What if you could create a personalized journey for each prospective student? Imagine seamlessly guiding them from initial interest to enrolled learner, while nurturing a lifelong connection with your institution. This is the power of marketing automation.

By leveraging automation, universities can personalize their communication, nurture potential students effectively, and ultimately convert them into enthusiastic learners and future alumni.

Studies show organizations using marketing automation see a 14.5% productivity increase. Why? Because automation streamlines workflows, freeing up valuable time for staff to focus on what matters most – creating a thriving learning environment for their students.

In this blog, we’ll explore how marketing automation can benefit higher education and provide ways to implement it. We’ll cover how to build stronger relationships with students, improve efficiency, and ultimately achieve your enrollment and student engagement goals.

The advantages of marketing automation in higher education

Attracting and retaining students in today’s competitive landscape requires a smart strategy. Marketing automation empowers higher education institutions to achieve this by fostering stronger student connections, streamlining internal processes, and ultimately boosting enrollment. Let’s explore how.

1. Improved recruitment and enrollment processes: Marketing automation can streamline the enrollment process by automating time-consuming tasks such as email marketing, lead scoring, and prospect tracking. This not only saves valuable time for admissions personnel but also ensures that no prospective students are ignored, which can result in improved overall enrollment rates.
2. Enhanced student retention: By closely monitoring students’ online behavior and interaction patterns, marketing automation can help institutions identify valuable insights into potential retention risks and enable them to address these issues proactively.
3. Increased efficiency: Marketing automation eliminates the need for manual tasks like sending individual emails or scheduling social media posts. This frees up valuable time for staff to focus on more strategic initiatives.
4. Improved personalization: By leveraging student data, higher education institutions can tailor messaging to specific needs and interests. For example, institutions can send targeted emails highlighting programs relevant to a student’s academic background or showcasing campus life for those interested in extracurricular activities.
5. Enhanced lead nurturing: Marketing automation facilitates the creation of automated email drip campaigns that nurture leads throughout the enrollment journey. This keeps your institution top-of-mind and guides prospective students seamlessly through the application process.
6. Measurable results: Marketing automation platforms provide valuable analytics that track campaign performance. Institutions can gain insights into open rates, click-through rates, and overall engagement, allowing for data-driven decision-making and campaign optimization.
7. Streamlined communication: Marketing automation fosters consistent and timely communication with students. Automated responses to inquiries, application updates, and deadline reminders ensure efficient information flow and a positive student experience.

Now that we understand the benefits of marketing automation in higher education, let’s dive into strategies and programs that can help you put these advantages into practice.

How to use marketing automation in higher education

Marketing automation isn’t just about sending emails; it’s about creating a personalized and engaging experience for students throughout their entire journey with your institution. Here’s how you can leverage its power in higher education:

Nurture leads with personalized cross-channel communication

Marketing automation is a powerful tool that can help higher educational institutions create personalized cross-channel communication with their students. With Dotdigital’s cross-channel automation tools, nurturing leads has never been easier. You can tailor your emails, SMS, push notifications, and other forms of communication-based on your students’ interests, demographics, and engagement levels. 

For example, you can send a welcome email to a prospective computer science student highlighting upcoming coding workshops, or a text message to a current student reminding them about upcoming financial aid deadlines. These personalized messages make your students feel valued and help to build a strong relationship between your institution and your students.

Streamline the admission process with automation

The admissions process can be a lengthy task, both for the admissions staff and the applicants. However, with the help of automation, this process can be streamlined and made much more efficient. 

By automating tasks such as sending updates on application status, delivering acceptance letters, or prompting students to submit required documents, admissions staff can free up their time and focus on more important tasks. 

Additionally, automation ensures timely communication with applicants reducing the risk of errors or delays. This not only improves the overall experience for applicants but also helps to create a smoother and more effective admissions process for the institution.

Identify fundraising opportunities with alumni segmentation

Fundraising is a crucial aspect of any higher educational institution or non-profit organization. However, identifying potential donors and rekindling relationships with alumni can be a challenging task. That’s where alumni segmentation comes in. 

By utilizing segmentation templates within your marketing automation platform, you can categorize alumni based on factors like graduation year, major, or giving history, which allows for targeted outreach and personalized fundraising campaigns.

One tool that can help you with this process is Dotdigital’s intelligent segmentation tools. With intuitive student contact dashboards powered by WinstonAI, you can identify quick wins and see the bigger picture at the same time. 

Dotdigital’s unified view and eRFM tools can help you target the right student audience with the right message every time, giving you an edge when it comes to fundraising. By utilizing these tools, you can create campaigns that resonate with your alumni and inspire them to support your organization’s mission.

Deliver real-time course updates with SMS and push notifications

Institutions can use triggered SMS and push notifications to deliver real-time course updates to their students. This allows them to instantly send important information such as course cancellations, schedule changes, and registration reminders. 

As a result, students are always informed and up-to-date, which helps them keep track of their schedules and assignments. Additionally, this helps students feel more connected to their institution and faculty.

Furthermore, SMS and push notifications are highly personalized and can be customized to meet individual students’ needs and preferences. For instance, some students may prefer to receive notifications via SMS, while others may prefer push notifications. By offering multiple communication channels, institutions can ensure that they reach their students in the most effective way possible.

Leverage lead scoring and reporting for strategic insights

Marketing automation platforms play a crucial role in helping higher educational institutions gain valuable insights into their student pipeline. One of the key features of these platforms is the ability to assign scores to specific actions taken by prospective students. This process, known as lead scoring, helps identify high-potential students, allowing for targeted outreach efforts.

Lead scoring is typically based on a set of predefined criteria that indicate a student’s level of engagement and interest in the institution. For example, a student who downloads a brochure or attends a webinar may be assigned a higher score than someone who simply visits the website. By assigning scores to these actions, institutions can prioritize outreach efforts and focus on the most promising leads.

In addition to lead scoring, marketing automation platforms also provide automated reporting on campaign performance. These reports provide valuable insights into which campaigns are working and which are not, allowing you to refine your strategy for better results. By analyzing this data, institutions can identify trends and patterns in student behavior, allowing them to adjust their marketing efforts accordingly.

Boost event attendance with personalized invitations

Boosting event attendance is often a challenging task, but it can become easier with personalized invitations. Whether you’re organizing a career fair or a sporting event, sending personalized invitations based on the interests and preferences of potential attendees can significantly increase participation.

If you’re looking for an effective tool to help you boost your event attendance, you can try Dotdigital’s Eventbrite integration. This integration allows you to send personalized invitations to potential attendees based on their interests and preferences. It can help you showcase relevant events and highlight how attending can benefit them academically or professionally.

With Dotdigital’s Eventbrite integration, you can also create custom event pages, manage event registration, and track attendee engagement. This way, you can better understand what’s working and what’s not, enabling you to refine your approach and improve your results over time.

Automate onboarding and orientation for a seamless transition

Automating the onboarding and orientation process can greatly benefit both new students and your institution. By implementing automated workflows, you can ensure a seamless transition for new students, providing them with the necessary information and support they need to succeed. 

Automated workflows guide new students through the entire onboarding process, from submitting their applications to registering for classes. With automated emails, you can keep new students informed about campus resources, upcoming events, and deadlines. This not only helps new students feel more comfortable and supported but also helps them stay on track and avoid missing important deadlines.

Personalized check-ins are also an effective way to ensure that new students feel welcome and supported during their first few weeks on campus. These check-ins can be automated as well, allowing you to easily track new students’ progress and identify any areas where they may need additional support.

Enhance your engagement with artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a powerful tool in marketing automation, revolutionizing the way you can engage with students. AI-powered tools like WinstonAI can analyze vast amounts of student data and behavior to identify key moments for engagement. With predictive analytics, you can anticipate student needs and personalize your communication at the right time, thereby increasing engagement and boosting sales.

