An interesting article ran this week from eMarketer about a recent Silverpop survey (a solid Atlanta based marketing technology company). We are glad to see the discussion is moving away from "what is the best day to send emails" to questions that truly drive BtoB prospects through the sales funnel.
The idea of "gathering recipient information" is key for most BtoB marketers. While some like David Meerman Scott have challenged those ideas, and with reasonable arguments, it remains to be seen which school of thought is correct in the BtoB marketing world -- maybe both!
Regardless, good info...take a read and let us know what you think.
B2B and B2C E-Mail Tactics
APRIL 14, 2010
Business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) e-mail marketers have different targets, but the goals they share mean they agree on the effectiveness of several tactics.
According to a
Silverpop poll, both groups consider identifying the best time to send messages the most effective e-mail marketing tactic. They also agree on the importance of including marketing promotions in transactional messages and using surveys to gather information about their recipients.
Several other tactics—including links to social networking sites, triggered offers and behavioral targeting—were less likely to be considered effective by B2B marketers despite their appeal in the B2C segment.
Some differences stem from the specific marketing goals B2B and B2C companies have. While both told Silverpop they were about equally interested in upselling and cross-selling, increasing contact databases and strengthening their analytics, there were also significant differences. B2B marketers were highly focused on moving prospects through the sales pipeline, while B2C respondents wanted to increase customer loyalty.
Many of the tactics B2C marketers found effective, such as incorporating social network links, relate to their customer loyalty goal, shared by relatively few B2B respondents.
“Whether you’re selling cupcakes or copiers, buyers are all individuals who seek out others like themselves for insights and recommendations,” the report said. “Adding the human element through social networking benefits both B2C and B2B marketing programs.”
The Top 20 Most Retweeted Words
I recently attended a Hubspot webinar entitled "The Science of Retweets" that shed some light on a handful of factors that comprise a retweetable tweet (try saying that five time fast).
Some of the tips promised to help your retweetability rate included:
- Incorporate a link (preferably a bit.ly, which provides tracking and analytic capabilities)
- Politely ask to be retweeted
- Limit your tweets to around 115-120 characters
- Share interesting and compelling content
One of the more interesting tidbits of information shared in the webinar came in the form of a "Top 20 Most Retweetable Words" list. I know, try and contain your excitement. As most serious Twitterer's know, a retweet (often denoted by an "RT") is the sincerest form of flattery on the popular social media network.
However, getting retweeted also significantly increases your visibility, syndicating your tweet across a slew of various networks that you may never had access to before. So, without any further ado, here are the 20 Most Retweetable Words:
1) You 2) Twitter 3) Please 4) Retweet 5) Post 6) Blog 7) Social 8) Free 9) Media 10) Help 11) Please Retweet 12) Great 13) Social Media 14) 10 15) Follow 16) How to 17) Top 18) Blog post 19) Check out 20) New blog post
Happy Tweeting and Good Luck!
