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Email Marketing: When the Opens are FALLING – Do THIS

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I’ve been an email marketer since the beginning of email marketing.  It’s just my jam.  I love writing, I love getting instant feedback – and yea, I’m not going to lie, I love seeing open rates in the 30’s and 40’s.

And then came Covid.  Everyone was Zoomed out and Emailed out.  There was very little room for fluff.  Unless it pertained to your job or your kid\’s homeschooling or staying in touch with a shut in loved one – no one wanted to look at another pixel on the screen.

My email open rates dropped – and dropped big time.  I even had some of my most loyal followers apologize to me that they haven’t been reading because well…life.

Here’s how I reacted:

  1. I added more emails.   If they missed one on Monday, they may get one on Thursday – or Friday.  I surely didn’t stop.  I ended up broadening my reach and collective open rates went up.  In other words – someone may not have read both Monday and Thursday – but they may have read one.  I’ll take it.
  2. I started videotaping my emails! Yes – you heard it.  I was always an email purist. If you don’t sign up for my list – you aren’t getting my email.  People do have time to listen to a short 3-5 minute video – so I did it.  Grab the replays on youtube.com/cindydonaldson.  I’m getting engagement from NON-email followers!  Double win.
  3. I didn’t judge or worry. I put on my big girl panties and my empathy hat – everyone is in the same boat. It’s not me.
  4. I didn’t change the structure or the time of my emails – my followers know my drill. Why add confusion?
  5. I encouraged followers to save them – toss them in a folder for later.
  6. I dumped in VALUE. Now wasn’t the time to sell them “stuff”  – it was the time to over-serve – I mean OVER SERVE.

I still 100% believe email marketing gives marketers the biggest bang for their buck – and that means brands.  The cost is in the time and creativity – oh and paying for a good platform, but the cost pales in comparison to a huge digital advertising campaign.

Here are my rules of engagement:

  1. Keep the subject line intriguing, genuine, and short. I love the 2-3 word ones.
  2. Keep it conversational – tell a damn story
  3. Tell them what the main goal is in the first paragraph
  4. Dump in the value
  5. End with something for them to do – a call to action
  6. For service businesses like mine – only sell a couple of times a year

It’s not that hard.  Write like you speak.  Don’t overthink it.

Email marketing isn’t going anywhere.  If you aren’t on my list – what are you waiting for?  Join HERE.

Email Marketing: When the Opens are FALLING – Do THIS Read More »

Social Media – How to Manage the Different Platforms

Leave a Comment / Entrepreneur, Featured, Must Read Blogs, Operations, Small Business, Uncategorized / By / / , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We work with a lot of small business owners – some have been in business for decades and others we’ve helped recently launch – and one of the questions we ALWAYS get asked is, “Do I really need to be on social media and what platforms should I use?” We get it, Social Media is a monster to try to understand. From figuring out the different platforms, to creating profiles, to figuring out what to post and when, it can be so overwhelming and confusing for those just starting to dabble in it or who haven’t expanded much beyond either Facebook or LinkedIn.

To answer the question above – YES, you absolutely should be on social media. BUT you don’t have to be on every platform. The key is to be on the platform that your potential buyers and current clients are on. If you market to teens and younger generations, they aren’t going to go looking for your company on LinkedIn, but they will look for you on Instagram or Snap Chat. Just like someone looking for a Realtor or CPA wouldn’t try to find someone on Twitter or Snap Chat – they would look for you on Facebook or LinkedIn. To help you out, here’s a list of the most popular social media channels and who is using them. Demographics sourced from Spredfast.

Facebook: It’s still the most popular social media network in use with over 2 Billion users and regardless of your industry, your business should have a Facebook page. You can use it to share photos, Facebook Live video, company updates, and content that your followers would find useful. You can also list what your company does, the hours you are open, your phone number, website, etc. Facebook also has some of the best analytics and advertising tools. Users range from 18 to 65+, are equally men and women, and cover all income ranges. There are 179 million users on mobile and 90 million users on desktop per month.