WinstonAI is a tool that can assist you with your emails. It provides grammar and spell checks, as well as generates subject lines, to ensure that your emails are professional, impactful, and free of errors. This feature saves you time and enhances your credibility and authority among your audience.

By implementing these strategies, marketing automation can empower your institution to build stronger relationships with students at every stage, ultimately leading to a thriving learning environment and a successful student body.

Elevating higher education through marketing automation

Marketing automation transforms the way higher education institutions communicate with their students. It enables institutions to personalize their communication, address student needs proactively, and focus on providing a superior educational experience. By embracing marketing automation, institutions can ensure the success of their students and position themselves for long-term growth and success.

With the right customer experience and data platform (CXDP), SMS becomes a versatile tool helping you achieve a myriad of goals and engage audiences across the globe, and across any industry. So, how could SMS become the superhero in your marketing toolkit? 

Achieve your business goals, one character at a time

SMS marketing messages are short but powerful, with some marketers seeing higher engagement when using mobile channels alongside email. Many consumers say that SMS feels like a more personal channel, and as a result, sees average open rates of 98%. With your messaging being seen, you can focus on driving the results you want. We’ve seen the channel used to:

Propel sales and revenue

With impressive open rates and a conversion rate of 45%, you’ve got a much higher chance of getting your brand in front of the right people. So whether you’re announcing a sale, showcasing new products, or offering personalized discounts, SMS ensures your message lands right where it counts – in the hands of your audience. One Dotdigital customer London Lash, earned an impressive £114K revenue from SMS in the first six months of their campaign, with an ROI of 7:1.

Drive app downloads

Have an app that deserves more attention? Looking to deepen your customers’ mobile experiences? SMS is the best place for you to encourage your audience to download your app due to the uninterrupted mobile experience. You can send short app download links with SMS or offer incentives, such as exclusive discounts for app purchases, seamlessly directing your audience to the right place without them leaving their phone.

Gather customer feedback

Want to understand your customers better? Send them a simple SMS survey. Fast and easy to complete, SMS surveys typically have a response rate that’s 3X higher than traditional email surveys. Understanding your audiences’ needs and preferences has never been so straightforward, helping you refine your customer experience. Ipsos, a Dotdigital customer, made the most of our Communications API and broadcast feature to handle feedback from over half a million customers.

Universal appeal: SMS in every industry

SMS offers unmatched flexibility, making it a powerful tool that can be adapted to the specific needs of virtually any industry. Its ease of integration into existing marketing strategies makes it a universally appealing option. Here’s a glimpse into how diverse industries leverage SMS for success:

Retail and ecommerce

• Promotions and flash sales: Create a sense of urgency and exclusivity with limited-time offers sent directly to customers’ phones.
• Abandoned cart recovery: Gently nudge customers to complete their purchases with personalized reminders and special deals.
• Loyalty programs: Foster customer engagement through points updates, exclusive offers, and birthday greetings.

Finance

• Two-factor authentication (2FA): Enhance security by sending one-time codes for logins and transactions directly to customers’ phones.
• Fraud alerts: Notify customers immediately of suspicious activity on their accounts, allowing for quicker intervention.
• Balance updates and payment reminders: Keep customers informed about account activity and upcoming payment deadlines.

Healthcare

• Appointment reminders: Reduce no-shows and improve patient experience with automated appointment confirmations and reminders.
• Lab results and prescription refills: Provide patients with convenient access to important information via secure text messages.
• Public health campaigns: Send crucial information about vaccinations, disease outbreaks, and preventative measures.

Hospitality and travel

• Mobile check-in and boarding passes: Streamline guest arrival processes and eliminate the need for physical tickets.
• Hotel promotions and upsells: Offer guests exclusive discounts on upgrades or spa treatments during their stay for customer satisfaction that beats the competition every time.
• Flight status updates and travel tips: Keep passengers informed about delays, gate changes, and valuable travel insights.

Education

• Emergency alerts and school closures: Deliver critical information to parents and students during unforeseen circumstances.
• Homework reminders and class updates: Keep students and parents on track with important reminders and announcements.
• Parent-teacher communication: Facilitate easy communication between teachers and parents regarding student progress or upcoming meetings.

Non-profit and events

• Fundraising campaigns: Enable convenient donation options via SMS, increasing participation and boosting fundraising efforts. SMS outreach for nonprofits has shown to be highly successful, with Action for Children generating hundreds in donations with just one SMS campaign.
• Event promotion and ticketing: Disseminate event details, generate excitement, and allow for mobile ticketing for a seamless experience.
• Volunteer recruitment and management: Mobilize volunteers by sending updates, reminders, and expressing appreciation via text messages.

These are just a few examples, and the possibilities are truly endless. With its high open rates, conciseness, and affordability, SMS can be a game-changer for businesses of all sizes and across all industries.

Go global: Reach billions with the right CXDP

You already know that SMS is a global channel, which means it’s perfect for businesses that want to expand into new markets and demographics. However, not every marketing automation platform supports SMS sending in multiple countries. Make sure you choose a platform that has global support so you can confidently connect with your audience without borders. 

Dotdigital empowers you to send to 220+ countries and territories and is ready to scale with you. If you’re already a Dotdigital customer, talk to your Customer Success Manager to get started today.

If you’re not a Dotdigital customer yet, you can request a demo of the platform.

Add SMS to your marketing strategy

SMS marketing empowers you to connect with your audience on a personal level, enhancing the customer experience with impressive open rates and global reach. This versatile tool cuts through the noise, offering a direct line to your customers’ pockets across industries. Leverage SMS marketing to drive sales, increase app downloads, gather feedback, expand your market, and achieve a multitude of goals – all through the power of texting. Start your journey to marketing success today.

What is cross-channel marketing?

Cross-channel marketing is not just about using multiple marketing channels. It’s about creating a seamless and consistent experience for your customers. You can do this by strategically utilizing various channels and ensuring that your messaging is consistent across all touchpoints.

The objective of cross-channel marketing is to interact with customers across preferred channels throughout the customer lifecycle.

As a marketer, your goal is not only to expand your marketing database and acquire new customers but also to keep the conversation going with your existing customers. Cross-channel marketing enables you to connect with them whenever and wherever they need your services.

An example of cross-channel marketing in action

Here’s a practical example of how cross-channel marketing works:

• A potential customer sees a social media advert for your new product.
• Intrigued, they visit your website to learn more and download a helpful guide.
• A few days later, they receive a personalized email with a discount code for the product.
• They then visit your physical store to make the purchase, interacting with a knowledgeable salesperson.

Keep in mind that this is just one example – the channels you use to connect with your audience will depend on your industry and the people you’re trying to reach. So don’t be afraid to get creative with the channels you use. 

Why does cross-channel marketing matter?

Cross-channel marketing is important for any marketer for several reasons:

• Reach customers everywhere: People use different channels when they are looking for a product or service. By having a cross-channel strategy, you can reach your target audience wherever they are, maximizing your engagement and reach.
• Personalized customer experiences: By gathering data from multiple channels, you can gain valuable insights into your customers’ preferences and tailor your marketing messages accordingly. This personalized approach helps you to build stronger relationships with your customers and increase your conversion rates.
• Channel consistency: Cross-channel marketing ensures consistent brand messaging and visuals across all your platforms. This helps you to build trust and credibility with your audience and creates a more positive brand perception.
• Improved brand storytelling: A unified message across channels allows you to craft a compelling brand story that resonates with your audience. This emotional connection strengthens brand loyalty and advocacy.
• Enhanced customer journey: By using different channels strategically, you can guide customers smoothly through their buying journey. For example, social media can generate awareness, email marketing can nurture leads, and a user-friendly website can facilitate conversions.
• Measurable results: Cross-channel marketing allows you to track customer interactions across various platforms, providing valuable data on campaign effectiveness. This data can be used to optimize your strategy and improve your return on investment (ROI).

