ESP - Social Email Marketing

Sam Cece (CEO StrongMail): “social media is all about empowering and giving voice to the consumer”

One of the companies that often comes into the picture when talking about the integration of social media and email marketing is StrongMail.

In the past year and even months, StrongMail acquired some companies, launched new products (especially in the social media space) and was all around the news with campaigns and customers, using its social media platforms (and of course its email marketing solutions).

To me, one of the most striking findings, is that StrongMail, traditionally an email solution provider, even offers social media marketing solutions like its StrongMail Influencer and StrongMail Social Direct (in beta) to businesses that don’t use its email marketing platforms. An interesting strategy that called for an interview with CEO Sam Cece.

Email marketing industry perspectives : standardization of email metrics

For the past few years, the Email Measurement Accuracy Roundtable, sponsored by the Email Experience Council, has been conscientiously working to standardize email metrics.

Standardizing these metrics is crucial in order to improve the quality of reporting and to enhance the creditability of the email industry. As part of the standardization goal, the Roundtable seeks congruent email reporting across existing Email Service Providers.

The email industry operates in a dynamic environment, and, like every major industry, it has its shortcomings. But, one thing that has remained constant over the years is the ambiguity that faces marketers because of differences in how email metrics are calculated from one ESP to another.

Contradiction: email marketers find it hard to reach the inbox but at the same time don’t seem to care too much

Deliverability is a hot topic in email marketing today. There are many reasons for that: an increased volume of emails sent (email has recently been used more frequently due to the recession), a growth of lists, changing techniques at the ISPs to filter emails, etc.

The emphasis increasingly lies with relevance, content and interaction by and with the email recipients.

The ‘Email Marketing Industry Census 2010 report’ by Econsultancy, carried out in cooperation with Adestra, shows that the number of businesses claiming to have problems reaching their email subscribers’ mailboxes has increased by 3% compared to last year, reaching no less than 54%.

StrongMail launches Social Studio and gets into bed with Radian6

StrongMail announced two initiatives that further strengthen the position of the company in combining email marketing and social media.

The company announced a partnership with social media marketing management and measurement firm Radian6.

On top of that, StrongMail announced the launch of Social Studio (you can test drive it here), “a centralized campaign management application that is now being made available to professional social media marketers”.

A bad email program is much like an ineffective sales person: the power of personalization

I recently took my 9 year old daughter to Justice, a children’s apparel retailer. From the onset the manager bombarded me, at 5 minute intervals, with product recommendations and promotions.

This continued for 30 minutes until I was forced to school her on customer insight and preferences.

A bad email program is much like an ineffective sales person. Instead of having to read the disinterest on the faces of your customers, feel the negative impact on sales, or in my case, hear the harshness of their words; email marketing can tell you almost everything you need to know about your customers and help you to sell more.

Email marketing: love is in the air (and soon in the inbox)

Marketers have always embraced special events (should I mention the Superbowl, the Olympic Games and Christmas?) to reach out to their (potential) customers. One of the events that’s approaching fast is Valentine’s day.

As Valentine’s Day comes closer some companies start sending promotional emails on great gifts. They all try to influence the reader with romantic messages, useful tips and emotional call to actions. Did you plan to do the same?

Here are some tips I ran into on the blog of Campaigner, following a press release the ESP sent yesterday.

Protus’ Campaigner, a Canadian email marketing service provider, is helping small businesses target their perfect match with email marketing campaigns focused on the most romantic day of the year.

StrongMail: integration of email marketing and social media pays off

No, this is not a post about the advantages of integrating social media and email marketing or some great social email marketing case study.

It’s about ESP StrongMail itself. The company announced “record revenue in 2009”.

And it looks as if the innovations and acquisitions of the ESP regarding social media and email marketing have played a prominent role.

Another ESP goes for the combination of email marketing and video

Last week, at MarketingSherpa’s Email Summit ’10, ESP iPost announced a partnership with rich media developer Flimp Media.

The purpose of the partnership: offering email marketers a “metrics-driven video email messaging solution”.

This makes iPost, a company that also offers predictive analytics, the fourth (or fifth, lost track) email marketing service provider that comes with a combination of email and video since I launched this blog in December last year.

B2B email marketing: email marketing service providers or marketing automation platforms?

Many email marketing service providers are adding features to their platforms that make them look more and more like marketing automation platforms, including features such as complex automatic email messages that are triggered by predefined subscriber interactions and lead management features.

On the other hand, you have the marketing automation and lead generation platform pure players with companies such as Eloqua, Marketo and several others.

In B2B (email) marketing, email is increasingly becoming a way to follow the customer in every step of his buying process and to provide personalized information, based on the signals the customer gives via a multitude of channels, including the website, social media etc. It’s fully integrated marketing (automation). You can expect this market to change a lot and it will be interesting to see how ESPs and MAPs evolve. One of them is Silverpop.

Email marketing industry news: CertifiedEmail goes SMB with iContact

Goodmail Systems and ESP iContact today announced a partnership and reseller agreement.

iContact, an ESP focussing on small and mid-sized businesses, will use Goodmail’s CertifiedEmail system that assures authenticity and enables recipients to immediately see if a mail comes from a sender with whom they have a pre-existing relationship.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Industry news Tagged With: authenticity, CertifiedEmail, ESP, Goodmail Systems, iContact, Kevin Fitzgerald

Help needed: let us build a worldwide list of email marketing service providers

I’m trying to build a list of Email marketing Service Providers or ESP from over the whole world. Now, I know it’s a crazy mission.

There are probably thousands. I will start with some, I know. But then comes the challenge: how will I ever complete this list?

That’s where I hope, you, dear visitor, come in. If you’re an email marketer or an ESP, from Bangladesh, the U.S., Indonesia, South-Africa or anywhere else in the world: comment on this page and I will gladly check the ESP and add it to my list.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Email marketing Tagged With: email marketing service providers, ESP

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Email marketing industry perspectives : standardization of email metrics

A bad email program is much like an ineffective sales person: the power of personalization

Another ESP goes for the combination of email marketing and video

B2B email marketing: email marketing service providers or marketing automation platforms?

Email marketing industry news: CertifiedEmail goes SMB with iContact

Help needed: let us build a worldwide list of email marketing service providers

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