Crystal Media

Marketing Clarity.

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Should You Use Stories on Facebook for Your Business?

In last week’s blog post and video, I shared that Facebook is, indeed, not dead. 😊

One FB feature I want to encourage you to start using (or start using even more) is Stories. Have you been posting there? Using its more interactive visual effects? Reaching your audience more effectively? You should be.

Learn more about the How To’s of Stories on Facebook in the brief video below. Please share any comments or questions after viewing. And if you’re already dialed into using Stories on Facebook, I’d love to hear how that’s been working for you as well. Bonus points – link to your page so I can ‘Like’ you! Enjoy!

To the future,

Crystal

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Is Facebook Dead?

Tell me if I’m wrong, but I have a feeling you’ve been wondering lately if Facebook is still relevant to retailers.

Well, I have news (which could either be good or bad depending on you)! Facebook is not dead. It’s still a strong marketing tool for retailers when used correctly.

This is good news if you like Facebook and have utilized it to gain successful marketing results. This is bad news if you hate Facebook and would rather focus your time on other things like Instagram (or- gasp!- not doing social at all).

In this quick video, I share with you why Facebook is still an incredibly powerful marketing tool. Click below to watch now.

And a quick reminder! On May 7th, I’m doing a special live training webinar for my Insiders on can’t-miss email marketing advice and tips. Email remains one of the best tools you can use to drive traffic and sales so I’d love for you to join me to capture some important take-aways.

Become an Insider here and mark your calendar for May 7th at 9 a.m. PST for the live training event (brought to you online, like a webinar). If you can’t make the live event, no worries! As an Insider, you’ll get the replay, plus lots of other exclusive tools, training, and support.

“See” you next week with another tip!

Crystal

P.S. Subscribe to my email newsletter list to be the first to hear about upcoming training events and get weekly social media tips sent straight to your inbox every Monday morning.

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How to Get 50, 100, 1000 or More People Opening Your Emails!

Remember learning the importance of email marketing in a previous Crystal Media newsletter? If you missed it, click here to catch up via my blog post. It’s an important one.

Today, I want to give you one more essential email marketing tip. That is, to analyze your email open rates. Ok, I hear you… This is not a sexy or fun topic for most. But it’s critical in order to maximize your email marketing.

Let’s try this fun little analysis exercise (see what I did there? 😉):

  1. Review your last 10 emails and find the average open rate.
  2. Share your average open rate with me in a comment here on my blog post or DM us on Instagram. (If I get enough retailers to share their averages with me, I’ll share the average of the average on our social media for your reference. So PLEASE share your average with me!)
  3. Identify the emails with the highest and lowest open rates and try to determine WHY these were the best/worst.
    • Was there a clear reason?
    • Was the time or day you sent a factor?
    • Did one have a clear CTA (call to action) and one didn’t?
    • Did one have a more mysterious subject line than the other?
    • Were the lists (or audiences) used the same or different?

By spending a little time (aim for just 15-20 minutes) to understand what’s working or not in your email open rates, you can respond with more effective emails through better content, better subject lines, better audiences, and better-targeted timeliness. Getting my drift? An overall better marketing strategy.

Think about it.  If you could get an additional 50, 100, 1000 or more people to open your emails, wouldn’t that impact your bottom line? I bet it would.

So get to work, check out those last 10 emails, let me know your average, and analyze them to uncover what’s working and what isn’t. I promise it’ll help optimize your future sends.

And by the way! If you need more email marketing tips and strategies, I have great news!

May’s live training webinar for my Insider members is all about Email Marketing. If you’re not already an Insider, you can join for just $97/month and get in on this live training happening May 7th. You’ll get all the juicy benefits of being an Insider too!

Get the scoop on becoming an Insider by clicking here.

To the future,

Crystal

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One Tip to Increase Email Open Rates

On the blog, I’ve been talking lately a lot about Instagram. But today, I want to switch gears and talk about email marketing. (Yes, email marketing is still relevant, highly effective, and imperative to keep in your marketing arsenal.)

I recently read a post in a retail Facebook group where the retailer was really upset. Her March sales were terrible. Her April sales haven’t been trending any better. Social media posts? Not helping. Emails to her lists? Not sure who’s seeing them. She’s been throwing every marketing idea she can think of at the wall to see what will stick. I get it. It’s a frustrating place to be!

I started thinking about what could help her on the plane one day (I was headed to upstate New York for a surprise 50th birthday party!) and wondered if she had tried one of my favorite back-pocket ideas. An email resend to ‘none opens’.

You might be thinking… “a what???”

Let me explain. On average, about 15-24% of people open emails. That’s 76-85% of people NOT opening emails. Meaning, they’re not seeing what’s inside! So no matter what great discount, awesome promotion, or thoughtfully created message a retailer sends, the majority of people sent to are not seeing it. But fear not!

That’s where dropping an email resend comes in. Through email service providers like Constant Contact, Mail Chimp, Ontraport, etc., you can view all the people who did not open your email. And send a new email just to that list.

But here’s the best part. The only new thing about this email is the subject line. You’ll keep everything else the same. The reason you change only the email subject line is because they never opened the first one. All the content inside will be brand new to them!

So try a new subject line sent to that group and see who opens it. You’ll increase your original audience and ensure more people connect with your email’s message. Brilliant!

Next week, I’ll address the frequency of your email sends (a concern I hear a lot from retailers). Don’t miss it. Especially if you’re afraid to send more than one email every week. Spoiler alert: You’re leaving money on the table. Stay tuned!

I’ll “see you” next week!

To the future,

Crystal

P.S. Never miss a tip! Make sure you subscribe to my weekly newsletter to have a social media tip sent straight to your inbox every Monday.

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How to Optimize Your Instagram Bio for Your Business Profile

Pssst… I’m kind of bursting with excitement. I’ve created a super, user-friendly Instagram for Retailers training course and, in honor of the new course, I wanted to talk today about your Instagram Bio. Yes, the one you haven’t touched since you set up your account. 😉 I’ve got super simple optimization tips to ensure you stand out so more people find you on the ‘gram.

Enjoy this quick video I made for you to learn all the easy ways you can optimize. Also, I’ve listed these ways below in case you’re more of a reader than a watcher.

If you don’t currently follow us on Instagram yet, now is the time. You won’t want to miss the link to purchase the Instagram for Retailers course available now! Click here to follow us or search for @crystalmediaco within the App.

7 Easy Ways to Optimize Your Instagram Bio: 

  1. Use emojis to relate to the products that you sell/services you offer and add some color to help you stand out
  2. Make it authentic to you
    • Does it sound like you?
    • Is it in your tone?
    • Does it let people know who you are?
  3. Include a CTA (call-to-action)
    • Ask them to come in and shop
    • Fill out a form to earn a special discount
  4. Make your bio appear longer by adding spaces between each line of text
  5. Share your branded hashtag (if you’re using one)
  6. Include a website link (especially if you sell online!)
    • Use a tool like LinkTree to include multiple links so you’re not always having to switch out the bio link for each new post
    • Use Linkin.Bio by Later to add links or tag products in your Instagram posts to turn your feed into a clickable, optimized landing page.
  7. Add keywords to your profile name


If you want to receive weekly social media tips, make sure you subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!

To the future,
Crystal