Emerge

eMerge Gives Boutique A Stylish New Look

Aaron — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 22:11:05 +0000

Ladies and Gents Formal Wear, a boutique specializing in bridal, tuxedo and formal attire, recently underwent a makeover courtesy of the eMerge team. The goal of the project was to give the boutique a stylish new website, as well as establish their social media presence for online promotions.

The eMerge team created a brand new website for the Boutique, professional pages on the Facebook and Twitter social networks, and a beautiful email template for their newsletters and updates. All of their visual branding was updated by the Creative Team at eMerge to give Ladies and Gents a stylish new look to attract customers and really stand out among their competitors.

To see how eMerge was able to give Ladies and Gents a fantastic online visual brand, check out their Facebook and Twitter pages. Or you can see their stylish new website at www.ladiesgentsformalwear.com.

For more information about how eMerge can take your business to the next level, contact us at experience@easyemerge.com or visit our website at www.easyemerge.com

Pinterest 101

Aaron — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 22:22:18 +0000

Social media is becoming more visual. Consumers are looking for a more stimulating online experience, and they are finding it in social media platforms that focus on images. Platforms like Pinterest. With over 11 million users, Pinterest is another great interactive marketing tool for businesses looking to spread their visual content to a large audience of online consumers. But how can it work for you?

What Is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a visual social media platform that allows you to organize images into boards of specific categories that you can create. When you “pin” something new, your followers will see it, then they can like, comment or re-pin it to their boards. This engagement drives sales. Seventy-nine percent of Pinterest users are more likely to purchase items they’ve seen on the site. If you think Facebook content can go viral, wait until you try Pinterest.

Will My Business Fit?

Every business has some way to visually represent itself. Retail has it easy, but for those who sell less tangible things, try to provide enticing graphics that will prompt consumers to dig deeper into your business. Anyone can use the boards on Pinterest to market their products/services.

The Three Faces of Marketing with Pinterest

Pinterest is growing at an amazing speed, but what’s really important is that now 59% of Pinterest users have purchased an item they saw on the site. This is a remarkable opportunity for businesses and professionals to boost engagement and increase sales. Here are some tried-and-true strategies that you can use on Pinterest.

First Face: Indirect Marketing

Pinterest is great platform for indirect marketing. It’s a visual, social book-marking tool where members “pin” images and videos that they find online to virtual board,s where other members can then interact with them.

1. Create custom boards with images to represent the interests, products and services of your business.

2. Target followers’ boards to see what they are liking and re-pinning.

3. Hold contests to keep your followers engaged with your brand.

4. Use your data for market research to follow trends in your audience.

5. Provide How-To, or educational, videos for your followers to view and share.

Second Face: Integrated Marketing

Pinterest is great for sharing and discussing images and videos, but to take that content to the next level of success you’ll need to cross-promote it on your other social media channels for more exposure.

1. Cross-promote your pins through Facebook and Twitter by linking your accounts to Pinterest.

2. Put a “Pin It” button on your blog, website or on any content you put online like whitepapers and coupons.

Third Face: Direct Marketing

While direct selling is not allowed on Pintrest, Here are some ways you can start thinking about creative, direct marketing methods that will work.

1. Provide exclusive offers through Pinterest to engage your followers, and also measure exactly how many people are viewing your content.

2. Offering coupons is a great way to get your post viral and get followers to purchase your products. It can even drive consumers into your physical locations to buy.

3. QR Codes are also helpful because not only can people get to your site by clicking on the image, scanning the code with a smart phone can bring them to the same (or different) place.

Pinterest provides businesses the opportunity to get more exposure, engage their followers, and convert fans into consumers. As online marketing becomes more visually-based, brands will continue to reap the benefits of the visual social media platform, Pinterest.

Email Best Practices [Infographic]

Aaron — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 20:59:18 +0000

eMerge Sends RE/MAX Top Producer to Belize

Bondilyn Jolly — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 19:50:38 +0000

Pat Fales, a Top Producer in the RE/MAX Allegiance office in Burke, VA, is the lucky winner of the eMerge “Belize Getaway” contest! As the contest winner, Fales will receive a five day / four night getaway for two to the beautiful Coco Beach Resort in Belize. Congratulations Pat!

As a valued eMerge “Total Market Dominator” subscriber, Pat will be kicking back and relaxing in one of the most beautiful beaches on earth while knowing that her interactive marketing is covered with eMerge!

