2013 has arrived, and with it comes thoughts and ideas of how email and social marketing will evolve. While we can’t predict what will become the next big social media channel this year, we can give you some tips to help you stay ahead of the game.

Mobile Design – This may be the most important thing to consider for your email marketing this year. According to Litmus, 36% of emails are opened using a mobile device/tablet, and they predict it’ll be 50% by year’s end. Hence, mobile design is something you definitely want to take this into account when crafting your emails, and it’s not as hard as you may think. With a few minor tweaks, your email will render clearly for readers on a variety of devices or platforms, just follow these tips:

• Keep the design slim – Around 500-600 pixels
• Use call-to-action buttons
• Use a simple, single column layout
• Include links that’re large enough to “click” i.e., touch
• Have a text-only email back up
• Give your email the “touch screen” test (is it easy to navigate with your finger?)
• Ensure your email renders/downloads properly on an iPhone

Social ROI – Remember the tag line from the movie, Field of Dreams? “If you build it, he will come.” It also applies to social media, as well as baseball fields. Once social media was built, people came in droves (hint: So get on it, if you’re not already!). And, social media no longer pertains to a certain age group or demographic; everyone’s on it. The key now, is to keep people continuously engaged with your business on social, and to do so, you simply need to keep at it! Here are a few engagement-inducing ideas:

• Content is king – Share links, post videos and/or images (According to Facebook, posts that include a photo generate 120% more engagement).
• Add value – Share useful information and tips, even if you’re sharing from other sources.
• Interact and engage – Don’t just post and leave your page unattended – Answer questions, make comments, and ask questions.
• Post on a regular basis – This could be multiple times a day, or several times a week depending on your customers and the content available.
• For more social media engagement related posts, read: “Want Better Facebook Engagement? Stop What You’re Doing” and/or “What Motivates People to ‘Like’ or ‘Unlike’ Brands on Facebook“

You can actually track ROI on social media; you just need to set up some key tools. Facebook Insights is a great start for monitoring progress on your Facebook Page. Google Analytics (GA) will also track where people come from when they visit your website, plus it tracks activity on your social accounts. And, if you set up goals in GA, you can track conversions from social interactions. If you’re sharing links from your site, or sharing from another, using Bit.ly not only shortens long URLs, it also gives you tracking information about the people clicking on your links. Even if you aren’t tracking, don’t overlook the power of social engagement. SocialBakers has been tracking exactly this and find that more engagement on social creates more reach, more click throughs, and ultimately more conversion. So keep sharing great info, and it’ll pay off in the end!

-Responsive Design – This may be a term you’re not familiar with, but you will be soon! Wikipedia defines it as:

Responsive web design is an approach to web design in which a site is crafted to provide an optimal viewing experience—easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning, and scrolling—across a wide range of devices (from desktop computer monitors to mobile phones)…

In short, a website responds to it’s environment so that it looks great on a tablet or desktop monitor. If you haven’t created a mobile friendly website yet (our pals at dudamobile make it a cinch), think about making one now. Once readers leave your mobile friendly email or social site, they still need to interact with your website in order to make a purchase, or gain more information – This transition should be made as easily as possible. Check out how responsive design looks in the video below:

So now that we know mobile and responsive design, as well as an active and engaging social media presence is key for success in the near future, how are you planning to change up your marketing?

© 2013 – 2018, Contributing Author. All rights reserved.