Facebook Marketing: The Next Frontier for Email Marketing

8/12/2019 Facebook Marketing: The Next Frontier for Email Marketing

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As a leading social media consultant, Jay provides social mediastrategic planning and counsel to some of Americas largestcompanies through his consulting rm, Convince and Convert.Hes been a digital marketing consultant since 1994, and hasworked with 29 of the Fortune 500. Current and recent clientsinclude Sony, MetLife, Allstate, California Travel & TourismCommission, Billabong, and Caterpillar.

As co-author of the highly-acclaimed book, The NOWRevolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Company Faster, Smarter, andMore Social, popular blogger of www.convinceandconvert.com presently ranked as the #1 content marketing blog inthe world, the #3 social media blog in the world, and the#20 overall marketing resource in the worldand frequentkeynote speaker, Jay teaches business leaders and ownershow to harness the awesome power of social media withoutforgetting that social media is an ingredient in a successful

business, not the whole entre. Hes frequently quoted bythe press about social media and its impact on business andcompanies, with recent appearances including USA Today,MSNBC, Fast Company Magazine, and Inc. Magazine.

When Jay isnt giving speeches, writing blog posts, orconsulting, he enjoys a good tequila or red wine, a solidtheatrical performance, a great NFL game, and time withhis two children.

MEET JAY BAER AMERICAS HYPE-FREE SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIST

Jay Baer - @jaybaer

www.ExactTarget.com ExactTarget
http://www.convinceandconvert.com/http://www.convinceandconvert.com/http://www.exacttarget.com/http://www.exacttarget.com/http://www.convinceandconvert.com/http://www.convinceandconvert.com/


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3 www.ExactTarget.com ExactTarget

FACEBOOK MARKETING: EMAILS NEXT FRONTIER

OVERVIEWTheres no denying it: Facebook has had a profound impact oninteractive marketing. Regardless of your organizations size orindustry, youre viewing Facebook as an opportunity to expandmarket reach, grow your business, and reach new customers.But one lingering question remainswill Facebook or the broadersocial media movement kill email?

In short? No! Social media and email are not mutually exclusive.In fact, social media accounts require customers to sign up withan existing email address. And studies show that your fans onFacebook are already loyal customers and heavy purchasersnot

just casual shoppers or even prospective shoppers. The questionisnt Facebook OR email. Its how you combine Facebook WITHemail thats the true indicator of your interactive marketing success.

So even if Facebook seems like uncharted territory, it doesnt haveto be complex or complicated. Your existing email expertise willactually make it easier to build a successful Facebook marketingprogramwith full message and channel integration. From Fortune500 companies and small local businesses to international retailersand travel organizationsthis complimentary eBook will show youhow to take your tried and true email marketing know-how andapply it to conquer the next frontier of Facebook marketing.

INSIDE YOULL LEARN:

Part 1: Facebook and Email Customers:One and the Same?

Part 2: How to Integrate Facebook and Email:3 Quick Tips to Combine Operations and Measurement

Part 3: How to Integrate Facebook and Email:5 Quick Tips to Combine Channels and Audiences

Part 4: How to Integrate Facebook and Email:4 Quick Tips to Integrate Messaging and Content

EMAILS NEXT FRONTIER:BY JAY BAER

In an ironic twist of fate, itturns out that email is socialmedias secret weapon. FRED WILSON CO-FOUNDER OF UNION SQUARE VENTURES, ANINVESTOR IN TWITTER AND FOURSQUARE
http://www.exacttarget.com/http://www.exacttarget.com/


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Data shows that we like what we already likemeaning the peoplewho like your brand on Facebook are already your loyal customers.In fact, a study from highly-ranked worldwide advertising agencyDDB in 2011 found that 84% of Facebook fans are current or formercustomers of the companies they like.

These fans tend to be loyal to your brand and may be more thanhappy to shout out their support on Facebook. On occasion, fansinteract with business page status updatesgiving a digital headsup to their friends. These friendly nods to your brand might result innew awareness to a broader audience. But its rare for your fans toactually take that action. According to a study from market researchrm Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, on average, 1.3% of your fans willactually interact with your business on Facebookmeaning that forthe most part, youre preaching to the already converted.

