RedRite Mailchimp Lists become Audiences

Mailchimp – Lists Becoming Audiences

If you are an existing user of Mailchimp you will have noticed a change in your dashboard recently (March/April 2019).

If you are not an existing user to Mailchimp but have heard about it and currently looking into it, you may also notice that the previously used terminology no longer exists.

This is because Mailchimp has updated the way they present their lists, now calling them Audiences. According to their own resource on the new Audiences.

‘Your Mailchimp Audience is much more than a list of email addresses’

Which is very true once you look in to the dashboard and all the new insights it offers you. The Audience dashboard now turns all those email addresses into people, giving you as much information as possible to help you better build relationships with your subscribers than ever before.

So, what are the changes to Lists and what do they mean?

As Mailchimp is quick to point out you have not lost anything, but your previous lists have been enhanced. The way you will interact with them has also been modified slightly.

  • Audiences are presented one by one. Previously when you visited the Lists tab you would see a list of all your lists, with a small break down of subscribers. Now though the tab opens directly to an Audience – which Audience is advised at the top in the dropdown menu. You can get the old view back by selecting All Audiences though.
  • Campaigns and reports are presented by Audiences. Now instead of a full list of all campaigns they are presents by Audiences, so you will need to change your Audience to look at your other campaigns. However, you can still look at all your campaigns at once – just select All Audiences in the dropdown at the top of the screen. The same change has been made to reports as well, allowing you to quickly see at a glance per Audience each related report for Campaigns, Automation, Landing Pages and Comparative (But that is a Pro Tool).
  • Clearly laid out insights and growth information. When you visit your Audience tab instead of the list of contacts you now see insights relating to the list (unless you decide to visit the All Audience View and then click on the list – this takes you to the old contacts view). Insights include:
    • Recent Growth
    • Top Locations of your Subscribers
    • Email Marketing Engagement – how often your audience is interacting with your emails broken down in to percentage.
    • Sign up location

You can use these insights to target specific campaigns. For example, create a special offer for those that open your emails up in a particular location – be warned though they may have opened it on holiday. Or send an email asking if they still want to be on the list by sending a campaign just to the bottom percentage of those who open your emails.

To view all your contacts, just click on ‘View Contacts’ at the top of the page and this will take you to the traditional view.

The benefit of these changes – although they do not seem much – is that you can now see at a quick glance different segments of your Audience to target and understand how effective your campaigns are. The new dashboard gives you tips to improve your Audience growth, and a simple quick can have you creating a campaign specifically targeted. No more having to go through the segmentation steps first.

If you are still not 100% sure about the new dashboard, or about using Mailchimp at all, then why not join me for a Digital Tech Consultation. 90 minutes of one on one time, where we cover the areas of Mailchimp you are uncomfortable with and would like to learn more about. Instead of a standardised course, this consultation is tailored to exactly what you need. Book your consultation today!

Social Media Summary 2017, Marketing, Social Media

Social Media Changes 2017 Summary

Can you believe it is nearing the end of 2017??

The last few months have flown by and by now a lot of business owners are making their marketing strategy for 2018, have you got started?

One big aspect of the marketing strategy will be social media, and how best to use it for your business. Over 2017 we have seen some changes within social media that have, or will shortly have, an impact on the way we use it for business.

Here are some of the top changes of 2017.

Paid Social Media

Yep, unfortunately it seems Social Media for business is starting to get costly. Whereas previously your reach would be high just by posting daily, now a lot of the platforms are reducing that reach unless your willing to purchase ads.

Facebook is the biggest one to tighten the reach belt, and coming up before the end of 2017 its going to get event worse – Facebook admitted their new plans will reduce reach up to 60% for businesses. They recently introduced a new layout for news feed, 2 news feeds – 1 for business, 1 for personal. Business posts will no longer be shown in the every day newsfeed and individuals need to make the conscience decision to switch to the business newsfeed to see what is happening on the pages they follow. The only way to be seen in the normal feed is through advertising.

Live Video Streaming

YouTube has always been the favoured platform for video but now nearly every platform offers a live streaming facility, with many favouring it to the traditional text updates. The facilities have been there on various social media platforms previously, yet in 2017 the use of video marketing has sky rocketed – with use around 4 times higher than 2016. With live streaming posts and video stories, businesses have been able to get in front of a larger audience in way TV ads never could. Even LinkedIn has jumped on the video band wagon.

Examples of successful videos are how-to videos for make up, resulting in the viewers wanting to know where they can buy. Mini coaching sessions, followed up with the offer of more in depth coaching if individuals pay for the service. The building of communities around services and products thanks to the use of mini videos dropping tips and just video journaling their business journey.

Facebook are now introducing Collaborative Stories for Group and Event Pages. This update allows multiple group members and event attendees to contribute their own view/opinion on a story. The admins will be able to moderate this, manage privacy settings and encourage others to join in.

 Messaging Apps

Apps such as WhatsApp are popular messaging apps for personal use. However it was recently announced by WhatsApp that they will also now be used for businesses to communicate with their customers. Whether it is as a marketing tool or a customer service tool.

Facebook messenger has previously been a popular messaging app to communicate with customers through business pages. But the new plans will be to allow businesses to communicate with the customers and inform them of up coming bookings, travel times etc. Previously web developers have been able to add a click to call button on websites, using either Skype, or a phone’s dialling screen to make the call, coming soon there will also be the chance to add a click to chat link via Whatsapp.

Social Media E-commerce

This is something I have had experience of this year, and was an interesting learning curve. Social media platforms are adding their own shopping platform. Facebook took the initiative and have introduced a shop element to business pages, where sellers can add their items in a catalogue format. Buyers can then either buy on Facebook or are sent through to the seller’s website to complete the purchase. From uploading the products, organising the catalogue to marketing products and managing orders, Facebook allows it all.

However, Twitter has removed their buy it now button and replaced with additional features to encourage more website conversions than previously.

Pinterest however are embracing this new element. They are now allowing Pinners to search for ideas – for example an night out outfit using their Lens Your Look tool. Upload an image of something in your wardrobe and Pinterest will find matching items to finish the outfit off. For the upcoming season, you can connect with Friends and Family and Pinterest’s API will create a gift board based on what they have been engaging with during the year.

ChatBots

Not something new but something that is definitely growing, with more and more businesses finding a use for them. Whether it is just sharing a little bit of information to individuals visiting your social media accounts, or as a 24/7 customer service option. Just interacting with a post on social media can now activate a chatbot to send a message with more information, and ways to get in touch.

I have seen this in use with a lot of start up businesses and small businesses, as it is becoming more popular and easier to implement than ever before. To learn more about Bots visit Business Insider UK who have done an excellent article on them.

These are just a few of the updates Social Media has seen, and there are plenty more that I am sure you have experienced. This is why it is important to keep updating your strategy every quarter to avoid using out of date practises and your business suffering.

Good Luck for 2018!