Instagram: Now owned by Facebook, Instagram is becoming more popular with over 800 million users. Instagram is a visual platform that’s based entirely on photo and video posts. You can’t share articles or other content easily, and no URL’s are allowed in posts. Depending on your industry, this may not be a great fit. Brands that do well are often photographers, health and fitness, real estate, clothing, shoes, beauty products, etc. The person running your account have a good eye for detail and at least basic photography skills, so the photos and videos posted to your account are high-quality. Users are primarily 18- 49 years old, more women than men, and include all income levels. This is primarily a mobile based platform.  At Red Barn we’ve recently decided to re-engage our Insta Life!  Check us out @redbarnct.  W

Twitter: This seems to be the platform that many people either love or hate – with over 317 million users. It’s great for posting quick updates, videos, photos, and links to blogs or other articles, but it certainly isn’t for everyone. You are limited to 240 characters per tweet. It’s a great tool to easily interact with other users and many companies use it to handle customer service. This may not be the best platform if you prefer more visual posts or don’t have a lot of your own content to share. If you have interesting content, Twitter is a great tool for quickly spreading the word and if a user with a lot of followers retweets you, your content could go viral. Twitter is very quid pro quo – in order to be successful, you need a mix of your own content and sharing and retweeting other interesting content. Users range in age but are skewed more to the 18-29 audience, with slightly more males using the platform than females. Users range across all incomes and surprisingly more people use Twitter on desktop vs. mobile.

Pinterest: This is another very visual platform that allows users, over 200 million, to save and share content by “pinning” them to digital bulletin boards. You can organize your content and boards by different categories. From the business perspective, the platform has special pins called Rich Pins which brands can use to add specific information to their pins, like product details and even location maps. Every pin includes an image or video. This is another platform that isn’t for everyone. Brands that work in DIY projects, fashion, exercise, beauty, photography and food usually do very well here. There are 20% more women on the platform than men, users range from 18 – 64 years old, and cover a range of income levels. There are over 70 million mobile user’s vs only 27 million desktop users per month. Like Insta – we are playing around with building up our Pinterest game – it’s a work in progress.  The goal is to drive more people back to our website.  We will keep you posted!

Snapchat: This is another mobile only platform with over 300 million users. It’s a visual platform that is known for its disappearing content. Users can send video or photos to other users or post to their public Stories (which disappear after 24 hours). Content can be saved and uploaded to other platforms, and users can now chat, message, create events, and share media content within the platform – something that previously wasn’t available. Snapchat has a ton of filter options for photos, and since the content isn’t forever, many people find less pressure to post more polished content. Only followers can see your stories, so building an audience is key to getting engagement on your content. 70% of the users are women, and users range from 13 – 34 years old. This is a mobile only app with no desktop option.

YouTube: Now owned by Google, YouTube is a video-sharing platform with over 1 Billion users where people can view, upload, rate, share and comment on content. Business often use YouTube to host their creative, visual or educational component. Your videos should be polished, although they don’t have to be professionally produced, but they shouldn’t be done with a shaky cell phone camera. You don’t even need to have your own channel to take advantage of advertising. Many businesses partner with popular YouTubers  for product placement, because these users already have engaged audiences. Users are primarily between the ages of 25 and 44. There are slightly more males using the platform than females, and traffic is evenly split between mobile and desktop.

LinkedIn: This is a much more business centric platform with over 106 million monthly users. It is hands down the best platform for professional networking. It’s a great place to promote your business, find top talent, and showcase yourself as an industry expert in your field. Posts should be much more conservative than you would share on other platforms. Many people create personal profiles to act as a digital resume since businesses will post jobs and research candidates using the platform. LinkedIn also has very specific industry groups that users can join – this is a great place for you to be since you can answer questions, share content, and be an expert and draw people to your company\’s page and website. Most users range from 18 to 64 years old, are in the $50k a year and up income range and are split almost even between men and women. People prefer to use this platform on desktop vs mobile.

If you aren’t sure if you should be on a platform, spend some time exploring it. See what other businesses are on there, if your competition is on there, and if your target clients are on there. It’s far better to be good at 2 platforms than to be mediocre or poor at 4. It’s important to stay consistent and post content that is going to bring your followers value. Wanna follow Red Barn on social media? You can find us here:

Facebook: @RedBarnConsulting

Twitter: @RedBarnCT

LinkedIn: Red Barn Consulting LLC

Instagram: @redbarnct

Pinterest: Red Barn Consulting LLC

Social Media – How to Manage the Different Platforms Read More »

Social Media – How to Manage the Different Platforms

Leave a Comment / Entrepreneur, Featured, Must Read Blogs, Operations, Small Business, Uncategorized / By / / , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We work with a lot of small business owners – some have been in business for decades and others we’ve helped recently launch – and one of the questions we ALWAYS get asked is, “Do I really need to be on social media and what platforms should I use?” We get it, Social Media is a monster to try to understand. From figuring out the different platforms, to creating profiles, to figuring out what to post and when, it can be so overwhelming and confusing for those just starting to dabble in it or who haven’t expanded much beyond either Facebook or LinkedIn.