Small businesses and enterprises alike can leverage Facebook fansto grow email listsand vice versa. Engaging your already-convertedcustomers on Facebook creates a powerful conversion opportunity.

BOTTOM LINE:Facebook is an opt-in tool to keep your brand top-of-mind amongpeople who have raised their hand and asked to be marketed to. Sois email. Essentially, Facebook is emails hip, young cousinonemodern and cool, the other the original. But the original still providesa very effective means of reaching loyal customers. Another helpfulanalogy? Think of email as Madonna, and Facebook as Lady Gaga.

PART 1 FACEBOOK AND EMAIL CUSTOMERS:ONE AND THE SAME?

PART 1

84%of Facebook fans

are current orformer customers.

SOURCE: 2011 STUDY FROM WORLDWIDE ADVERTISING AGENCY DDB


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When you evaluate Facebook and email side-by-side through the lensof operations and measurement, the similarities become even morestartling. For example, take what youve learned from email and mapit to your Facebook metrics. If your emails and Facebook messagesarent relevant, your content may never reach your fans and emailsubscribers. Just like spam lters, Facebook uses an algorithm todetermine what users see in their Facebook News Feed. (Thoughnot a Facebook term, the industry refers to this as EdgeRank, which is

how well address it throughout this report.) Users couldnt possibly seeeverything from every friend or brand at once. So in theory, this algorithmgives users more of what they want and less of what they dont.

The three factors that determine whether (and how often) you seecontent on Facebook from a friend or company include:

1. Afnity How often does a user interact with contentpublished by another user or a brand? Facebook assumesthat if they frequently interact with a brands content, a usermust be engaged. Thus, if a fan interacts with your content

today, he or she is more likely to see your content tomorrow.2. Weight of Behavior A like or thumbs up on Facebook

indicates a moderate level of interest, where consistentcommenting or sharing of your content infers a deeper levelof engagement with them. Think about ittyping somethingrequires more action than clicking on an icon.

A share is obvious that the user likes the content, saysJeff Widman, Co-Founder of advanced Facebook statisticscompany PageLever. And, EdgeRank weighs it well.

3. Timing of Content/Newness Theres an ocean of contentbeing published on Facebook every minute. How recently aparticular piece of content was published impacts whetheror not its shown to a user. Its like the atomic half-life youlearned about in high school chemistryeven if a particularpiece of Facebook content is disproportionately successful(as determined by interaction rate and viral spread), it willeventually fade away and disappear.

It really boils down to showing people more of the content theywant and less of what they dont wantcreating a better userexperience. With recent Facebook Timeline changes, Facebook istelling you to act like individual users to gain visibility. Just like withemail, Facebook requires compelling, relevant, and timely content tosuccessfully reach your customers.

PART 2 HOW TO INTEGRATE FACEBOOK AND EMAIL:3 QUICK TIPS TO COMBINE OPERATIONS AND MEASUREMENT

PART 2

A Facebook fans greatest value to marketerslies in his or her ability to spread messagesto friends and contacts. If you empower yourFacebook fans to spread your brands message,youll acquire new audiences and increase ROI.

SUBSCRIBERS, FANS, AND FOLLOWERS #6: THE COLLABORATIVE FUTURE


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HOW CAN YOU IMPROVE YOUR EDGERANK?IMPROVE YOUR RELEVANCY!In order to keep a brand in front of Facebook fans, you mustidentify whats relevant to your audience. Here are a few waysto identify what content engages your fans:

Test. Test. Test. Just like in email, post regularly on Facebookto determine what content resonates with your fan base.

Ensure you post fresh content daily. Test status updatesbased on content, time-of-day, word count, photos, and text.Experiment with the variables and track results.

Post Content That Solicits Reaction. Brands that askquestions and encourage feedback can jumpstart banter,interaction, and conversation. These posts will ensureyour content shows up in your fans News Feeds. Simplell-in-the-blank posts can also be incredibly effectiveon Facebook.

