A recent survey by Alterian shows some interesting numbers about how companies are engaging in this new paradigm shift in digital marketing.  Here are some key findings and excerpts from that survey.

1. How many different providers of marketing services do you leverage for digital marketing, database marketing, data hygiene, brand strategy, web analytics, email marketing and statistical analysis?

It is very revealing that almost 70% of respondents work with 3 or more suppliers, and almost a quarter (23%) work with a staggering 7 or more suppliers. Ensuring the consistency of messaging and brand across so many suppliers can be a challenge, made all the more difficult by marketing teams working in silos with disparate applications and information.

Suppliers will have to change how they operate if they want to provide clients with strategies for customer engagement across multiple channels.

2. How difficult is it to coordinate resources across your digital and direct marketing agencies?

Almost 40% of respondents reported that they found this ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ difficult. Marketers do not need just a direct marketing agency that claims to be digital experts, or a digital agency turning to print. What is needed is a truly integrated agency that solves the problems marketers are having with coordinating multiple resources.

3. In the next 12 months how much of your marketing budget will be shifting from traditional direct marketing (direct mail/telemarketing) to digital/interactive/social channels?

Marketing budgets are shifting away from traditional direct marketing towards digital, interactive and social channels. 40% of respondents anticipate a shift of over a fifth of their budget towards digital channels, with 21% predicting more than a third of their budget shifting.

4. Which of the new marketing techniques are you currently investing in or planning to invest in?

The most popular new marketing technique was Social Media Marketing.  Two-thirds of respondents (66%) were planning to engage in marketing through social media channels.

36% of respondents reported their intention to invest in Social Media Monitoring tools. This is a very high percentage, particularly considering the relative immaturity of the channel.

Coming this Friday I will post “Part 2 – Digital Marketing: Are You Ready.” I will explore additional research results for integrated multi-channel engagement and staff readiness.

Source:  Alterian (LSE: ALN).

Spam Complaints

Email services (Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, etc.) are getting more spam-adverse every day. If the people you send emails to mark your message as spam, the email services will take notice.

Email services put up with a certain level of users being spam-button-happy. But if they get too many spam complaints from your email recipients, then they’re not only going to stop sending your emails through to those people–they’ll stop delivering your emails to everyone.

Furthermore, you won’t just get your email address flagged as spam, but they will reject anything coming from your IP address. All the major servers will do this: Yahoo, Gmail, MSN/Hotmail, etc.

Email Content No-No’s

It all starts with the content of your email. Some words and phrases will potentially get your email rejected, regardless of whether it’s actually spam or not. Things to avoid in the subject line and content of your email:

1. FREE. The word “free”, especially in all caps, is a BIG RED FLAG. That’s one reason you see emails break up the word “FREE” into F*R*E*E and FR-EE. Email providers have caught on to this trick. The word “free” isn’t necessarily bad, but phrases like “free membership,” “free money” and “financial freedom” are BIG RED FLAGS as well.

2. Punctuation. More than two !! in a row is going to get you marked as a spammer.

3. ALL CAPS. Sometimes you want to put a little emphasis in your message. Occasionally using ALL

4. CAPITAL LETTERS is not bad. Just don’t leave the “caps lock” key engaged all the time. Take a step back, and then type your message using lower-case letters just like you would do in any other normal communication.

5. MLM. It’s unfortunate, but mentioning “MLM,” “multi-level marketing,” “network marketing” or “business opportunity” will get you marked as spam.

6. Flagged Terms. Terms like “make money,” “make millions,” and multiple “$$$” are all red flags. Any mention of cheap medication, erectile drugs and other common spam fodder will definitely get you thrown into the spam category.

7. Images. If a significant portion of your message is built from images, then providers are going to assume you are trying to slip something past them; spammers often try to hide the content of their message using words in an image.

Pick the Right Email Provider

Often, users will sign up with what looks to be a perfectly legitimate email provider, only to find out that all their messages go straight to spam. Is this because the user is a spammer? No. It’s because they use an email provider that has been flagged as producing a lot of spam. For example, if you manage your email list through a paid service that sends a lot of spam (somebody else’s spam), there is a high degree of likelihood that everything coming from that provider will be marked as spam (including your emails).

1. Make sure your email marketing manager or partner requires (or at least highly encourages) double opt-ins. This will cut down on spam significantly.

2. Ask how they deal with too many spam complaints. For example, the strategic partners used by Richter7 are all very good about keeping spammers out of their systems. They will actually call somebody if they get more than .1% spam complaints over several emails.

3. Ask what is being done to keep in good graces with email services like Yahoo and Gmail. For example, one of Richter7’s main partners actively maintains a good relationship with all the email services to keep any emails sent through them “whitelisted”. Because of this relationship, our clients get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to accepting or rejecting emails.

It’s Easy to Get Your Email Delivered

This may all seem like a lot, but the main thing to remember is to write valuable, relevant emails, send them to people who want to hear from you and use a reputable partner.