Transcript Agenda - Ellipsis Partners

What We Know Today About
Internet Communications
Jeanne L. Allert, M.Ed
Ellipsis Partners
We Thought …
Put everything
(anything) online
We Thought …
Sizzle Matters
We Thought…
If We Build It; They Will Come
We Thought …
If Some is Good, Then MORE
Must be Better
What We’ve Learned
P.A.T.S.
Purpose
Audience
Tools
Strategy
Have a clear Purpose in mind








Awareness of your brand/name
Solidify relationship with members
A vote
Recruit member
Sales, Subscriptions, Registrations, Donations
Call to action
Disseminate information/knowledge
Change perceptions
Website Purpose
“The World’s Online Marketplace”
“Where women are going???
Email Purpose
General Correspondence
Marketing/Branding
Timely News
Product Sales
Call to Action
Know Your Audience
GEOGRAPHIC
DEMOGRAPHIC
PSYCHOGRAPHIC
TECHNOGRAPHIC
Zip Code
Gender
Activities
Access
City
Age
Hobbies
Platform
County
Education
Opinions
Usage Patterns
State
Income
Values
Training
Region
Ethnicity
Biases
Awareness
Country
Language
Preferences
Tech. Culture
Continent
Lifestyle
Brand loyalty
Constraints
What do you know about them?
What don’t you know about them…and need to!
Website by Audience
Email by Audience





What is your level of familiarity with the audience?
Are they expecting this email?
What is their tolerance level?
What type of format can they accept?
Have they Opted-In?
What Matters Most is Audience MOTIVE
Then CONTEXT, KNOWLEDGE, and SKILLSET
Websites By Audience Motive
Some Things We’ve Learned
About Email
You MUST Manage Your Lists

Ask for preferred email address and
state what you will use it for

Practice Opt-in or Double Opt-in

Attend to Opt-outs immediately

Let members manage their own Opt-in
and email address changes via your
website

Use Subject Line to remind recipients to
reply for Double Opt-In
•
•
•
•
•
Email or Newsletter…?
Do you have that much content?
Can you support an editorial schedule?
Is your content really “news they can use?”
Is there a genuine demand for this?
CONTENT is King – offer value, not aesthetics
Message Presentation Matters
to a KNOWN Market






Use of branding/imagery
Use of stationery and colors
Do you expect the email to be printed?
What is the likelihood your audience can
support the presentation you’ve created?
How important is it to have your
brand/identity associated with the content?
Does the graphical treatment lend value to
the message or detract from it?
Stationery and Signatures
Speak your Brand
• Stationery should enhance
your brand; not detract from
your message
• A simple logo file may be
enough
• Keep contact info with your
emails
• Variations on your “signature”
• Watch overkill on Signature
lines
Worth Thinking About…
Gilbert Email Manifesto
Rule #1: Resources spent on email are more valuable
than the same resources spent on Web
Rule #2: Build web site around an email strategy
Rule #3: Email oriented thinking will yield better strategic
thinking overall.
“Email is our New Homepage…”
What We’ve Learned
About the Web
Users want the freedom and tools to manipulate
or control their experience
•
•
•
•
Don’t create Flash hostages
To PDF or not to PDF?
Offer a variety of navigation options
Offer choices for format
Action words get
better results
People generally read
by scanning, are led
by headings, and they
still print
Disclosure Must Translate into Value…for the User
Give the Visitor Options to Communicate
Integrating What We Know
into What We Do
Tools and Strategy
Broadcast Communication Tactics












Business cards
Stationery
Television
Radio
Web Presence
Web Directories
Print advertising
Brochures
Press releases
Billboards / Signage
Coffee cups/Tee Shirts
Sponsorships





Unspecified market
Shotgun approach
Single, broad-appeal message
Often used to introduce a new, unfamiliar brand
Best for branding messages and general awareness
Targeted Communication Tactics











Market defined by characteristics/demographics
May be defined by membership or existing mailing list
A more discrete, niche message
Collateral Material
Annual Reports
Publications
Direct Mail
Events
Fax Blasts
Cause-Related Marketing Partnerships
Website
Intimate Communication Tactics











Targets the individual
Heavy reliance on complex databases
“Move to action” message
Addresses the most specific needs or narrow messages
Requires more trust between Sender and Receiver
Personalized email
Telephone
WAP promotions
Peer-to-Peer
Referrals/Testimonials
Site Personalization
Range of Options
BROADCAST
Business cards
Radio
Print advertising
Billboards / Signage
Stationery
Website
Brochures
Cups/T-Shirts
Television
Web Directories
Press releases
Sponsorships
TARGETED
Telesales Trade Shows
CD-ROM
Blast Fax
Publications
Listservs
Publications
Events
Partnerships
Direct Mail
Print Ads
Collateral
Web Areas
INTIMATE
Personalized email
WAP promotions
Site Personalization
Telephone
Peer-to-Peer
3 sample strategies…
GOALS
 Branding
 Strategic Positioning
 Enrollments
AUDIENCE
 Unemployed, underemployed
 Appeal to the dissatisfied
MESSAGE
 “Get your Dream Job – It’s out
there”
 Appeal to the Imagination
IMAGES/DESIGN
 Action images
TACTICS
 Television Ads
 Print Ads
 Multi-city Signage
 CD-ROM
America’s Job Bank
Broadcast tactics ~ Intimate message
GOALS

Rebranding

New Market Member Recruitment

Member Retention
AUDIENCE

Familiar with brand; mixed opinion

“self made”

More “wired”
MESSAGE

“We’re not just your parent’s AARP”
IMAGES/DESIGN

Strong contrasts

Cropped images
TACTICS

New Magazine

Cross Linking with other AARP sites

Direct Mail campaign

Website

Celebrity exposure
AARP
Targeted tactics ~ Targeted message
Youth Noise
GOALS
 Engage/Educate/Empower
 Mobilize to Action
Targeted & Intimate tactics ~ Intimate message
AUDIENCE
 Youth, ages 13-17
 Very “wired”
 Passionate but unfocused
MESSAGE
 “You Can Do It”
 Teen angst tone
IMAGES/DESIGN
 Bold, edgy colors
 Lots of animation/movement
TACTICS
 Interactive Website
 Peer-to-Peer Messages and
Viral Marketing
 Email Newsletter
 Downloadable Kits
Strategic Communications Calendar
Jan
Direct Mail
Mailing on
governance
changes
Magazine
Feature on
Governance
Sidebar on
school discipline
Feb
Mar
Apr
Feature on School
Discipline
Feature on teen
violence
Feature on “free
stuff on the web”
Trailer to website
resources and survey
Newsletter
Invite to take
web survey
Email
Featured links
for free stuff
Web
Survey on discipline
practices
In-Person
VM reminder to take
web survey
•
•
•
•
Results of web
survey and links
to violence sites
Launch “free
stuff” page
Create a (flexible) communications calendar
Remind yourself of all the tools at your disposal
Create relationships –and dependencies—between tactics
Try new tools to test for response
Summary

Have a clear PURPOSE

Know (and keep learning about) your
AUDIENCE

Be aware of all the TOOLS available to you

Formulate a communications STRATEGY
Thank you !
Jeanne L. Allert, M.Ed
Ellipsis Partners
www.ellipsispartners.com
[email protected]