Friday, February 22, 2013

Why Email Marketing Is Still Relevant

With all the hype that surrounds social media and mobile marketing, many may think email marketing is past its prime.  However, successful marketers know that email marketing is still one of the best tools for promoting your brand, keeping customer relationships, and building your business.

Outlined here, are a few reasons why email marketing is not dead, and in fact, can be more beneficial to companies now more than ever.  
  1. Email marketing allows you to understand your audience. By tracking open percentages, it is easy to see what specific content readers respond to. Keeping track of these reports are also valuable when creating future campaigns and calls-to-action.
  2. Email is a part of social media! Using email marketing allows you to connect with your readers just about as often as they are checking their Facebook and Twitter sites.
  3. The bottom line: email marketing creates results. With email marketing, you aren’t restricted to conventional advertising tactics. Emails allow you to communicate with readers, increase web traffic, customize content, and see direct results! 
  4. With all the different digital media forms out there, email is the best way to integrate all your marketing efforts. Rather than having distinct, non-cohesive messages between websites, in-person interactions, text messages, and social media sites, email marketing is a great tool for coordinating all your promotions and announcements
Author: Kayla Sfiligoj
Editor: Caitlin Durand

Friday, February 8, 2013

SEO vs SEM

They are two acronyms every marketer should know - SEO and SEM. Search engine optimization and search engine marketing are both important in their own right - but what exactly are they?

SEO: Search Engine Optimization is the act of optimizing your website through key words and website development to boost your placement in the search engine listings.  Complex algorithms determine and match the words people search for with the content on websites.

SEM: Search Engine Marketing is the process of gaining website traffic from search engines. While SEO is primarily organic and there is very little that can be done to improve one’s standing, SEM encompasses the purchase of website placement on a search engine’s pages. As an example, companies pay for the ads at the top of, and on the right-hand side of, a Google search page. Obviously, the higher the bid, the better the placement.

So what does this mean for you and your business? Email marketing can be used as a key tool in driving traffic to your site and increasing click-through rates on your links. This can, in turn, improve your placement within the organic search section of a search engine. By understanding SEO and SEM you can adapt your marketing efforts to include these supportive strategies!

Happy Mailing!

Author: Kayla Sfiligoj
Editor: Caitlin Durand