What problems can cross-channel marketing solve?

Cross-channel marketing is a powerful strategy that can help marketers overcome challenges.

Problem 1: Information overload

With so many brands competing for customers’ attention, it can be challenging to make your voice heard. Cross-channel marketing helps by ensuring that your message reaches your target audience. By using multiple channels such as email, social media, and SMS, you can reach customers where they are and deliver your message in a way that resonates with them.

Problem 2: Disconnected customer journeys

Fragmented marketing efforts can confuse customers, leading to an inconsistent experience. Cross-channel marketing creates a smooth and unified journey by delivering a consistent message across all touchpoints. This way, customers can seamlessly move from one channel to another without feeling like they’re starting over.

Problem 3: Lack of personalization

Generic marketing is no longer effective in today’s world, where customers expect a personalized experience. Cross-channel marketing allows you to tailor your message to individual customers based on their preferences, behaviors, and interests. This fosters deeper connections and helps build long-term relationships with your customers.

What’s the future of cross-channel marketing?

Cross-channel marketing is no longer a novelty; it’s the cornerstone of successful customer engagement.  However, as technology continues to evolve, what does the future hold for cross-channel marketing? Here’s a glimpse into what we can expect.

Hyper-personalization

Hyper-personalization is the future of cross-channel marketing. Brands can deliver ultra-personalized content, offers, and recommendations across every channel.

Imagine a customer browsing for hiking boots online on your retail ecommerce website. They’ve looked at rugged brands and waterproof features. Hyper-personalization goes beyond just suggesting similar boots.

Predictive analytics will analyze your customer’s past purchases (think climbing gear or outdoor apparel) and weather data for their location (predicting upcoming rain). They might then receive a real-time live chat message from a virtual assistant offering a personalized discount on those specific boots, along with high-traction socks based on their browsing behavior.

Customer experience and data platforms (CXDPs) like Dotdigital will play a significant role in unifying data from various sources such as behavioral, demographic, and transactional information. This comprehensive data pool will fuel powerful marketing automation tools, enabling brands to personalize their marketing efforts to a greater extent.

The rise of voice search and live chat 

Voice search and live chat are rapidly gaining traction. As these technologies become more integrated into our daily lives, brands will need to adapt their cross-channel strategies accordingly. Optimizing content for voice search will be crucial, and chatbots can become valuable tools for personalized customer support and product recommendations.

The focus on customer privacy

The focus on customer privacy is another key aspect of future cross-channel marketing.

The landscape is evolving in two key ways: the demise of third-party cookies and the rise of Mail Privacy Protection (MPP).

Traditionally, online marketing relied heavily on third-party cookies. These cookies tracked user behavior across websites, allowing for highly targeted ads. However, this raised significant privacy concerns. With major browsers like Chrome phasing out third-party cookies, marketers need to find new ways to personalize experiences without compromising user privacy.

Another challenge comes from Mail Privacy Protection (MPP). MPP is a feature in email providers like Apple Mail that limits the ability to track email opens and clicks. This makes it harder to gauge the effectiveness of email campaigns based on traditional metrics.

In this new environment, the focus needs to shift towards first-party data – information collected directly from customers with their consent. This could include website behavior, purchase history, and preferences explicitly shared through surveys or sign-up forms. Building trust with customers is crucial. Transparency about data collection and offering clear opt-in options will be essential for building strong relationships and gathering valuable first-party data.

By embracing these trends, marketers can unlock the true potential of cross-channel marketing in the years to come. The ability to deliver personalized, seamless, and privacy-conscious customer experiences across all touchpoints will be the key to building lasting brand loyalty and achieving sustainable business growth.

Get ready to take your marketing to the next level

The future of marketing is all about creating connected and personalized customer experiences. By adopting a cross-channel marketing approach, you can ensure your message reaches your target audience on their preferred platforms, fostering deeper connections and guiding them seamlessly through the buyer’s journey. 

As technology continues to evolve, stay ahead of the curve by embracing trends like hyper-personalization, voice search, and live chat, all while prioritizing customer privacy. By delivering exceptional customer experiences across all touchpoints, you can build lasting brand loyalty and achieve sustainable business growth in the years to come.

It’s become a day that is celebrated far and wide. Retailers, brands, broadcasters, and marketers mark the day, helping to bring it to the forefront of mainstream media. But has its recognition turned International Women’s Day into something it was never intended to be?

Is International Women’s Day becoming little more than another opportunity to sell?

The origins and significance of International Women’s Day

I hear some of you wondering “So what”? Surely all publicity is good publicity for the day, right?

Let’s think about it.

International Women’s Day (IWD) was established over 100 years ago in 1911, during a time when women were fighting for their right to be seen as equals among men. A series of events, including the 1908 Women’s Day protest in New York laid the foundation for the day to be recognized far and wide.

Over the years, women have made incredible strides to level the playing field. Rosa Parks lit the spark that would become the civil rights movement. Frida Kahlo used art to communicate and connect with people. Althea Gibson broke the color barrier in tennis and Billie Jean King successfully advocated for equal prize money for men and women. I could go on all day listing the likes of Queen Elizabeth II, Aung San Suu Kyi, Amelia Earhart, Marie Curie, and Maya Angelou who have helped break barriers and shatter the glass ceilings that have been holding women back for centuries.

Despite all these amazing, notable accomplishments, gender inequality persists. Women around the world still face issues like the wage gap, limited access to healthcare, inadequate representation in leadership roles, and gender-based violence.

To truly honor International Women’s Day, we must acknowledge how far we have come while remaining committed to addressing the challenges that persist today.

The commercialization of International Women’s Day

So are brands using International Women’s Day as an opportunity to market their products or services?

Pinkwashing, a term that has been gaining traction over recent years, refers to the practice of brands using feminist causes – like International Women’s Day – as a marketing tool without genuinely supporting the empowerment of women and equality between the sexes.

As popularity for the day has grown, there are an increasing number of companies that employ IWD messaging to boost their brand image or sell products, over genuine support.

Pinkwashing detracts from the critical conversations that need to be had and dilutes the importance of the day.

Authentic vs. sale-centric email marketing

Let’s have a look at some examples.

There’s nothing ‘wrong’ with these emails, per se. They’re beautifully designed, engaging, all-round nice emails. But what do they have to do with International Women’s Day? Absolutely nothing. They’re simply promoting their products.

On the other hand, this example from the Italian jewelry brand, Pomellato, truly promotes IWD. Its video, which features inspirational women including its female CEO discusses the issues and struggles women are experiencing every day. It’s paired with a small promotion about the brand’s charity work empowering women survivors of domestic violence.

Reclaiming the meaning of International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day is an opportunity for brands to celebrate the achievements of women around the world. However, it’s important to go beyond simple gestures like “get 10% off today” and look at tangible actions that advance gender equality. Whether that’s opening up safe spaces to have important discussions or working with existing charities to make an impact, International Women’s Day is a day for action.

Moving beyond tokenism

IWD is a chance to showcase your brand’s support for women, but sadly, these one-off gestures end up feeling superficial. Companies need to adopt a sustainable approach. Thinking about IWD as a one-day affair isn’t going to make the change we need.

That’s not to say you can’t run sales or offers on the day. We’re marketers, after all, and clicks, conversions, and sales are what we’re measured on. But it’s about balance. How your brand supports and encourages women throughout the year should be a prominent story you tell alongside any sales or promotional messaging.

