(This is the second blog post in a multi-part series about the many wonders of content marketing. Read the first blog, “High Quality Content Supports Sales Teams,” here. The third part of the series will focus on the importance of providing online customers with the highest quality service.)
When I get spun up over someone or something that is getting in my way, my fiance often suggests I act like a goldfish. Goldfish have an average attention span of a measly nine seconds. If you can act like a goldfish, you will be able to “let things go” and move on from stressors quickly.
And, while this goldfish advice may, in the moment, take me from an eight to a 15 on the stressed-out scale, I’ve found it actually works eventually. When I can do it, I slowly drift back to my normal level of six.
And, now, for a really frightening statistic! A new Microsoft report says people actually have less of an attention span than a goldfish. The study says the average Internet user loses concentration after viewing something for only eight seconds! With all the constant more, more, more information coming at us, it makes sense that our brains have to pick and choose–super fast–what to spend our precious time on.
Why should you care about goldfish and attention span averages? Simply put, if you don’t grab the attention of your website visitor/blog reader/online store shopper immediately when they land on your page, they’ll be gone. Poof. On to the next website, likely to one of your competitors.
The topic of making sure all of your content is high quality to delight and intrigue visitors/prospective customers (and keep search engines like Google happy) has been covered many times on the Harmonia Media blog. Check out this article or this one and even Part 1 of this series, “High-Quality Content Supports Sales Teams” for details.
Or, send me an email at Bari@harmoniamedia.com to discuss your website content and how we can keep visitors from bouncing!
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After They Bounce or Buy…
These are two very different groups of people most of the time. But not always. In fact, statistics say people will visit a website many times before making a purchase.
So, if someone comes to your website and bounces fast, they may be the one that got away.
However, if you already have their information from a previous contact, they may just be circling the fish bowl and need some incentive to bite.
You need to lure them back to the hook! Or offer an irresistible Call to Action (CTA) in digital marketing speak!
Either way, if you have email addresses from people who have opted in to receive messages from your company (or phone numbers for texting purposes), you are sitting on a gold mine. (Wish I had a fish reference to use here. Oh, well…. As I was saying….)
Nurturing email campaigns offer an amazing opportunity to get in touch and stay top of mind and be there when people do need what you are selling. Receiving an email from you that makes them laugh or gives them a nugget of good information (news they can use!) is a great way to say, essentially, “Hey, don’t forget about us! We are still here! Reach out when you need us!) You can even include a few links back to your website and maybe one to a buy-now offer.
But, be careful. If you are sending emails to your list that come across as ads, you will get more “unsubscribes” than anything else. People don’t want to know more about you; if they do they will find out on your site or contact you.
They want to know that you understand them, that you feel their pain or problem and have a solution that will ease it or solve it.
Let me repeat that in another way. Whatever you sell, be it a product or service, you know competition for customers is quite fierce in the marketplace. How will you stand out? The best way is to make customers feel that you understand their needs and that your product or service will help them overcome their challenges. You want them to immediately say to themselves: “THIS is what I need!”
It’s about the customers, not your company. Get it? It’s kind of like “if you build it they will come”–as long as you don’t hit them over the head with the bat.
Email Nurturing Funnels
The bottom line, you need to identify the type of people in your email database. Can you group them by the product they purchased or what they inquired about previously?
If you can do this, create email marketing funnels that speak to particular pain points. For example, if you sell nutritional supplements and you offer weight loss products as well as protein shakes for athletes, don’t mix up your messages. Anyone interested in weight loss will likely not be buying a high-calorie shake anytime soon. And, vice versa.
If you aren’t able to separate your audiences into email marketing funnels, focus on more universal topics in your eNewsletter and add a few links to attract various parts of your audience.
Why You Need an Email Nurturing Campaign
It’s cheaper to keep her, that’s why. It’s far easier to sell to a customer who has already purchased from you than to acquire a new lead and convince them to buy. (Besides you are doing the latter with other digital marketing strategies anyway. Right now, we are talking about staying in touch with existing customers!)
If you are feeling overwhelmed at the thought of creating email nurturing funnels, why not consider allowing Harmonia Media to do the heavy lifting? Contact us now for a free phone consultation.
No obligation other than to tell us your pain points so we can figure out the best solution within your budget. Email team@harmoniamedia.com or call (800) 531-3704.