To answer the question above – YES, you absolutely should be on social media. BUT you don’t have to be on every platform. The key is to be on the platform that your potential buyers and current clients are on. If you market to teens and younger generations, they aren’t going to go looking for your company on LinkedIn, but they will look for you on Instagram or Snap Chat. Just like someone looking for a Realtor or CPA wouldn’t try to find someone on Twitter or Snap Chat – they would look for you on Facebook or LinkedIn. To help you out, here’s a list of the most popular social media channels and who is using them. Demographics sourced from Spredfast.

Facebook: It’s still the most popular social media network in use with over 2 Billion users and regardless of your industry, your business should have a Facebook page. You can use it to share photos, Facebook Live video, company updates, and content that your followers would find useful. You can also list what your company does, the hours you are open, your phone number, website, etc. Facebook also has some of the best analytics and advertising tools. Users range from 18 to 65+, are equally men and women, and cover all income ranges. There are 179 million users on mobile and 90 million users on desktop per month.

Instagram: Now owned by Facebook, Instagram is becoming more popular with over 800 million users. Instagram is a visual platform that’s based entirely on photo and video posts. You can’t share articles or other content easily, and no URL’s are allowed in posts. Depending on your industry, this may not be a great fit. Brands that do well are often photographers, health and fitness, real estate, clothing, shoes, beauty products, etc. The person running your account have a good eye for detail and at least basic photography skills, so the photos and videos posted to your account are high-quality. Users are primarily 18- 49 years old, more women than men, and include all income levels. This is primarily a mobile based platform.  At Red Barn we’ve recently decided to re-engage our Insta Life!  Check us out @redbarnct.  W

Twitter: This seems to be the platform that many people either love or hate – with over 317 million users. It’s great for posting quick updates, videos, photos, and links to blogs or other articles, but it certainly isn’t for everyone. You are limited to 240 characters per tweet. It’s a great tool to easily interact with other users and many companies use it to handle customer service. This may not be the best platform if you prefer more visual posts or don’t have a lot of your own content to share. If you have interesting content, Twitter is a great tool for quickly spreading the word and if a user with a lot of followers retweets you, your content could go viral. Twitter is very quid pro quo – in order to be successful, you need a mix of your own content and sharing and retweeting other interesting content. Users range in age but are skewed more to the 18-29 audience, with slightly more males using the platform than females. Users range across all incomes and surprisingly more people use Twitter on desktop vs. mobile.

Pinterest: This is another very visual platform that allows users, over 200 million, to save and share content by “pinning” them to digital bulletin boards. You can organize your content and boards by different categories. From the business perspective, the platform has special pins called Rich Pins which brands can use to add specific information to their pins, like product details and even location maps. Every pin includes an image or video. This is another platform that isn’t for everyone. Brands that work in DIY projects, fashion, exercise, beauty, photography and food usually do very well here. There are 20% more women on the platform than men, users range from 18 – 64 years old, and cover a range of income levels. There are over 70 million mobile user’s vs only 27 million desktop users per month. Like Insta – we are playing around with building up our Pinterest game – it’s a work in progress.  The goal is to drive more people back to our website.  We will keep you posted!

Snapchat: This is another mobile only platform with over 300 million users. It’s a visual platform that is known for its disappearing content. Users can send video or photos to other users or post to their public Stories (which disappear after 24 hours). Content can be saved and uploaded to other platforms, and users can now chat, message, create events, and share media content within the platform – something that previously wasn’t available. Snapchat has a ton of filter options for photos, and since the content isn’t forever, many people find less pressure to post more polished content. Only followers can see your stories, so building an audience is key to getting engagement on your content. 70% of the users are women, and users range from 13 – 34 years old. This is a mobile only app with no desktop option.

YouTube: Now owned by Google, YouTube is a video-sharing platform with over 1 Billion users where people can view, upload, rate, share and comment on content. Business often use YouTube to host their creative, visual or educational component. Your videos should be polished, although they don’t have to be professionally produced, but they shouldn’t be done with a shaky cell phone camera. You don’t even need to have your own channel to take advantage of advertising. Many businesses partner with popular YouTubers  for product placement, because these users already have engaged audiences. Users are primarily between the ages of 25 and 44. There are slightly more males using the platform than females, and traffic is evenly split between mobile and desktop.