How brands can make International Women’s Day more than just a hashtag

So, has International Women’s Day become a sales gimmick? It can be tempting for brands to view it that way. But there’s a crucial opportunity here. By using IWD as a springboard for genuine action and year-round support for women’s equality, brands can make a real difference.

Here’s what you can do:

• Challenge yourself to move beyond tokenism. Plan initiatives that extend far beyond a single day.
• Support organizations working towards gender equality. Partner with charities or foundations that align with your brand values.
• Amplify the voices of women. Feature stories and achievements of women throughout the year, not just on IWD.

International Women’s Day can be a powerful tool. Let’s use it to celebrate the incredible achievements of women and push for a future where equality is not just a slogan, but a reality.

In this blog post, we’ll explore what MMS is, the key differences between MMS and SMS (short message service), and how implementing MMS can increase engagement between brands and their audiences.

What is MMS?

MMS is a way for brands to send visual messages to their customers on their mobile devices. This includes multimedia content such as images, audio files, and video clips alongside text messages. Ever sent or received a picture message on your phone? That’s MMS in action. MMS takes text messaging to a whole new level, providing rich and interactive content that goes beyond the traditional 160-character text limit.

By integrating MMS into their communication strategies, brands can create more colorful and engaging messages that capture their customers’ attention. Dotdigital offers MMS capabilities for audiences in the United States and Canada, providing brands with customers in these regions with a powerful new tool to stand out from the competition and generate an impressive return on investment (ROI). 

What is the difference between MMS and SMS?

It’s important to understand the differences between MMS and SMS to choose the right marketing tool to reach your target audience. Here are the key distinctions between the two:

Content type and flexibility

SMS only allows you to send text messages up to a certain character limit. On the other hand, MMS allows you to share a variety of multimedia content with text messages, including files of up to 750KB in formats such as JPEG, PNG, and GIF, making it more visually appealing. By incorporating multimedia content, MMS can increase your engagement levels.

Message size and character limit

A single SMS message can only accommodate 160 characters (including spaces). If your message exceeds this limit, you’ll need to send multiple messages, which will increase the cost of your campaign. MMS provides a much larger message length of 1600 characters (10x greater than SMS), enabling you to send detailed and engaging messages at a fraction of the cost.

So with Dotdigital MMS, you have the flexibility to include high-quality multimedia files while still enjoying the benefits of increased message length. This combination of rich media and additional text enables brands to create captivating, informative, and persuasive messages designed to drive customer action.

Cost and carrier compatibility

While SMS messages are generally cheaper due to low data requirements and widespread carrier support, MMS messages may incur additional costs for end-users and brands due to larger file sizes and increased data usage. However, the visual appeal and potential for higher engagement and conversion with MMS can directly offset the added cost, making it a valuable investment.

What are the benefits of MMS?

MMS is an essential part of any mobile marketing strategy, providing businesses with a range of benefits. Some of its key advantages include:

Enhanced engagement

MMS messages have been proven to have a more engaging impact on recipients compared to plain text messages. This is because MMS messages can include rich multimedia content such as images, videos, and GIFs, making the recipient’s experience more memorable and immersive. As a result, recipients are more likely to take the desired action. 

One example of the effectiveness of MMS messaging is TractOptics, a US-based customer, who utilized MMS during its Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaigns. TractOptics saw an impressive 17:1 ROI (return on investment) after utilizing MMS messaging. This highlights the potential benefits of using MMS messaging to enhance engagement and improve the chances of achieving a higher ROI for businesses.

Greater flexibility and versatility

MMS provides a broad range of options to create visually appealing content that caters to diverse marketing applications and industries. Whether you want to send promotional offers, event invitations, or product launches, MMS offers you the creative freedom to design messages that resonate with your target audience.

Higher conversion rates

MMS messages have the potential to drive higher conversion rates than traditional text messages by optimizing messaging with persuasive multimedia content. With visually appealing content and enhanced engagement, you can encourage recipients to take the desired action, whether that’s making a purchase or signing up for notifications.

Improved brand perception

MMS marketing can be a game changer if you’re looking to improve your brand recognition. Using multimedia content in mobile messages can help differentiate your brand from competitors who rely solely on plain text messages. By including visually appealing and engaging content, you can make a stronger impression on your audience and foster better relationships with them.

Repeated exposure to your brand visuals and logo through MMS messages is essential for building brand recognition. Studies show that 91% of customers are more likely to purchase from brands that they recognize and trust. This is especially true in mobile communications, as messages that include your brand visuals or identifiers are considered more trustworthy and authentic by recipients.

Elevated customer experience

In today’s fast-paced digital world, customers have high expectations for personalized and visually appealing experiences. Using MMS, you can create more engaging and interactive experiences that can help you connect better with your customers. By incorporating multimedia content like images, GIFs, and videos into your messages, you can encourage your customers to take action and build deeper relationships with them. 

For instance, if you run a travel agency, you can send an MMS that features a beautiful image of a beach sunset to your customers, inspiring them to plan their next beach holiday. Similarly, if you provide event management services, you can send a GIF of their favorite artist performing live in town to promote your event management services. The possibilities to get creative and engage with your customers through MMS are virtually limitless.

How MMS can be used to increase customer engagement

There’s a wide variety of opportunities when it comes to using MMS to increase customer engagement. The ability to include visually engaging content allows you to create more exciting promotions and offers by sharing eye-catching visuals when advertising sales, discounts, and other special offers. The same can be optimized when launching new products by utilizing images or GIFS to showcase the new product and generate excitement amongst your shoppers. 

Event invitations can be given a new lease of life by creating and sharing visually appealing invitations to a concert, webinar, or workshop to drive audience attendance. MMS can also be used to boost customer support by providing visual instructions, demonstrations, and more which can be used to troubleshoot and enhance customer satisfaction levels.

MMS messages can be highly personalized to individual customers based on their preferences, behaviors, and much more. The introduction of incorporating liquid (a templating language to create highly personalized content) to SMS and MMS for Dotdigital means you’re able to incorporate multiple personalized fields.

This can be seamlessly previewed as each customer so you can be confident that your recipient will receive a message highly targeted to them directly. WinstonAI can also be used to help you set the tone for your MMS messages. 

Getting started with MMS

For now, MMS with Dotdigital is available to businesses with customers in the United States and Canada. To enable MMS in your Dotdigital account, contact your Customer Success Manager, who will guide you through the setup process. Once MMS has been activated in your account, you’ll see the SMS section in your left-hand navigation now reads SMS/MMS. 

If you’re not a Dotdigital customer yet, you can request a demo of the platform.

Conclusion

MMS is a powerful marketing tool that enables you to enhance your mobile communication strategies by providing visually appealing and engaging content. By incorporating multimedia content alongside text messages, MMS can increase engagement levels, improve brand perception, and drive higher conversion rates. With Dotdigital’s MMS capabilities, brands can harness the power of MMS to reach their audiences effectively and generate an impressive return on investment.

However, with so many competing messages in their inboxes, it can be challenging to capture their attention. But don’t worry.

In this blog, we’ll share some effective strategies and memorable subject lines to make your St. Patrick’s Day email campaign stand out, grab attention, and succeed.

When is St Patrick’s Day?

Make sure to mark your calendars. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17 every year. This special day is an excellent opportunity for people of Irish descent and those who love Irish culture to come together and celebrate. It’s not just limited to Ireland, as it’s celebrated in more than 200 countries worldwide, including the United States, Canada, and Australia.

