Apr 14: Understanding Electronic Marketing

As mentioned in the previous blog article, I wanted to share with you some of the key points and highlights of the presentation at our March HSMAI meeting. Here’s the second part of the talk by Armando Lopez with Navigant Marketing.

Electronic marketing tools are mainly used for three reasons: to generate brand awareness (e.g. banner ads); to stay in touch; and for direct response (to buy your products). For brand awareness – make sure you have clear, large, simple, big headlines. Also make sure you have a call to action; say, “click here”.

Armando noted that today, people are too busy to read. If you are sending a newsletter or email, do it early in the day, especially if you send on a Friday. Keep the content short and interesting. There are deliverability guidelines to follow (i.e. some content should and shouldn’t be there).

Direct response can be in the form of e-blasts, e-newsletters, or the less-targeted banner ads. Make sure your offer is visible (again, big/bold); make it easy to share (include “send to friends” buttons); have a good design; send it to the right database; and make it easy to opt in/opt out (for legal reasons as well as to improve your reputation). These promotions can be planned in advance but also allow ad-hoc promotions when necessary to respond to market conditions.

Paid searches (like on Google and Yahoo) are another option. These are often the “pay per click” type where you only pay when a person visits your site.

Some rapidly developing electronic marketing areas include: Digital Marketing -- your cell phone and mobile internet access is about to become a lot more capable; SMS – simple text messages are another growing area; RSS Feeds – subscribers are asking to receive content; Social Networks – Facebook, and similar sites, are evolving and becoming more important; and Electronic billboards.

Looks like we have a lot to prepare for and understand in the future. Good to know that HSMAI will be here to help in our marketing education. Would you like to share your expertise on a relevant subject? Let us know.