Ask for Interact ion. It can be effective to ask your fans tolike a piece of content, which helps with EdgeRank. Butremember: you cant require a like to enter a contest, asits a violation of Facebooks promotional regulations.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I IMPROVED MYRELEVANCY AND EDGERANK?The People Talking About This metric on your Facebook page is agood gauge for your interaction rate and EdgeRank. Services like

SimplyMeasured and PageLever can also provide more advancedstatistics than Facebook offers to page administrators.

Although the names are different, the metrics determining success forboth Facebook and email are strikingly similar.

Different Name, Same Game

Facebook likesor fansEmail subscribes

Facebook unlikes

Facebook Engaged

Users and PTAT*Email opens

Email open rate

Email forwards

* Facebook metric known as People Talking About This

Email unsubscribes

Email clicks

Facebook ReachFacebook Reach

divided by total fansFacebook shares

PART 2


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HOW DO YOU MEASURE THE IMPACT OFINTEGRATING FACEBOOK AND EMAIL?Its great to have a long list of subscribers, but most email marketersput more weight on open rates and click-through metrics than the sheersize of an email list. ExactTargets Subscribers, Fans, and Followers research conrms that, on average, about 25% of subscribers willopen your emails and far fewer will actually click through.

These metrics parallel with Facebooks Engaged Users andPeople Talking About This. For example, if you have 1,000 fans,Facebook estimates that on average, no more than 16% of your fanswill actually see your content. Thats 160 fans viewing your content,or a Facebook open rate of 16%. And, even fewer will actuallymake a gesture or take an action to trigger notications to show yourcontent on their friends Facebook stream. Thats not because yourcontent isnt valuable. Its due to the immense volume of contentthats appearing in users News Feeds.

DEFINING THE TRUE MEASURE OF A FACEBOOKFANS WORTHTheres a lot of chatter about what a Facebook fan is worth, andtheres literally a half-dozen research studies that peg that value of a fanat $5, $23, $45, $121, etc. The reality is that the value of a Facebookfan is wholly dependent upon your business and your fans. Theresno standard for Facebook fan valueanymore so than theres astandard for the value of an email subscriber. However, if you have anactive email program, you can estimate the value of your Facebookactivities by using your email expenditures as a benchmark.

PART 2

Nearly 40% ofconsumers like

companies to showbrand afliations

to friends. And 90%of people trust therecommendationsof their Facebook

friends. SUBSCRIBERS, FANS, AND FOLLOWERS: 2010 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


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YOUR EMAIL EXPENSES CAN DEFINE YOURFACEBOOK VALUE

1. Determine your TRUE cost per email sent (labor,technology, etc.)

2. Multiply by your Unique Clicks to get your Cost PerUnique Email Click.

3. Find your Total Facebook Engaged Users.

4. Multiply that number by Cost Per Unique Email Click = Value Per Engaged User on Facebook.

If this conjures up dark memories of your high school Algebra class, just use this free worksheet, compliments of Convince & Convert.

BOTTOM LINE:For both email and Facebook, relevancy drives engagement andengagement drives results. If your messages arent generating anyengagement or user-generated activities (opens, clicks, likes,comments, shares) your messages may not even be seen! YourFacebook page should never be a website replacement or act as acorporate microsite. Facebook wants you to act like individual usersby publishing interesting, chatter-worthy content at regular intervals.

EXAMPLE:

$.02 per email (fully loaded)X 10% unique click rate

= $.20 cost per click X 86,151 Facebook Engaged Users

Monthly = $17,230 in Facebook value

PART 2

Facebook isnt being used to itsfullest potential if youre focused onincreasing fans and up-selling andcross-selling to them. Instead, you

need to gure out how to mobilizethe fan base you already haveso they can share your powerfulmessage across the entire internet SUBSCRIBERS, FANS, AND FOLLOWERS #6: THE COLLABORATIVE FUTURE
http://www.exacttarget.com/http://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-roi/a-new-way-to-calculate-what-facebook-is-worth-to-your-business/?utm_campaign=Argyle+Social-2011-11&utm_medium=Argyle+Social&utm_source=General+Use&utm_term=2011-11-11-22-23-57http://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-roi/a-new-way-to-calculate-what-facebook-is-worth-to-your-business/?utm_campaign=Argyle+Social-2011-11&utm_medium=Argyle+Social&utm_source=General+Use&utm_term=2011-11-11-22-23-57http://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-roi/a-new-way-to-calculate-what-facebook-is-worth-to-your-business/?utm_campaign=Argyle+Social-2011-11&utm_medium=Argyle+Social&utm_source=General+Use&utm_term=2011-11-11-22-23-57http://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-roi/a-new-way-to-calculate-what-facebook-is-worth-to-your-business/?utm_campaign=Argyle+Social-2011-11&utm_medium=Argyle+Social&utm_source=General+Use&utm_term=2011-11-11-22-23-57http://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-roi/a-new-way-to-calculate-what-facebook-is-worth-to-your-business/?utm_campaign=Argyle+Social-2011-11&utm_medium=Argyle+Social&utm_source=General+Use&utm_term=2011-11-11-22-23-57http://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-roi/a-new-way-to-calculate-what-facebook-is-worth-to-your-business/?utm_campaign=Argyle+Social-2011-11&utm_medium=Argyle+Social&utm_source=General+Use&utm_term=2011-11-11-22-23-57http://www.exacttarget.com/


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Weve already mentioned the overlap in your Facebook and emailaudiences. But opportunities also exist for you to leverage onechannel to grow the audience of the otherand vice versa. Its likelythat youll uncover more deeply-engaged customers by capturingyour audience across both channels. The following suggestions areFIVE quick ways to successfully integrate Facebook and email.

1. CREATE SOCIALLY-ACTIVE EMAILS

Just 25% of fast-growing retailers include social sharing optionswithin email according to an upcoming Subscribers, Fans, andFollowers report, The 2012 Channel Preference Survey . The samereport found that 73% of fast-growing retailers do at least includesocial media icons within their email. Luckily, ExactTarget makessocially-active emails easy by offering a Share With Your Network(SWYN) button to embed in your emails. If you have loyal, activesubscribers, give them the opportunity to share your content onFacebook (and other social networks). Industry best practices callfor multiple buttons in your emails, however, as subscribers are

more likely to share a particular component of the email (product,offer, news item) than they are the entire email. For example, a travelcompany could tout bargain airfares through socially-active emailsubscribers to their fellow traveler friends on Facebook.

2. CREATE A SOCIALLY-ACTIVE EMAIL SEGMENTIdentify your socially-active subscribers, and segment your list.Keep in mind 46% of Americans, 12 years and older, are not onFacebookso a similar portion of your email subscribers probably

arent either. Those subscribers may not particularly care aboutsocial promotions and engagement opportunitiesso skip thesocial lingo with this segment.

Examine which subscribers use your social sharing icons.

Create a new, segmented list of this audiencethe knownsocially-active group.

Consider sending this group special offers and promotionsthat are disproportionately tied to Facebook and othersocial media opportunities. After all, theyve demonstratedthrough their click behavior that social is relevant to them.

PART 3 HOW TO INTEGRATE FACEBOOK AND EMAIL:5 QUICK TIPS TO COMBINE CHANNELS AND AUDIENCES

PART 3

Social sharing options in your emails give your loyal, active subscribersthe opportunity to share your content across other channels.


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3. EMAIL OPT-INS ON FACEBOOK

Use one of your Facebook Tabs (now knownas Applications) as an email opt-in opportunity.Presumably, a high number of customers on youremail list overlap with your Facebook page fans.But, plenty of opportunities exist to grow your list.How? Capture your customers email addressesthrough Facebook.

If youre accruing likes via your website oremails (the point of initial like) youll almostalways have a larger audience there than youllhave on your Facebook page. While Facebookhas 850 million members, your Facebook page probably doesnt. Even among the fans you dohave, just a small sub-set of them will see your

PART 3

NOTE: Keep in mind thatmost brands will neverhave as big of an audienceon Facebook than at thepoint of initial like.