St Patrick’s Day subject line ideas

St. Patrick’s Day presents the perfect opportunity to get creative with your email subject lines, capturing your audience’s attention and enticing them to open your message. Here are some enchanting subject line ideas with emojis to make your St. Patrick’s Day email campaign truly unforgettable:

1. Luck is in the air: St. Paddy’s Sale.
2. Exclusive St. Patrick’s Day deals
3. Your pot of gold awaits
4. Go green this St. Paddy’s
5. Cheers. St. Patrick’s Day offers
6. Win big: St. Paddy’s giveaway.
7. No blarney! Dance-worthy discounts
8. St. Paddy’s: Find your lucky charm
9. Avoid the pinch: St. Paddy’s wardrobe
10. Festive St. Patrick’s Day recipes
11. Top o’ the mornin’: 17% off this St. Paddy’s Day.

Effective St Patrick’s Day email campaign ideas

As St Patrick’s Day approaches, it’s time to sprinkle some luck and charm into your email marketing campaigns. By leveraging the holiday spirit and incorporating attention-grabbing ideas, you can boost customer engagement and drive sales. To help you create a memorable and profitable St Patrick’s Day campaign, we’ve compiled a list of effective email marketing strategies you can take inspiration from.

1. Entice customers with a pot o’ gold promotion

Holidays such as St. Patrick’s Day offer brands an excellent opportunity to attract customers with special promotions or exclusive sales that celebrate the occasion. Successful promotional campaigns take advantage of the festive spirit and offer limited-time deals that encourage customers to act quickly, thereby increasing conversions.

MeUndies, a popular brand known for its comfortable and stylish underwear, has effectively leveraged the charm of St. Patrick’s Day for its promotions. The brand has designed an attractive St. Patrick’s Day sale that engages customers through an element of exclusivity and mystery.

In this email campaign, MeUndies invites recipients to participate in a secret St. Patrick’s Day sale. The visual elements and copy create an inviting aura surrounding its exclusive offer. Potential buyers are given a unique sale code to access the discounted prices on the brand’s website, further enhancing the feeling of exclusivity.

This smart approach by MeUndies not only intrigues customers but also fosters a sense of curiosity and urgency to discover what lies within the St. Patrick’s Day sale. The limited availability of the deal encourages recipients to take immediate action, resulting in a higher likelihood of sales and conversions.

2. Show off your St Patrick’s Day collection

Embracing the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day by creating and promoting a themed collection is a brilliant way to captivate and engage your customers. Themed collections can evoke the festive atmosphere of the holiday, encouraging shoppers to buy products that celebrate the occasion and resonate with their interests.

The jewelry band Pandora demonstrates the power of a well-crafted St. Patrick’s Day collection. They showcase an enticing selection of green and clover-themed jewelry items, including necklaces, bracelets, and earrings, all designed to charm and delight customers who wish to adorn themselves in the spirit of the holiday.

In its email campaign, Pandora effectively highlights the attractive, festive nature of its St. Patrick’s Day collection, inviting potential buyers to “push their luck” with its beautifully designed pieces. The vibrant visuals and relevant copy work together to steer recipients’ attention towards the charming selection of jewelry.

3. Spark engagement with a St Patrick’s Day contest

Contests and giveaways are great ways to engage with your audience, encourage participation, and generate excitement around your brand during St. Patrick’s Day. A well-designed contest can spark interest, increase brand awareness, and even boost sales.

Saladworks, a popular salad restaurant chain, offers an excellent example of a St. Patrick’s Day contest in its email campaign.

In the promotion, Saladworks invites recipients to participate in a special St. Patrick’s Day contest, giving them a chance to “Enter our Saint Patrick’s Day gold coin contest for a chance to win free salads for an entire YEAR.” The attractive prize, combined with the festive theme, encourages customers to engage with the brand and try their luck at winning.

To participate, customers need to visit the nearest Saladworks location, which provides an opportunity to increase foot traffic to the restaurant and potentially boost sales.

4. Captivate your audience with gamification and countdown timers

Gamification elements and countdown timers are powerful strategies that can be incorporated into email marketing campaigns to keep recipients engaged and motivated to take action. These interactive components can create a sense of anticipation and excitement, resulting in increased click-through rates and conversions.

Hairtamin, a reputable hair care brand, effectively uses gamification and a countdown timer in its St. Patrick’s Day email campaign. In its campaign, Hairtamin introduces a “Luck of the Irish” spin-the-wheel game, inviting customers to try their luck and win various discounts across the website. Accompanied by a ticking countdown timer, the promotion generates a sense of urgency and encourages recipients to participate before time runs out.

Hairtamin’s clever use of gamification and countdown timers captivates its audience, increasing the likelihood of customers clicking through to the website to play the game and redeem their prizes.

5. Delight your customers with holiday-themed freebies

During holidays, it’s important to add value to your customers’ lives to build brand loyalty and deepen your connection with your audience. One way you can do this is by offering free, holiday-themed printables for children. This can be an engaging gesture that sets your brand apart in your St. Patrick’s Day campaign.

Crayola, a leading brand in children’s art supplies, is a great example of delivering remarkable St. Patrick’s Day surprises for its email subscribers. They provide a variety of offerings, including free printables for coloring, a DIY game that repurposes Crayola pen lids, and an exclusive email-only deal.

In its email campaign, Crayola gives parents and children a delightful experience by offering entertaining and creative activities that celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The inclusion of an exclusive deal further encourages recipients to take action, driving traffic, and sales on its website.

Additionally, Crate&Kids is a well-known brand that provides children’s furniture and decor. This brand has impressed its email subscribers by offering them a St. Patrick’s Day surprise. They provide free printable coloring pages for kids, which brings joy to both parents and children.

In its email campaign, Crate&Kids has included a clear call to action (CTA), encouraging recipients to shop for rainbow-themed items on its website. This approach not only enhances its customers’ St. Patrick’s Day celebration with the free printables but also helps to drive traffic and sales on its website.

6. Inspire creativity with your products

During the holiday season, you can encourage your customers to be more creative by demonstrating how they can use your products to enhance their celebrations. Showcasing unique ways to utilize your offerings not only benefits the customers but also reinforces your brand as a source of inspiration and a valuable resource.

Vena CBD, a company focused on providing high-quality CBD wellness products, suggests an innovative recipe that incorporates its Full Spectrum CBD Mint Tincture into a delightful mocktail for St Patrick’s Day festivities.

By sharing such unique and appealing ideas, you can inspire your audience’s imagination and create an emotional connection with your brand. This will encourage them to explore new ways of using your products and increase their engagement with your brand. As a result, you can drive more clicks and conversions, as customers are drawn in by the novelty and versatility of your offerings.

Ultimately, promoting creativity through your products not only positions your brand as a valuable resource but also amplifies the appeal of your products, increasing the likelihood of customer loyalty and repeat purchases.

Unlock the magic of St. Patrick’s Day email marketing

St. Patrick’s Day provides an excellent opportunity to connect with your customers through compelling email campaigns. To make the most of the festive atmosphere, you can use the tips and examples provided in this blog to create an attention-grabbing St. Patrick’s Day email campaign. This will help you to engage with your audience on a deeper emotional level, strengthen your brand connection, and ultimately lead to increased clicks, conversions, and sales. So, let the luck of the Irish guide you towards a successful and captivating St. Patrick’s Day marketing campaign.

SMS works in most places but not all…

The first SMS was sent in 1992 and SMS volume decline has been wrongly predicted since about 2002. In the last 30 years, the market has grown and matured beyond anyone’s projections. Though SMS does start to face challenges now from data-based mobile comms like WhatsApp and RCS it remains worldwide the most widely used default means of communication for people due to its simplicity and ubiquity.

The infrastructure keeps improving and is based on many thousands of agreements between networks and aggregators so that almost anywhere in the world you can send and receive SMS on your phone as if you were in your home country.

The one constraint though, and we all know it can be significant, is that you need ‘signal’ from a cell tower or mast unless you have a special satellite phone – these are expensive to run and use satellites rather than mobile networks. Without a signal, you may need to ‘fall back’ on your internet connection or WiFi…

This matters since over half a million square miles of the US, vast stretches of ocean, and of course dead zones we all know of in every part of every country are unreachable by terrestrial network coverage.