“We are excited about our involvement with eMerge and are so thankful that they are there for us,” said Fales. “They have definitely solved my online marketing challenges, in addition to providing other material and opportunities for marketing our properties, and ourselves, to the public domain in a professional and beautifully branded way.”

This coveted getaway is compliments of eMerge ,Sandy Points Resorts and Tropic Air.

Be sure to like our Facebook page and keep an eye out for future promotions and incentives from your marketing team at eMerge!

Creating an Enticing Email Subject Line

Aaron — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 16:52:30 +0000

The email subject line is like the flashing lights on the outside of a Vegas casino with the goal to grab your attention and lure you in. What happens when someone thinks they’re entering a fancy resort hotel, and actually ends up in an all-you-can-eat buffet? You can be assured that they will ignore the misleading signage in the future! This same concept applies to the subject line of your email, and it’s something that many people miss or don’t give enough thought, even though it’s the first thing your users view.

It is important to lure your audience in with a promise of good information or an incentive when they receive your emails and online newsletters. But be warned: giving them too much information can be counter-productive to your efforts as well. Long subject lines are generally less enticing, and with short attention spans, people lose interest before going any further.

To create a strong email subject line, try to use text that is directly associated with your business or the offer within the email (ie. a slogan or catchy saying, a quick statement of what your email offers). If you incorporate the name of your business or slogan into the title, use it consistently in future emails. This will help identify you in people’s spam-filled inboxes, and set you apart as something worth reading again and again.

When adding a subject line, keep the following tips in mind…

Do:

Include your name or company name
Keep it consistent
Keep it simple
Keep it related to the content of the email
Use minimal characters

Do not:

Use Spamming words (FREE!, cash bonus, call now)
USE ALL CAPS (this will get you blocked very fast)
Use startling words such as: urgent, emergency, important

To learn more about words that you should, and should not, use in email subject lines, check out the eMerge blog on 100 words to NOT use in email subject lines.

Remember, your email subject line is the first thing that people see and your number one objective is to draw the user’s attention and get them to engage with the contents of your email. Once you’ve started an email campaign, watch your reports and analytics to understand what type of messaging is working and how people are interacting with your content. You will see patterns of success (or the opposite!) emerging that will provide guidance on how to better shape your messaging in the future.

Email is a powerful online marketing tool and continues to drive high results for businesses around the globe. Be sure you are using it correctly to reach the largest audience possible and pay attention to what’s working and what’s not.

How People Use Social Media During Disasters

Aaron — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 20:10:32 +0000

Every year on September 11 we look back and remember the tragedy that struck America during the 9/11 attack. But as we look back we can also see how other major influences in our lives have evolved since that tragedy, influences such as social media which is now used regularly to mass communicate around the world during times of crisis. An increase in communication following disasters is pretty common, but people are starting to skip the phone calls and go straight to social media to update their friends and family.

Let’s take a look at how social media has evolved for use during times of crisis.

Indonesia: The first time social media was used heavily for updates and alerts was after the 2006 tsunami in Indonesia. Blogs were used to update and share information about people who lost their lives, the injured, the lost and those who were saved.

Japan: A great example of a natural disaster that significantly boosted social media use was the 2011 earthquake in Japan. Due to the earthquake social media use spiked as people began to use it for disaster relief purposes. Not only that, but fund-raising efforts began to take place through mobile apps, where people could donate money through social media channels to the disaster relief.

Haiti: More recently the earthquake in Haiti proved that the social media response to Japan was only the spark. Over $800,000 was collected by American Airlines alone for the Red Cross by using social media channels. In fact over $60 million was raised through text and social channels alone.

United States: Social media is not just used for raising money. Government agencies and corporations have begun using social media as a major form of communicating with the public for disasters such as forest fires, hurricanes or blizzards. News organizations use it to update their audience, and even the public that are involved send updates to the news agencies and governments in order to keep them updated and to request assistance.

The Deepwater Horizon, BP oil spill is a great example of how governments and agencies all along the gulf coast used social media for keeping the public informed and updated on the latest developments. Many of these organizations relied on software platforms, such as eMerge, to get important messages out to the public. In fact, eMerge was utilized by several Louisiana government and agencies during both the Deepwater Horizon crisis, and more recently during the Hurricane Isaac disaster that hit lower Louisiana.

Social media has evolved into an incredible tool for allowing people to share information. It has been used time and again during disasters to search for lost loved ones, send out alerts to assist rescue efforts, for agencies to send out emergency alerts and updates, and for the public to stay informed about what is happening and where they can turn to for help.

