77 Communications

Canada’s demographics are set to undergo a radical change, according to Statistics Canada.  In a recently-released report, StatsCan suggests that the visible minority population will double by 2031, and that Toronto – the world’s most diverse city – will boast a 2/3 visible minority population.

Wow.

This begs the question: what are we doing to prepare?  As marketers, as service-providers, as institutions, as brands, as citizens.  What processes and systems and programs are we putting into place to integrate, engage,  reflect and serve this new population, especially when a critical mass hits the “mainstream”?  What we’ve seen over the years through our work with Innoversity is a deep commitment and willingness to change, but a network barrier – the relationships and knowledge just aren’t there.  The work that we do with Innoversity is intended to build bridges between diverse populations (visible minorities, First Nations and persons with disabilities) and media, culture and civic institutions.  Without these bridges, connections can’t be made and opportunities can’t flourish.

So, marketers: what are you planning on doing to engage, reflect and reach the increasingly culturally diverse Canadian market?

According to the folks at eMarketer, 2009 saw a 12% increase in promotional email messages sent by top online retailers.  On average, online retailers sent about 10 email promotional messages each month.  This makes perfect sense; with estimates that up to 80% of the US population has an email account, email is still the killer app.

As easy as it is to contact and keep in touch with customers and prospects via email, the challenge is delivering compelling, useful content to consumers.  Relevance is the key for email marketing, and marketers understand that, as evidenced by the 60% of marketers who plan to segment e-mail lists based on interests in 2010.

We’ve been developing and running email marketing programs for over a decade, and have noticed a few things:

1. Be up-front about what you’re going to send to subscribers; Is this list for new product announcements? Tips and tricks? Industry trends?  Recipes? All of the above?  Tell the customer what to expect, and stick to it.
2. Be regular; Develop a content schedule and stick to it (this applies to your social media content, too).  It’s ok to be off by a day or two, but get your communications into a regular plan, so that your audience remembers and looks forward to, for example, your weekly banana bread recipe.
3. Be specific; Your subject line is there for a reason – go ahead and use it.  Let your subscribers know what’s in your latest email and what the benefit is to them to open the message.  It would be almost impossible to not read an email with a subject line like: “Our three favourite choco-chip banana bread recipes!”
4. Be on your customer’s clock; Try sending eblasts on different days and at different times to figure out when your subscriber base is online and keen to get your messages.  When Nikisha was running Virgin Festival in Canada, she always found that Friday deployments were best, as they drove site traffic and ticket sales over the weekend.

The folks at CMO.com have released a cheat sheet on the social media landscape, which should spark debate from “social media experts”.  I’m going to share this with my clients, as it is a solid summary of the space and captures the opportunities presented by these sites and services well.

Two things stand out in this piece:

1. Focus on relevant content.  All the Facebook ads in the world won’t drive business value if your brand/company isn’t providing the target audience with information they care about. Engagement starts with an information need; the challenge for marketers is to figure out what that need is, and how to meet it.

2. Video rules.  According to Cisco’s estimates, internet video will account for 60% of all online traffic by 2013.  It’s engaging.  It increases the time spent on sites.  It is fun to share.  Get thee a Flip Video!