Facebook Tabs (designed with ExactTarget SocialPages) make it easy to capture more subscribers by taking fans to a separate page of content to highlight new content, promotions, and upcoming events.


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status updates and other missives, due to EdgeRank.

The initial like is where you want to push for cross-channel integration and email opt-in. Once they pass thatthreshold, participation drops dramatically.

Providing incentives for email opt-in via Facebook justmakes good sense. You can control the cadence andvisibility of the email conversation far more than the

Facebook conversation. Test free content or special offers by putting it behind a fan

gate application paired with an email sign-up.

4. PROMOTE FACEBOOK IN EMAILCONFIRMATIONSWhen a customer signs up for your email list, promote your Facebookpage! They already said yes to something that required input oftheir personal information. Why wouldnt they want to click one more

button to like you on Facebook (provided theyre on Facebook)?Triggered emails also present a prime opportunity to encourageFacebook likes.

5. PROMOTE FACEBOOK IN EMAILUNSUBSCRIBESYes, were serious. Just because you lost them as an email subscriberdoesnt mean you cant capture them as a fan! Youre just giving thesesubscribers an option to communicate via a different channel. Whatsthe harm in asking?

Consider this: A recent study reported by OurSocialTimes.comfound that the click-through rate of shared email messages onFacebook is nearly double the click-through rate of traditionalemail. The social nod from your customers to their friends posesan appealing recommendation. Regardless of whether youre aretailer, travel company, small business, or large enterprise, youcan gain by giving your subscribers the opportunity to share yourcontent with friends.

PART 3

What channels do marketers integrate with email?Website

Social mediaEventsBlogs

Direct mailPrint/Catalog

SEO/PPCPublic relations

Mobile

In-store advertising

Outdoor advertisingBroadcast (e.g., TV, radio)

TeleprospectingSMS

Source: 2011 MarketingSherpa Email Marketing Benchmark SurveyMethodology: Fielded July 2011, N=2,735

86%78%

50%45%

33%30%

25%25%

13%

9%9%7%6%6%

An opportunity exists to uncover more deeply-engaged customers bycapturing your audience across email and Facebook.


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When it comes to Facebook and email goals, are they really all thatdifferent? With both channels, youre striving to keep your businesstop-of-mind among people who are already aware of your brand.Youre then hoping to encourage repeat business and word-of-mouthreferrals. And as mentioned previously, providing interesting, relevant,and compelling content is the key to increasing ROI in both channels.Youve already been down the road of creative content creationnowyou just have to apply the same concepts that youve discovered in

email marketing as you venture into effective Facebook messaging.

1. TESTING. 1-2-3. TESTING.Fortunately, with the integration of Facebook and email, you get totake an intentional approach to testing by taking whats worked inone channel and implementing it in the other.

Time Testing

Data you gather from email testing can easily be applied toFacebook. Taking what already works for your email schedulingcan provide a well-educated guess as to what will work for yourfan page content.

Use email send time of day testing to optimize Facebookstatus update schedule. Dont forget to test during nights!

Use email send day of week testing to optimize Facebookstatus update schedule. Dont forget to test on weekends!

Headline Testing

Research has shown that Facebook users respond best to quick,snackable updatesmessages fewer than 60 characters. Shortquestions (even ll-in-the-blank) often prove to be successful. Ifyoure already testing email subject lines (and you should be),implement winning principles in your Facebook status updatesand/or Facebook ads.

Use email subject line testing to optimize Facebook ad headlines.

Test Facebook ad headlines and use top performers asemail subject lines.

Consider ABCD subject line testing (if your list is big enough).Segment your subscribers and test three to four differentsubject lines. Then, identify the most successful headline andapply similar ABCD testing with Facebook ads.