As we look back to the attacks on September 11, 2001, how do you think social media would have been used to communicate, alert and update the world?

In Times of Crisis, Organizations Rely on Social Technology

Bondilyn Jolly — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 20:03:17 +0000

Local government and emergency alert agencies in St. Tammany Parish, New Orleans and the surrounding Southern Louisiana area relied on the eMerge platform to communicate updates and crucial announcements during Hurricane Isaac.

Plaquemines and St. Tammany Parish Governments are among the many public and private sector organizations in the hurricane impacted areas who chose eMerge to update businesses, news media and constituents throughout Louisiana to accomplish their goals of public safety, service and awareness during Hurricane Isaac.

“eMerge provided an easy and fast web, email and social delivery system for St. Tammany Parish during Hurricane Isaac,” expresses Suzanne Parsons Stymiest, Director of Cultural and Governmental Affairs for St. Tammany Parish Government, “With a limited staff and budget, tools such as eMerge are essential to our organization’s ability to provide timely information.”

Tens of thousands of emails and social media posts were sent by government offices and agencies throughout the week of Hurricane Isaac using eMerge. Government agencies weren’t the only ones using the system, many local businesses disseminated important updates to their customers using eMerge.

“During a state of emergency [such as Hurricane Isaac] timely updates are imperative to personal safety,” states eMerge CEO Bondilyn Jolly. “eMerge allowed many public and private sector organizations to disseminate important information quickly and easily through one platform and be confident that their message was reaching their end-users. The eMerge platform allows us to network websites, email and social updates together to provide officials mass communication across many channels with the click of one button.”

This is not the first time eMerge has been utilized by government organizations during crisis. In 2010, the Louisiana-based company’s platform was chosen by Louisiana governments to update the public on the BP oil spill.

“Another service that eMerge provides our governmental offices and agencies after an event such as Hurricane Isaac is detailed reports of all of their online communication, how many people they reached and the virality of that messaging,” adds Jolly. “This provides valuable feedback as to which interactive communication channels are aiding in the mass dissemination of important information and assists with shaping plans for future outreach during times of crisis.”

eMerge is hiring inside sales reps

Bondilyn Jolly — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 15:01:35 +0000

eMerge is seeking experienced, strategic and goal-oriented Sales Development Consultants (inside sales) to help grow our award winning interactive marketing program by creating and managing a large pipeline of sales and closing opportunities over the phone and via email. We seek ambitious, self-starters who possesses the desire to succeed, strong phone skills, ability to communicate persuasively, and experience in the areas of lead qualification and closing opportunities. You must be extremely client-oriented, highly motivated and have an interest in current Internet technologies, ideally surrounding email, social, mobile and web marketing. This position involves working on an experienced, dynamic sales team, offers an exciting and rewarding career path, and has a base salary with generous commissions.

Responsibilities:
• Work in a metrics-based environment focused on initiating a pre-determined number of professional outbound “cold calls” and emails to prospected and target accounts.
• Generate sales by presenting high level technology pitch to qualified prospects via phone, email, presentations and online demos.
• Communicate effectively with owners/decision makers by combining active listening skills with the ability to be assertive, persuasive and successfully manage and overcome objections.
• Maintain a large pipeline of qualified leads through the use of scheduled tasks and appointments – sufficient to meet and exceed sales goals.
• Maintain lead, account and opportunity updates within our internal SalesForce CRM.
• Exceed monthly goals through active sales campaigns.

Requirements/Qualifications:
• Minimum of 2-5 years business-to-business sales experience (high technology sales a plus).
• Proven success in building and maintaining successful relationships with prospective and existing business to business customers.
• Must have good telephone / chat / email demeanor
• Ability to carry a high volume of sales campaigns from inception to closure.
• Strong follow up skills and attention to detail is essential
• Ability to be enthusiastic, coachable, persistent, and self-reliant
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, challenging, team oriented atmosphere
• Must have effective time management and good organizational skills
• Web-based/technology experience a plus but not required
• Working knowledge of CRM systems such as Salesforce.com preferred
• Bachelor’s degree

Location and Travel:
This a full-time position based in Slidell, LA (25 minutes outside of New Orleans). Limited travel is expected.

Benefits of working at eMerge:
At eMerge, we value our team members’ hard work and dedication. Our commitment to your success is enhanced by our competitive annual base salary, plus commissions and potential bonuses and extensive benefits package including paid time off and medical benefits.

