With all the channels available to us now as email marketers, we have a lot of communicating to do…which could trick us into thinking shortcuts are okay.
In business, shortcuts are often shorthand for “bad idea.”
Let’s consider our cross-channel marketing for a moment, for example. If you’re marketing to your customers via email, direct mail, Facebook/LinkedIn, Twitter and blogging, you might be tempted to copy and paste information from one place to another to save time. And why not, right? Who’s to say the Facebook fan is also an email subscriber?
Well, they might be, but that’s not really the point.
The point is, you’re more engaging when your communications are fresh and appropriate to the channel you’re using. If I get the same content from you via email as I do via Facebook, chances are I’ll stop paying attention to one or the other. And what’s appropriate in an email format is not usually appropriate in a Facebook format. An email will be a little longer and have a little more staying power. An email can sit in an inbox for a few days before a customer chooses to interact with it, even. A Facebook post will be much shorter and will have a lifespan of as little as 15 minutes.
Writing once, reusing everywhere is probably tempting because it reduces workload. But if it also reduces interest, is it really worth the time savings?
Be engaging, not repetitive. Be careful of the copy/paste.
About the Author: Sharon