PART 4 COMBINING FACEBOOK AND EMAIL:4 QUICK TIPS TO INTEGRATE MESSAGING AND CONTENT

PART 4

Brands can never begin at the topof the relevancy curve. Its onlythrough diligent cultivation of theunsiloed framework that they earn theopportunity to arrive there instead.

UNSILOED INTERACTIVE MARKETING, EXACTTARGET


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Image Testing

Images have a sizable impact on click-through rates for Facebookmarketplace ads and status updates. People are more apt toshare photos and videos, and Facebook has recently increasedthe size and resolution of image thumbnails shown on the Wall.

Test multiple images within your emails, and/or mine yourclick-through data on a per image basis to determine

popular content. Use these popular images in Facebook statusupdates and ads.

If you post an image (or video) to your Facebook pagethat generates engagement rates much higher than yournorm, consider incorporating that image into your nextemail campaign.

Drive Facebook engagement by posting several images toyour page and asking fans which they prefer. Have themvote by clicking the like button. Use the image with the

most votes in your next email.

2. USE FAN POSTS AS EMAIL CONTENTWhat your fans are saying on your Facebook Timeline can beintegrated into your emails and other social channels. Invite yoursubscribers to join the Facebook conversation by placing Facebookuser content and links in your emails.

PART 4

Repurposing social content from fans and followers in your emails allows customers to do the talking for you, highlighting engagement and brand loyalty.


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3. PROMOTE EMAIL, CATALOGS, ANDNEWSLETTERS ON FACEBOOKMost of your Facebook fans are already customers. Presumably,they want to know when your new email is going to be launched, orwhen your new catalog is ready.

Tease an upcoming email on your Timeline.

Promote your new catalog on your Timeline.

Be sure to link to your email subscription app, in case yourFacebook fans arent already getting your emails.

4. REAL-TIME INTEGRATIONReacting quickly to something thats gaining traction on Facebookcan keep your EdgeRank momentum rollingdramaticallyincreasing the number of fans that see your content.

If you post a piece of content to Facebook that becomes

extremely viral, consider sending a quick email to your list (or atleast your socially-active segment), to make them aware of it.

This will generate even more engagement, boosting EdgeRankand increasing visibility.

Note that because of the time decay or atomic half-lifeprinciple of Facebook, the email needs to be sent the sameday the content was published on Facebook. So, you need tocoordinate your efforts on both platforms.

One email marketing company reported to OurSocialTimes.comthat statistics based on its client-base of small businesses thatuse both social media and email marketing saw a 14.43% jumpin subscribers, while those utilizing email only saw only an 8.96%growth in just over one years time. Harnessing all customer datagathered from all channelsinto one spot can be a challenge.Retailers, for example, gather POS, online, email, and social data.Its become increasingly vital to pull customer data together tocreate more cohesive messagingacross all channels.

PART 4

ExactTarget implemented cross-channel and message integrationacross email and Facebookby promoting its most recent Subscribers, Fans and Followers report on its FacebookTimeline. In order to obtain the full SFF report, users must

subscribe via emailintegration opportunity seized!


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Its imperative that you focus on the similarities of Facebook and emailas opposed to their differencesbecause as this eBook conrms,they have more in common than perhaps once thought. So instead ofcontinuing to silo your email and social marketing teams, invite themto share a seat around the same table. At the end of the day, yourcustomers who like you on Facebook and subscribe to your emailsdont care that your company has segregated these teams. Its your

job to deliver cohesive messages across all channelseven if yourdepartments remain siloed on paper.

Even if your social and email marketing teams are comprised of

different subject matter experts, they at least routinely work together,tapping into the expertise you currently employ to execute yoursuccessful email marketing campaigns. In short, the knowledgeyouve gathered and apply to email marketing should be the sameknowledge you apply to Facebook marketing. Its not re-inventingthe wheelits leveraging it as you blaze the next frontier of trulyintegrated cross-channel marketing.

IN CLOSING: FINAL RECOMMENDATION

If the strategy is similar, the outcomes are similar, and themeasurements are similarshouldnt the Facebook team andemail team in your company be the same?

Documents

Facebook Marketing: The Next Frontier for Email Marketing