://www.insidedirectmail.com/article/studies-show-direct-mail-healthier-than-expected-415726_1.html
Is it possible to measure social media efforts with hard cold numbers? Afraid not. This may be a hard pill to swallow for the CEO or shareholder of your organization when you, the marketing manager or director, try to sell them the benefit of social media.
However, that’s not to say that social media does not have value – it’s just a different kind of value. The value of social media efforts equates to good old-fashioned relationship building. And, while relationship building cannot be measured on a spreadsheet, it can certainly contribute to growing your client base and increase brand awareness.
No CEO or shareholder I know would object to those two benefits.
Here is a great article on the challenges of social media measurement, as well as interesting perspective from a commenter…
Have any questions about implementing social media for your organization? Contact SouthWest Direct today and let us help you determine if social media will benefit your organization. www.swdirect.com
We really love this web marketing checklist! It was initally put together by Pole Position Marketing, however we have seen several variations of it on the Internet. Regardless, it really is a very comprehensive and helpful list! It is very detailed and doesn’t miss a thing! We approve!
Click here to view —-> Best Damn Web Marketing Checklist
While some may think this is the wrong thing to do, it really isn’t! The concept is really about precise targeting – essentially marketing to your best, most qualified lead only, as those are the leads you will be most likely to convert.
We’ve all done it – we’ve all subscribed to an email list just to get information, a free whitepaper, etc. We really are not interested in buying right now or maybe not ever. So, when we get that future email or e-newsletter, we will delete it upon sight if we are too busy to unsubscribe at that moment.
Eventually, we will tire of deleting your emails and maybe mark them as spam, affecting your reputation as a sender.
Unfortunately for that organization, this action will greatly affect the metrics used, such as open rate, conversion rate, and click-thorugh rate, to assess email marketing performance.
Now, if you are the marketer for this organization, imagine your great big email marketing list being made up of what could be typically over 45% of these kind of subscribers!
Oh, the horror! Its time to take steps to clean your list.
By identifying and removing dead weight subscribers from your email list, you’re ensuring that all subscribers are most likely to engage with your emails.
Of course, if you’re not sure how to optimize your email marketing lists and campaigns, contact a professional! SouthWest Direct offers email marketing campaign developement for a number of industries.
For more information, visit www.swdirect.com!
Text message marketing is a cost-efficient and effective way to market across many age groups and segments. However, as Burger King recently found out, it can be costly when a customer’s request to opt out isn’t granted. This is a great example of what NOT to do within a text message marketing campaign. To ensure this does not happen, you really need to have credible opt out processes in place.
To learn more about this, the Mobile Marketing Association (http://mmaglobal.com/main) can provide you with general best practices for mobile marketing. However, the individual carriers have their own set of rules and guidelines for marketing to their customers. Also, customers are charged Standard Text Messaging rates per their cell phone plan. What that means is that a message counts against their text message plan (if they have one) or incur the standard text message rate per their cell phone plan. So, unwanted text messages after an opt out request will really upset a customer and rightfully so.
Lastly, the best way to follow best practices and have an effective text messaging campaign is to hire a professional! SouthWest Direct has performed many text message marketing campaigns and always follows best practices.
Check this out: http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2009/12/whopper_of_a_suit_woman_wants.php