Until now

So SMS has always had this limit but Elon Musk is about to upset the rules (not for the first time).

Since the SpaceX division began launching the first of its 5,000 satellites the focus has been on broadband in hard-to-reach areas. This has evolved with T-Mobile’s announcement last month that SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has launched the first six Starlink satellites with direct-to-cell capabilities.

This year Starlink will begin offering SMS solutions in partnership with T-Mobile, with voice, data, and IoT services to follow in 2025. T-Mobile will allow Starlink to use its 5G spectrum while gaining access to the Starlink network, and thus securing near ubiquitous coverage in the United States.

Agreements to roll out direct-to-cell services have been made already with KDDI (Japan), Optus (Australia), One NZ (New Zealand), Rogers (Canada), and Salt (Switzerland). BT in the UK are in advanced talks with Starlink about rural broadband but it’s not known if they are also talking with T-Mobile about direct-to-cell.

This means that with your ordinary 4G+ mobile if your home network is one of these partnered networks or you are roaming in the above countries (and your network has a roaming agreement with them) will be able to send and receive SMS directly from space before long. The industry expectation is that SMS from space means we are now moving towards SMS black spots being a thing of the past worldwide on most networks.

What does the Starlink SMS project mean for you?

If you’re wondering what the Starlink SMS project is and how it can benefit you, here’s what you need to know:

If you are a marketer

If you’re a marketer, the Starlink SMS initiative can help you engage with your customers more effectively by diversifying your outreach and enhancing your return on investment and customer engagement. With SMS, you’re no longer limited by geography, and you can reach a wider audience more reliably. 

This means fewer soft bounces and faster delivery in areas where connectivity is currently weak. In the long run, it will also improve the delivery of your emails and other data to mobile phones. It’s remarkable to see that SMS, which is now 32 years old, is leading the charge into space.

If you are an ARM customer

If you’re in the Accounts Receivable Management (ARM) sector, faster and more reliable SMS communication can improve your debt collection process and build stronger communication channels with your clients. The uninterrupted SMS connectivity through Starlink can also enhance operational efficiency and give you a strategic advantage.

If you are an ecommerce merchant

If you’re an ecommerce merchant, the advancements in SMS technology brought by Starlink can elevate your order processing, customer relationship management, and marketing campaign targeting. 

Your customers can get updates on orders, promotional deals, and personalized recommendations from anywhere in the world, which can significantly improve their shopping experience, foster loyalty, and increase sales conversions.

Embracing a connected future

The Starlink SMS project represents an evolution in global communication rather than a complete revolution. With the help of satellites, people will be able to send and receive SMS from almost anywhere in the world, which can have a significant impact on various industries, such as marketing, ARM, and ecommerce. It will be interesting to see how this project evolves in the coming years and how it will shape the future of communication.

Harnessing AI and machine learning in web development and marketing

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) is changing the game in web development and marketing. By automating some repetitive tasks, personalizing user experiences, and providing insights, these technologies are making your marketing strategies easier. 

For instance, chatbots and virtual assistants powered by AI can now better understand and address user needs, so you can focus on more important tasks. Additionally, ML algorithms can analyze huge amounts of data and identify trends and patterns that can be used to improve web designs and marketing strategies. 

David Schulhof, Director of Digital at The PHA Group says: 

“The enhancements in AI and machine learning tech have given marketers the capability to work faster and smarter with more extensive data sets. However, these tools are not magic wands. Success lies in a human-machine partnership, a hybrid approach. Marketers must adopt AI and ML tech to amplify expertise, not replace it. Define clear goals, provide high-quality data, and interpret insights critically. With this collaborative approach, marketers can remove more guesswork and have confidence in data-driven decision-making.”

Integrating user-centric design practices into marketing initiatives

The methods of communication between businesses and their customers are evolving at a fast pace. It’s important for your marketing team and web developers to stay up-to-date with these changes. Nowadays, customers expect personalized experiences, and brands should have a thorough understanding of their customers’ needs to provide such experiences.

To achieve this, your marketing and web development teams should work together. By doing so, they can create designs that work well on different devices and input modes. This collaboration ensures that the designs are responsive and accessible to all users, regardless of their abilities or the devices they use.

Josh Grant, Director of Absolute Design suggests:

“Collaborative efforts between marketing and web development teams are crucial because they ensure a seamless alignment of user-centric design principles with marketing strategies. This partnership enables the creation of responsive, accessible, and personalized digital experiences to meet diverse user needs and preferences. 

Through their joint efforts, these teams can effectively utilize data-driven insights, adapt to evolving user behaviors, and maintain an iterative approach to design, ensuring continuous improvement and relevance in the rapidly changing digital world. This collaboration enhances user engagement and drives more effective and impactful marketing outcomes.”

Leveraging data-driven insights for informed web design and marketing decisions

A data-led approach will be essential in designing attractive, functional, intuitive websites and effective marketing strategies in the coming years. A/B testing, heatmaps, and user feedback tools will become even more vital in determining the success of web designs and marketing campaigns. 

Combining data from various sources, including customer surveys, social media analytics, and website metrics, will provide valuable insights that inform design decisions and marketing efforts.

Dan Coleman, Director of Coleman Marketing says:

“Concepts such as cross-channel attribution, cross-device tracking, and connecting first & third-party data will likely become even more accessible to marketers. What’s more, AI will empower marketers to ask increasingly complex questions of the data in natural language without having to learn complex queries. This empowerment means how you design and integrate your data sources at the outset is paramount.”

The impact of emerging web technologies on marketing strategies

Emerging web technologies such as progressive web apps (PWAs), accelerated mobile pages (AMP), and Extended Reality (WebXR) are transforming the digital landscape, providing exciting new opportunities to enhance user experiences. To stay ahead of the competition, you must adapt your marketing strategy and incorporate these technologies.

PWAs offer an app-like experience through web browsers, increasing user engagement and loyalty with fast-loading content, offline access, and push notifications. AMP helps to improve site performance and reduce bounce rates by expediting content consumption on mobile devices. WebXR unlocks immersive experiences through Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR), enabling the development of creative, interactive campaigns.

Josh Grant says:

“Emerging web technologies are reshaping digital marketing. They compel marketers to think innovatively, focusing on creating more engaging, interactive, and user-friendly experiences. As these technologies become more mainstream, they will provide a competitive edge to businesses that effectively integrate them into their marketing strategies, offering new ways to connect with and captivate their audience.”

Measuring the effectiveness of an integrated web development and marketing approach

To determine the effectiveness of a coordinated web development and marketing approach, businesses must define specific key performance indicators (KPIs), monitor customer behavior, and use data to guide decision-making. Advanced analytic tools with comprehensive reporting capabilities will be essential in providing deep insights and enabling informed choices.

Dan Coleman says:

“The key to succeeding will be to ensure that web development and marketing teams have compatible & complementary KPIs regarding commercial performance. The data can tell you the adjustments you need to make; those businesses with the agility to act on the data and make incremental improvements will outperform the competition.”

To sum up

In conclusion, the fusion of marketing and web development will redefine digital experiences and unlock new possibilities in the coming years. By taking advantage of emerging technologies, adopting user-centric design practices, and leveraging data-driven insights, businesses can stay at the forefront of this transformation and deliver exceptional value to their customers.

If you want to understand more, Dotdigital is hosting a panel discussion alongside Absolute Design, Coleman Marketing, and The PHA Group to explore this further. This panel discussion is for business owners, marketing professionals, web developers, and user experience designers who are keen on staying updated with the latest trends and technologies shaping the digital landscape. 