LinkedIn: This is a much more business centric platform with over 106 million monthly users. It is hands down the best platform for professional networking. It’s a great place to promote your business, find top talent, and showcase yourself as an industry expert in your field. Posts should be much more conservative than you would share on other platforms. Many people create personal profiles to act as a digital resume since businesses will post jobs and research candidates using the platform. LinkedIn also has very specific industry groups that users can join – this is a great place for you to be since you can answer questions, share content, and be an expert and draw people to your company\’s page and website. Most users range from 18 to 64 years old, are in the $50k a year and up income range and are split almost even between men and women. People prefer to use this platform on desktop vs mobile.

If you aren’t sure if you should be on a platform, spend some time exploring it. See what other businesses are on there, if your competition is on there, and if your target clients are on there. It’s far better to be good at 2 platforms than to be mediocre or poor at 4. It’s important to stay consistent and post content that is going to bring your followers value. Wanna follow Red Barn on social media? You can find us here:

Facebook: @RedBarnConsulting

Twitter: @RedBarnCT

LinkedIn: Red Barn Consulting LLC

Instagram: @redbarnct

Pinterest: Red Barn Consulting LLC

Social Media – How to Manage the Different Platforms Read More »

Managing Social Media — Why Can’t It Be A Little.. Easier?

Leave a Comment / Fun Stuff, Marketing, Uncategorized / By / / , , , , , , , , ,

Many businesses see social media as a “necessary evil” — Something you have to do because everyone else is doing it. After all, if you’re not using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest etc., you’re missing out. While that’s true, it gives us a sad face every time we think about businesses seeing social media as a chore, because, done right, it can be easy, and powerful.

It’s all about having a plan — Now, before you click away in disgust at having to plan something else, it’s not a big plan. We’re not talking a high-fallutin’ plan for a Rube Goldberg-esque style machine, just a simple, common sense approach to make things easy, and, perhaps, a little more joyful.

Don’t believe us? Read on…

Who’s going to have the responsibility for social media? First things first, who do you want to handle your social media accounts? Now, that could be one of your people who have a great understanding of the right approach, tools, and techniques to use — Or, you could outsource it to a creative marketing agency who has your brand\’s best interests at heart. Like… Us, for example? (we aren’t always subtle)

Anyway, you need to have someone who is going to have responsibility for your social media, who can review and post everything you need, and who can speak with your company’s voice. They need to understand and love your customers.

Where do you post? Different types of business will get the most advantage from different social platforms. You probably won’t find much of an audience for your recipes on LinkedIn, and folks on Pinterest probably aren’t going to be thrilled by your course on chartered accountancy. But, once you can match your message to your social media, that’s when things get real interesting.

  • Facebook — Pretty much everyone uses Facebook — Over 20% of all pages seen on the web are on Facebook. You need to be there, simple as that.
  • Twitter — With millions of people using Twitter, and the opportunity to easily go viral with the right message, Twitter is also pretty much essential.
  • Pinterest — Do you have a visually appealing product, service, or brand? If so, Pinterest is a great place to get traction.
    Instagram — Like Pinterest, Instagram is perfect for pretty products.
  • LinkedIn — Marketing more to professionals and business people? This is your natural choice.
  • YouTube — Although not seen as a “traditional” social network, YouTube gets billions of hits every month. Make an amazing video and watch your views skyrocket.
  • Google Plus — Yes, there are still people and businesses using Google Plus, don’t disregard it and ps. it could help with your Google ranking.

When should you post? You know where to post, but do you know when to post? Once you understand when your customers are likely to be using social media, you can take advantage of that, and share delicious bits of information, just when they need it. They’ll be wowed by your ideas, share them on themselves, and suddenly you’ve got a viral social media presence. Nice!

Get to scheduling. One of the main pains businesses have with social media is having to send out all their posts manually, to all the different platforms. Well, good news, friends. There are some great scheduling tools out there to make posting and sharing a breeze. Two that we love are Hootsuite and Buffer. Both are awesome at letting you queue up posts, then setting things off and letting them post on your behalf.

Be careful though, lots of social media is about reacting, responding, and posting in real time — That’s what gets you engagement. So, don’t just rely on scheduling tools, build them into your overall social media approach.

And there you have it, the basics you need to get in place for easier social media success — That wasn’t so bad now, was it?

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