Summer is finally here, and with the new injection of energy that better weather brings, many brands are looking for new ways to spice up their marketing strategy. At On Q, our traditional advertising, social media, and PR are all getting a fresh look but this week we wanted to shine a spotlight on everyone’s favourite channel, email marketing.
In 2017, email was once again the preferred method for brands looking to reach consumers, and with new technology on the horizon for the 40-year-old communication standard, that isn’t likely to change anytime soon.
So, sit back, relax, and ring in the summer with a few new email trends that you can use to make your marketing stand out!
1. Personalization and Segmentation
In the world of email marketing, personalization is nothing new, but expect this trend to reach new heights in 2018. Today, we’re no longer just talking about custom subject lines and personalized introductions. For customers that’s old news. In 2018 personalization is all about segmentation.
List segmentation has been talked about for a few years, but with more data available than ever before, effective segmentation is the best way to reach the right customers with the right message. By sorting users based on demographics, interests and other rich data available to you and your brand you can ensure your organization’s emails provide something that’s relevant to their interests, ultimately increasing the chances of a conversion.
2. In Message Interactivity
With a new season arriving, marketers should be looking for opportunities to make their emails more exciting and interactive. Building Interactivity into your email campaigns can help in a variety of ways. For example, by including prebuilt checkout links users can quickly place orders from within an the email. This all helps marketers gather better data and it can drastically shorten the number of steps between receiving an email and making a purchase.
Looking ahead, modern email marketing should create a seamless transition from the email to the shopping experience. Look at ways to bring data from the email through to the website to enhance the user’s overall experience.
3. Chatbots
Primitive chatbots have been around for several years but in the last year or so they’ve really started to gain traction in the world of marketing. In the second half of 2018 expect that trend to continue and the underlying technology to improve very quickly.
When done right, chatbots have the potential to generate value for your business and create better experiences for your users. As a marketer, it’s time to start thinking about what kind of information you can gather and communicate with customers before they make any purchases.
Imagine being able to send an offer to your customers and have a chatbot guide them through customizations and the final ordering process using natural language. Processes like this are already being tested by some of the world’s biggest brands and customers are loving it.
4. Artificial Intelligence
2017 was a year filled with talk of AI and the impacts it will have in the marketing space, but the second half of 2018 is when many of these promises will come the fruition. AI is poised to completely change the way marketers handle and process data and in a world, that demands more and more personalization, it will be a critical tool to keep your customers engaged.
While many small businesses won’t be able to afford the technical infrastructure required to build their own dedicated AI, many service models are already rising to fill that need. Companies that invest early will see the greatest pay off through their ability to rapidly improve targeting over competitors.
5. Rich Visuals
As mentioned earlier, interactivity within emails is going to be a hot topic in the second half of 2018. New changes to some of the email industry’s biggest players (Microsoft Outlook, Gmail, and ISPs [internet service providers] are set to open a range of tools for marketers to design more creative and engaging content for their messages.
In 2018, we’ll likely see more emails start to resemble mini websites with GIFs, rich web content, and even videos included directly within customers email messages to keep recipients engaged and opening email.
Does your business use email marketing? Are you currently considering any of the above trends for your future campaigns? Be sure to let us know in the comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram for all the latest On Q news!
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