We aim to empower these innovative minds with valuable insights that facilitate a deep understanding of the symbiotic relationship between marketing and web development, enabling them to create outstanding digital experiences for their customers and stay ahead of the competition in the ever-changing digital world.

Whether you’re selling Easter-themed products or utilizing the festive atmosphere to showcase your latest collection, the key to a successful promotion is having an egg-ceptional strategy in place.

In this blog, we’ll explore a variety of Easter marketing campaign ideas, including email, SMS, and attention-grabbing subject lines. These ideas will help you breathe new life into your brand and captivate your customers for the best possible results.

Why should you send an Easter marketing campaign?

Here are some reasons why you should launch an Easter marketing campaign:

1. Increased customer spending: Holidays like Easter often inspire consumers to shop more for gifts, decor, food, and other celebratory items. You can take advantage of this surge in spending by offering exclusive discounts, promotions, and product bundles through your marketing campaign.
2. Seasonal themes: Easter-themed emails provide a chance to refresh your email copy and design, using lighthearted visuals, puns, and images that resonate with your audience. This seasonal creativity can attract your subscribers’ attention and delight them, leading to higher open rates and engagement.
3. Strengthen customer relationships: Use your Easter marketing campaign to send personalized greetings and messages of appreciation to your customers. This strategy helps build a more personal connection, strengthens customer loyalty, and nurtures long-lasting relationships.
4. Drive traffic to your website: Easter-themed emails and SMS messages with exciting offers, compelling calls-to-action, and exclusive content can drive more traffic to your website. This gives your customers a reason to explore your products and services further.
5. Showcase new products or offerings: Use your Easter marketing campaign to introduce seasonal products or exclusive promotions that may interest your audience. This tactic helps generate interest and excitement for your brand while potentially spurring more purchases.
6. Boost social media engagement: An Easter marketing campaign can also encourage subscribers to engage with your brand on social media. Leverage this opportunity by promoting Easter-themed contests or sharing content that encourages user-generated content using specific hashtags.
7. Stand out from competitors: Use the festive season to differentiate your brand from competitors with unique SMS offers, creative email designs, and standout subject lines. Easter marketing campaigns that offer genuine value and capture your audience’s attention can set your brand apart and create lasting impressions.

Engaging and creative Easter subject line ideas

Easter is a great opportunity to make your email subject lines more creative and engaging. You can use witty puns, personalized greetings, and time-sensitive offers to grab your audience’s attention and increase your email open rates. Check out these fantastic Easter subject line ideas for inspiration:

1. Spring into savings: Major discounts are hatching this Easter.
2. Your Easter basket just got better: Save 30% sitewide .
3. Hop to it. Unwrap these egg-sclusive Easter deals.
4. Celebrate Easter in style: Fresh deals just for you .
5. Indulge yourself. Our mouth-watering Easter treats await.
6. Easter basket bonanza: Curated collections for the perfect gift.
7. Crack open your Easter savings. Limited time only.
8. Last chance: Peep our irresistible deals before they’re gone.
9. Add a touch of magic to Easter with our special offers.
10. Ready, set, hunt. Reveal your mystery Easter discount inside .
11. Bloom into savings with our exclusive Easter discounts.
12. Sweet deals to satisfy your Easter cravings: Shop now .

If you’re struggling to come up with Easter email subject lines for your marketing campaign, you can use WinstonAI’s generative AI capability when building your email on Dotdigital. This feature can suggest new subject lines, adjust the tone, shorten or expand text, rephrase, and even include emojis to make your email more engaging.

7 Innovative Easter campaign ideas

Creating captivating campaigns that catch your customer’s attention and spark their imagination is important. That’s why we’re here to help you achieve precisely that. We’ve put together seven innovative Easter marketing campaign ideas that will make your brand stand out and set you apart from the competition. So let’s get cracking.

1. Create a cracking Easter sale

As the seasons change, it’s always a good idea to freshen up your marketing strategies and create new incentives for your customers to make purchases. When seasons change, it’s a great opportunity to promote your latest products and offer discounts and sales to attract more customers.

A great example of an effective Easter marketing campaign is the one created by the personalized children’s book brand, I See Me. The brand has come up with a cracking Easter sale that is sure to catch the attention of potential customers. The brand offers a sitewide discount of 30%, which is a great incentive for shoppers to make a purchase.

What’s more, the email also showcases a curated selection of personalized Easter-themed books, which are perfect for inclusion in any Easter basket. This boosts relevancy and ensures its emails appeal to customers who are looking for unique gift ideas for their loved ones. 

By highlighting its spring savings and offering personalized Easter-themed products, I See Me has created a compelling Easter sale that is sure to drive more traffic to its website and boost sales during this holiday season. Take inspiration from this strategy and come up with your own creative Easter sale that resonates with your audience and drives revenue.

2. Show off your Easter collection with MMS

Easter is a great opportunity to display your new seasonal product collections to your customers. One of the most effective ways of doing this is through Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) messages. MMS uses rich media, such as images and videos, to create engaging and informative shopping experiences for your audience.

A prime example of a brand that executes this strategy successfully is a children’s clothing store, SugarBabies Boutique. By sending a visually appealing MMS message, SugarBabies Boutique highlights its Easter product offerings and makes it easy for customers to visualize the potential of creating a delightful Easter basket for their loved ones. The message not only showcases the brand’s cute and curated product lineup but also employs creative Easter language for a festive touch.

In addition, SugarBabies Boutique entices customers further with the offer of a ‘SAVE10’ discount code to use on purchases, adding an incentive for recipients to act swiftly and make a purchase.

3. Throw a virtual Easter egg hunt

Easter egg hunts are a classic and beloved activity to celebrate the season. But have you considered taking this traditional event online to engage your customers?

Reese Witherspoon’s clothing line, Draper James smartly incorporates a virtual Easter egg hunt into its email marketing campaign. The email features a simple and clear design, paired with concise copy that entices recipients to visit the brand’s website and start hunting for hidden Easter eggs. These eggs contain discount codes that shoppers can apply to their purchases, adding an incentive to engage with the website actively.

The email also includes an on-brand hero image, a specific call-to-action (CTA) button, and helpful hints as to where the eggs can be found. These elements create a seamless and enjoyable virtual egg-hunting experience for enthusiastic participants.

4. Leverage Easter FOMO with a countdown timer

Countdown timers are a popular tactic you can use to create a sense of urgency among your customers. By setting a deadline for a limited-time promotion, you can encourage your customers to act quickly before the offer expires. This marketing strategy plays on the fear of missing out (FOMO) and inspires subscribers to shop promptly to benefit from the promotion. Simply add a countdown timer to your website and see the powerful impact of FOMO in action.

One brand that executed this strategy incredibly well is the sustainable denim company Frank and Oak. Its Easter marketing campaign included a countdown timer at the top of the email, emphasizing the limited-time offer. By placing the timer prominently, the brand grabs its recipients’ attention with a time-sensitive message, encouraging them to act quickly to take advantage of the promotion. The result was a successful marketing campaign that generated buzz and encouraged customers to shop promptly to avoid missing out on the deal.

5. Host an Easter-themed social media contest

Easter-themed social media contests are an excellent way to engage your audience while boosting your brand exposure and promoting your products or services. Hosting a creative contest can foster excitement, encourage user-generated content (UGC), and increase interaction with your brand during the holiday season.

For example, create an Instagram photo contest where followers share pictures of their decorated Easter eggs, Easter outfits, or homemade treats using a specific hashtag. Offer a tempting prize, such as a gift voucher or product bundle from your Easter collection, for the participants with the most creative or popular submissions. Make sure to carefully outline the contest rules, participation guidelines, and entry deadlines to ensure a seamless and enjoyable experience for your audience.

