ExactTarget Guest Blog Post: Takeaways from Connections 2010

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After attending ExactTarget’s annual emarketing conference, I was featured as a guest blogger on their blog. Read full post on ExactTarget Blog…

Connections 2010

Kim’s Biggest Takeaways from Connections 2010

Digital Marketing. Email Marketing. Social Media. Conversations. Content. Blogging. Tweets. Research, research, research. Sir Richard Branson (whaaat?!?), Scott Dorsey, Joel Book, Jesse Engle, Ann Handley, Jeff Rohrs, Morgan Stewart, ExactTarget, CoTweet, BestBuy, Groupon, Coca-Cola, Citi, Hotels.com, McDonald’s, Threadless, Forrester Research, and the list most certainly goes on. Train! Wooo!

Where else could you possibly find this many people, tweets, and conversations all surrounding the future of online marketing? Flying into Indianapolis from Boston on Sunday night, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew there was a jam-packed schedule, plenty of learning, and “just a few” opportunities to have a good time as well. Whelp, I was –to be perfectly honest– blown away. It all started with ExactTarget Academy on Monday morning where I learned a bit about pitching my brand as a Partner Reseller before I scooted over to my CoTweet learning session. Oh boy, although the pressure was on, I passed my test (by the skin of my teeth!) and became one of the FIRST EVER certified graduates of ExactTarget Academy (I’m sure my mom will be proud!). Tuesday and Wednesday just seemed to blend into one giant connected orb of great networking and too much learning to fit in this little brain of mine. I couldn’t BELIEVE just how much #ET10 had to offer to its participants (and I’m not just talking about delicious mini-sliders and mashed potatoes in a martini glass!) and seriously, all of the thought-leadership, collaboration, and insightful research has made me a lifetime CONNECTIONS Brand-Fan. There’s no chance that I wouldn’t suggest Connections to a fellow marketer; it’s just too valuable and the ROI, though perhaps immeasurable, is certainly palpable. So, as I sit in the Marriott listening to the final thoughts of some of the smartest marketers in the U.S. (and perhaps the world?) and the biggest thought leaders in the industry without a doubt – I can’t help but clear my calendar for #ET11, (and #ET12, and #ET13…).

Email + Social Media: Your 1-2 e-Marketing Punch

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Originally posted June 29, 2010

There’s been a lot of debate recently about the future of email: is it pushing forward stronger than ever or on the verge of extinction, about to be overrun by all-inclusive social networks?

As an e-marketing specialist, I find it hard to imagine the internet without email. No matter what you use email for, I believe that we, as online content consumers, will always need our inboxes to aggregate, create, organize, and search the hundreds of online data points we create daily as we navigate the web. Email is the only private online location where users can store and create content with very few limitations or restrictions. Where else can you manage your social networks, businesses, bills, family, friends, banks, job searches, and more in one location?

At ListEngage, we help our clients with email and social media marketing daily, so we see the benefits and drawbacks of each: email is a great relationship building tool but not a great prospect acquisition channel, while social media, if used intelligently, is ideal for prospect acquisition and qualification but lacks the “direct contact” that opt-in email does.

I’ve been really impressed with a company called Groupon lately, that seems to be using email and social media as a dynamic 1-2 punch for spreading their daily deals and messages. Click here to read more about the union of email and social media, and how Groupon is delivering a winning e-marketing TKO.

Boosting Your Deflated Social Media Ego

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Originally posted for ListEngage Blog – July 2009

First of all, we’d like to say “Congrats” to those of you who have held their breath and leapt into the often uninviting waters of social media—despite fears and disbelief that “this thing really works”. Believe it or not, you’re still ahead of the curve as far as Web 2.0 users go, and you should be proud that you’ve already taken the plunge.

We’re sorry that you’re not John Mayer, Shaq, Lindsay Lohan or a boatload of other famous people who instantly attained millions of followers upon their entry to Twitterville. And it’s really too bad that your company might not be as exciting to Facebook users as McDonald’s—whose actual business page gets trumped by a grassroots-created page with almost 2 million fans! Don’t worry, we still like you.

The hard-truth is that social media requires time and effort, and you won’t be instantly popular unless you’re already wildy popular in the mainstream media. Even then, there are stark examples of both how well and how poorly well known brands are doing on Twitter, Facebook, and the likes. Check out Kodak versus Fuji Film; Pizza Hut versusDominos. Some sink, others swim.

The honest truth is, you have to “work for it” with social media—and we’ll be the first to admit, it’s not easy: we’ve been grappling with ways to promote our Facebook page on a closed network that’s usually meant for chatting and posting funny pictures. The question to ask yourself is—what do I have to offer that people will be interested in (and what makes my company unique)? Whether that means offering daily discounts, positioning yourself as an“expert” in your field by writing helpful blog posts, or using social media as a forum for direct customer relations, your business will dictate the answers. But the first step is doing it, and doing it consistently.

Just think: if you had just left your two-wheeler in the street the first time you skinned your knee, would you have ever learned to ride a bike? If you hadn’t stopped calling until she agreed to see a movie with you, would you have those two beautiful kids and that stunning wife? The point is, every success story starts with a challenge. Sure, adopting social media is tough, especially when it it takes away from “more important things” like paying bills and making money, but we guarantee that it will pay off in dividends if you treat it like any other challenge, and just “keep at it.”

For now, take some comfort in knowing that you’re not the only one who’s sitting in the office scratching their head and asking “But how the heck does this fit into my business plan?” and be proud—thinking about these problems and finding very few solutions is still a thousand times better than just sweeping them under the rug. Give yourself a pat on the back; then start taking the next steps to help build your social media brand (and boost you social media ego!).