2010 saw the massive rise of social media along with its relevance and
impact on how we use email. Although it is difficult if not impossible to
predict what will happen next, this article will seek to establish the
developments likely in 2011.

Real-time email marketing has become very popular and much improved,
but it can be guaranteed that there is still much to explore.

Marketers know that
strategies are developed many months in advance and are a long-term process,
but what real-time marketing does is focus on what’s happening right now,
what’s trending, and what can be done to make a difference to your customer
today.

For example the
relentless winter weather that took hold of the UK in December. Many retail email marketers took advantage of the ghastly weather and quickly designed
campaigns around it.

The results were
relevant emails that were in touch with the world consumers live in. Special
offers in winter clothing, snow equipment and motor anti-freeze targeted
customer’s individual locations.

Retailers claimed
bigger responses in the amount of opens and forwards.

These campaigns targeted consumers with information they were interested in there because they
were relevant and therefore attracted a more receptive response.

Clearly you have to
be quick with real-time email marketing, but there is no doubt that if you
successfully pull off a campaign like this, then you’ll gain the rewards.

A great example of
success was Oakley supplying the Chilean miners that were stuck in the mine,
with sunglasses when they emerged to protect their eyes. The company took
advantage of a worldwide news story, however they could have taken it further.

They could have
targeted their consumers with an email campaign with specials on those same
sunglasses; have a special feature on their website showcasing the range or
even a link on their site to articles explaining the damage that ultra violet
rays can do to a person’s eyes.

What they did was a
great marketing tactic, they took advantage of a unique incident and worked to
capitalise on it. However they could have easily taken it to the next level.

This year we should
also see more technological developments with “intelligent content”. Which
renders when an email is opened, giving customers real-time content that can be
changed to stay up to date. For example if a product is out of stock when a
consumer opens an email it can be automatically updated with a similar product.

Viral email
marketing also has the potential to reach massive audiences very quickly with
the right amount of research, clever strategy and unique content.

Real-time email
marketing, intelligent content, time sensitive messages and viral email
marketing tactics are all positive signs that email marketing is still a great
way to target your audience, it’s adjusted to a changing environment and
developed new strategies.

By keeping abreast
of these developments and testing them in your campaigns to find out what works
best for you, you’re helping yourself stay relevant and interesting to your
valued customers.