[Infographic] August 2019 Marketing & Holiday Planning
If you’re looking to end the summer season with a bang, here are some ideas to make your business a hot spot in August.
![[Infographic] August 2019 Marketing and Holiday Planning](https://www.melaniediehl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/rsz_2019-august-holiday-infographic-01-483x1024.png)
A day in the life of a social media manager
It’s not as glamorous as some may think. It’s not all “playing on Facebook and Instagram” and posting selfies and food pictures. A typical day consists of strategy creation, client calls, and developing KPIs. We curate content, create content, schedule and monitor posts; it includes community engagement, measuring insights and analytics, and creating reports. We research, and research, then research some more. We spend time learning the newest trends through ongoing education and training, and we participate in professional development to provide our clients with the best possible results.
Teaching about social media marketing
As a bonus, I also have the pleasure of spending time in front of small business owners teaching them the nuances of social media management through workshops, seminars and conferences. These opportunities allow me to reach a broader audience and for that I’m very grateful.
Local news needs social media expert
But yesterday something different happened. It was late Friday afternoon and I got a phone call from a local television reporter. They were seeking a social media expert to talk about a tragic incident that happened in a local community. I quickly agreed to speak to them on camera about how parents can protect their children from the dark side of social media.
Watch the report here.
Some of my recommendations are to have a conversation with your kids, and start having those early. Strike an agreement that having phone privileges comes with responsibilities and strings attached. As the parent you have complete access to their phones social media accounts, no questions asked. Having honest and open and ongoing communication with your kids is key.
Helping parents as well as business owners
Thank you CBS17 News, reporter Kelly Kennedy and the crew (Jasmine and Austin–you rock!) for inviting me to be your social media expert on this topic. It is my hope that through your efforts we can provide help and hope to parents of young kids and teens and save some lives. Social media has many facets; as parents, we need to be armed with information and be ready to do battle to protect our most precious gifts: our kids.
[Infographic] July 2019 Marketing and Holiday Planning
Summer is here!
Beat the heat with this cool infographic of marketing ideas for July.
Themes, content ideas, holidays, and more! Make the most of your marketing planning for July.
![[Infographic] July 2019 Marketing and Holiday Planning](https://www.melaniediehl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Webp.net-compress-image-462x1024.jpg)
Nonprofit Communicators – Join Me and Be Inspired to Create Good !
I’m so happy to announce that I’ll be speaking at the nation’s BEST nonprofit communications conference – Create Good!
The conference is returning for its fifth year to Durham, N.C., to inspire practical learning with fun, creativity and energy. Mark your calendars for May 9-10. I can’t wait to go, and you don’t want to miss a second of it!
This is the premier event for nonprofit communicators to network, learn from the leading professionals of our industry, and find inspiration to infuse creativity and energy into your own communications efforts. During this year’s conference, I’ll be presenting on: Email Marketing: the Good, the Bad, the Ugly
The 2019 Create Good Conference features two full days of engaging sessions, creativity workshops, and an after-hours lip sync battle. It kicks off on Thursday, May 9 with a keynote by Barbara Peña, Director of Education and Outreach for RAICES (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services), who’ll be sharing how viral fundraising success was both thrilling and sobering. On Friday, May 10, musician, storyteller and activist David Flores of Las Cafeteras will present his keynote on using art and creativity to approach grassroots activism that builds bridges.
Act fast – there’s a limited number of spots left for this year’s event!
I’m excited to be joining an amazing roster of speakers. It’s an incredibly diverse group that includes communications directors, CEOs, and freelancers and more, all from organizations like SHARE Charlotte, March for Science DC, GLSEN, Fired Up Fundraising, and Nonprofit Marketing Guide! It’s going to be a fun conference with a lot of valuable insight.
The Create Good Conference will be hosted at the Durham Arts Council on May 9 and 10. Tickets are on sale now. For more information visit creategoodconference.com.
May 2019 Content Themes & Holidays
April’s showers are gone and now it’s time for your business to bloom. Whether you want to grow your list, your sales, or your visibility in the community, the content below can help you plant the seed for a great month in May!
Content Ideas for May
Mother’s Day Sale – Mother’s day is a can’t miss holiday. Make sure to email your audience when this day is approaching, and remind them of everything their mother has done for them. Help them make it special for her by offering sales or coupons for the things she’ll love, or discounts for mothers on the day just for them!
Teachers are the backbone of our education system and don’t get enough credit for all their hard work. Show them that you appreciate everything they do by offering them a discount on this day.
Support the Troops. With Armed Forces day and Memorial day occurring this month, it’s a perfect time to show your support for the troops. How: Start a fundraiser for veterans by adding a Donations block to your emails or offer a discount to anyone with a military ID for the month of May.
May Holidays
2 Brothers and Sisters Day
5 Cinco de Mayo
6 National Nurses Day
7 National Teachers Day
12 Mother’s Day
25 International Jazz Day
25 National Wine Day
27 Memorial Day
May Themes
• Teacher Appreciation Week (6th-10th)
• Nurses Week (first full week)
• National Bike Month
• National Hamburger Month
When it comes to purchases made as a result of receiving a marketing message, email has the highest conversion rate (66%), when compared to social, direct mail and more. [Source: DMA]
How often should I email my list?
I teach lots of digital marketing classes and workshops, and Email Marketing is one of my most popular sessions. And without fail, this question is asked at every Email Marketing class I present. So today, I’m going to share with you my best advice on how often to email your subscribers! Keep in mind, this article is meant to address regular email communication, not sales funnels or sequences.
Consistency is key
There are several factors that can play into how often you send regular email campaigns to your subscribers. Let’s explore a few of those factors
- What is your audience expecting from you? When you encourage subscribers, do you set the expectation up front about how often they’ll hear from you? Hopefully, you’re setting those expectations–it’s a good idea for both you and them. But it goes deeper than that: what information are you going to share with them? That will affect the frequency of your email campaigns too.
- Let’s say, for example, you run a local cafe and coffee shop, and you have daily soup and drink specials. You could very likely be fine sending a daily email sharing the specials so your subscribers can make their lunch plans in advance.
- On the other hand, if you’re a service-based business, like an insurance broker or a web designer, you probably won’t fare as well sending daily email updates. It can be difficult to craft relevant information that warrants a daily email campaign. Service-based businesses generally have greater success emailing their subscribers on a monthly or twice-monthly basis so they can provide relevant content that makes a real impact on their readers.
- Then there’s organizations and associations like Chambers of Commerce and churches and nonprofits who fall somewhere between the daily and monthly email campaigns. Generally these organizations send a monthly “newsletter” supplemented with regular (often weekly) updates.
So, what’s the bottom line?
At a bare minimum, we recommend sending monthly email campaigns. A colleague of mine refers to it as a “pageant wave in the inbox” and I have to agree. Even if your subscriber doesn’t open and read the email, they see your business or organization name, and that visibility is super important! Being consistent with your email marketing, keeping top of mind, and being visible will benefit you when the time does arrive that your subscriber wants and needs exactly what you offer. And that’s a good thing.
Melanie & Co Marketing Collective has been creating highly converting email marketing campaigns since 2010, and is a 5-time All Star Award Winner with Constant Contact.