• Health Insurance
• Retirement plan
• Paid Vacation
• Continuous Training

APPLY ONLINE AT: http://easyemerge.com/about_careers.php

The Power of Lists

Kevin Blank — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 20:06:26 +0000

For the average user, there is a lot of marketing noise on the internet. This noise consists of email, instant messaging, banner advertisements, Facebook, Twitter, etc. With all of these distractions, the chances of your message being read by your intended audience are greatly reduced. One of the best ways to help improve your chances is to focus on targeted messaging.

Email Lists

Targeted messaging simply means your message is created for a specific audience. If your message is too general, your audience will tend to ignore it, reducing the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. A more specific message to a smaller, interested group of individuals will stand out and provide better open and click-through rates.Also, by speaking more effectively to your audience, you increase their trust in your brand which improves your deliverability and improves the chances that someone won’t put your email in their spam folder.

One of the first steps to creating target messaging is to create smaller groups of contacts. These smaller groups should be created logically and based on some kind of data like age, geographical location, product interest, etc. Your lists may have some overlap, or your contacts on one list may be completely separate from the contacts on another. eMerge provides a number of tools to help you segment your contact list and stay organized.

Segmenting your contacts in eMerge

In eMerge, groups are the way you keep part of your contact list completely separate from another part. We say that groups are “exclusive,” meaning that once a contact belongs to a group, they can’t belong to any others. This type of organization is useful if you have a need to break your contacts down by region, which store they visit, if they’re a customer or vendor, etc. If you are running two completely different marketing campaigns, groups would be a great way to make sure a contact doesn’t receive messaging from a campaign they are not supposed to see.

By default, your eMerge account starts with a single group called “General” which cannot be deleted or modified. You can add more groups by going to Contacts then Manage Groups. From the groups management page you can follow the link to view the contacts in a group and move them around as needed.

Email Groups

Lists are designed to organize your contacts by interest or need. A contact can belong to one or more lists at one time. For example, if you need to separate the contacts from your “Customers” group in to those that have expressed interest in your widget versus those who have not, a list would be your solution. You could then send a targeted email to those contact on your “interested” list and encourage them to contact your company for a demonstration or provide more information on the widget.

As an eMerge user, you can create an unlimited number of lists. List Management can be found under Contacts and much like groups, you can click to view the contacts on a list, edit the name, and more from this page. If you need to see what lists or group a contact is current assigned to, use our search tool to find the contact by name or email, then click “View / Edit”. You can now see which group this contact belongs to and which lists they have signed up for.

Conclusion

Segmenting your contacts in to smaller groups and lists will allow you to send more targeted messaging to your audience. Targeted messaging will increase audience response and improve the effectiveness of your marketing campaign. Get organized today!

–

Kevin Blank
CTO: NMD, Inc. | eMerge
kevin@easyemerge.com
985-781-4471, ext. 320 (t)
985-781-4434 (f)

Total Market Dominator Is Dominating

Bondilyn Jolly — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 20:40:56 +0000

Real estate professionals are recognizing average email open rates of 24%, which is 1½ times the industry standard, thanks to eMerge. This means more people are interested in what you are saying and are taking the time to open and engage with your email newsletters!

Total Market Dominator’s are also experiencing email click through rates (CTR) at six times the industry average. This means that professionals who use the eMerge platform for their marketing are getting six times the engagement as other companies and solutions are able to provide. More engagements mean more people looking at your content and sharing your content with their sphere….which ultimately equates to increased relationships and lead opportunities for you!

Another interesting tid-bit on Total Market Dominator accounts is the average click-throughs to user’s social media channels. YouTube and Tumblr (blog) click-throughs rank the highest, which means that real estate professionals posting consistently to these channels are driving the highest level of engagement with their users.

What’s the best thing about being a Total Market Dominator? The results! Our real estate professionals enjoy professional, interesting content shared weekly through email, social media and a blog without having to lift a finger!

Want to learn more about becoming a Total Market Dominator with eMerge? No problem! Contact an eMerge Interactive Marketing Specialist today at 1-888-639-9323 or visit REALeMerge.com to request a product demo.

“I love eMerge because it saves me so much time and does the work I don’t have time to do, but need to do. In this real estate market staying in front of my referral sources and potential new buyers and sellers is critical. My Total Market Dominator program from eMerge does it for me. It saves me money while making me money.”
- Mylisa Jessen, RE/MAX Metro – Agent