Announce the contest in your email or SMS campaigns and use attractive visuals and compelling copy to encourage your subscribers to participate. By holding an Easter-themed social media contest, you can captivate your audience, showcase your products, and foster a sense of community around your brand.

The online boutique, Little Party Dress effectively promotes its Easter social media contest on Instagram. This is done by encouraging participants to engage with the brand and offering a choice of prizes from its Easter collection. The post explains how to enter, where to find more information, and the closing date for entries. By providing clear instructions and appealing prizes, Little Party Dress ensures a successful contest that excites and connects with its audience.

6. Curate your Easter gift guides

Gift guides are an excellent way to showcase and curate your Easter product selection, making it easier for customers to find the perfect gift for their loved ones during the festive season.

The Luxury department store, Fortnum and Mason’s Easter gift guide showcases a stunning collection of Easter eggs that were expertly curated by the brand. The email campaign also mentioned that customers can visit their store to build their own Easter eggs, providing a unique and interactive experience. This is a great way for the brand to not only showcase their products but also to engage with their customers and offer them an unforgettable experience.

By curating and presenting a visually appealing Easter gift guide through your email marketing, you can effectively guide your customers to ideal gift options and entice them to explore your product offerings. This approach simplifies the decision-making process for your customers and helps boost your overall sales during the Easter season.

7. Use creative copywriting to enhance your Easter marketing

To make your Easter marketing messages more compelling and memorable, you can utilize creative copywriting techniques that capture the attention of your target audience. By using creative copywriting in your Easter marketing, you can stand out in the crowded marketing landscape and drive better results for your campaigns.

LUSH Cosmetics is an excellent example of a brand that understands the power of imaginative copywriting. The brand uses vibrant language and storytelling techniques to create a sense of wonder and excitement around its Easter-themed products.

Its email campaign, for instance, invites readers to “Spring into a world of pure imagination,” which blends the festive Easter ambiance with the brand’s colorful, nature-inspired offerings. LUSH’s copywriting is captivating, creating a mesmerizing connection with its audience that goes beyond the product itself.

Kickstart your Easter marketing strategy

Easter is a time of joy, renewal, and celebration. The season presents a great chance for you to connect with your audience and enhance your sales with innovative marketing campaigns. To make the most of this opportunity, it’s essential to develop a comprehensive Easter marketing strategy that fully embraces the festive essence and engages your customers through every touchpoint, including email, SMS, and social media. By doing so, you can increase your brand’s visibility and effectively capture the attention of your target audience during this festive season.

When is Mother’s Day?

Mother’s Day is celebrated on different dates across the world. In the United States, Canada, and Australia, Mother’s Day falls on Sunday, May 12, 2024. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, Mother’s Day, also known as Mothering Sunday, is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent, which is March 10, 2024. It’s essential to be aware of these differences when planning your Mother’s Day email marketing campaigns to ensure you reach your audience at the most appropriate time.

Regardless of when it’s celebrated in your region, Mother’s Day is an occasion that honors all the love, care, and sacrifices mothers make for their children and families. Delivering the perfect email campaign that strikes the right emotional note and offers suitable products or services will help you connect with your audience, foster loyalty, and drive conversions. To start planning your Mother’s Day email marketing strategy, take a look at these five inspiring examples to spark your creativity.

1. Showcase personalized gift recommendations

Mother’s Day is a special occasion that calls for unique and thoughtful gifts. One way to make these gifts even more special is by allowing your customers to personalize them. It could be as simple as adding a monogram or engraving a special message. This personal touch shows that you have put careful thought and consideration into the gift, making it more meaningful and memorable. This is especially true for mothers who deserve to feel appreciated and loved on their special day.

Dior is a great example of a company that offers personalized gifting options. They offer bespoke engraving on any of its products for Mother’s Day, allowing customers to create a one-of-a-kind gift for their mothers. In addition, Dior also offers complimentary standard shipping, samples, and premium gift wrapping with every order. This attention to detail enhances the customer experience, ensuring a seamless and delightful process from start to finish.

2. Create an irresistible gift guide

Creating a well-crafted gift guide is an effective way to help your customers find the best present for their mothers. A carefully curated gift guide should feature a variety of products that cater to different interests, budgets, and preferences, meeting the unique needs of your diverse customer base.

To create an impactful gift guide, start by dividing your offerings into distinct categories. You can categorize your products based on specific interests, price points, or gift recipient personas. By arranging your products in such a manner, you make the selection process less overwhelming and more enjoyable for your customers.

In your Mother’s Day email marketing campaign, emphasize the gift guide as a helpful resource and provide direct links to the different categories. Use high-quality images and concise, informative product descriptions to enhance the browsing experience and pique the interest of potential buyers. Moreover, consider using a responsive, easy-to-navigate email design that performs well on both desktop and mobile devices to ensure a seamless experience for all subscribers.

An excellent example of this is FEEDprojects. In its Mother’s Day campaign, the brand highlighted various products from its range, catering to different preferences and budgets in its Mother’s Day shop. By showcasing these options, FEEDprojects provided customers with a thoughtfully curated selection to ease the decision-making process, resulting in a seamless shopping experience that ultimately benefits both customers and the brand.

3. Share inspiring stories

When creating a Mother’s Day email marketing campaign, it’s important to establish an emotional connection with your audience. You can achieve this by sharing heartwarming stories or testimonials that demonstrate how your brand and product have positively impacted the lives of mothers. This will strengthen your campaign and help build a bond with your subscribers. 

User-generated content (UGC) is an excellent way to enrich your campaign and make it more relatable. Encourage your audience to participate by inviting them to share their own experiences and stories. You can also enhance the appeal of your stories by including captivating photos or videos featuring real people, as this adds authenticity and engages your audience on a more personal level.

An excellent example of this approach is Cure’s ‘Moms Love Cure’ testimonials featured in its email campaign. These testimonials showcase how Cure’s products have helped mothers in different stages of their lives. The email also encourages recipients to share their own stories and photos via email, fostering a sense of community and allowing others to relate to and learn from shared experiences.

4. Amplify your non-profit’s mission

Mother’s Day is a great opportunity for non-profit organizations to spread awareness about their cause and engage their audience in a meaningful way. By leveraging this special day, non-profits can create Mother’s Day email marketing campaigns that highlight their mission, showcase their impact, and strengthen their connection with supporters.

One example of a non-profit that uses Mother’s Day effectively in its email campaigns is the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. The foundation encourages recipients to send e-cards to children who are bravely fighting cancer on this special day. This simple gesture not only conveys sympathy and support to the children and their families but also draws attention to the foundation’s important mission.

5. Drive sales with interactive offers and engaging giveaways

Introducing engaging and exciting elements into your Mother’s Day email marketing campaigns can boost customer interaction and increase the likelihood of subscribers making a purchase. One effective way to achieve this is by incorporating gamification into your campaigns, like interactive contests or giveaways. These activities can encourage subscribers to participate in exchange for a chance to win appealing prizes or obtain exclusive discounts.

A prime example of this is Scentbird’s ‘Mother’s Day mystery sale’ campaign. It featured an interactive spinning wheel for subscribers to engage with and uncover a surprise gift for their mothers. Scentbird further enhanced the experience by including instant gifts in its promotional email, adding an extra layer of intrigue. This creative approach prompts impulsive purchases with enticing, time-sensitive offers, resulting in a more captivating and effective campaign.

Craft your successful Mother’s Day email marketing campaign

These five powerful ideas for Mother’s Day email marketing will help you create campaigns that resonate with your audience and boost sales. By crafting personalized messages, curating exclusive offers, sharing heartwarming stories, and hosting engaging giveaways, you can provide a memorable experience that truly honors this special occasion. Embrace these ideas to show genuine appreciation to all the mothers and become a part of their joyful celebrations with a campaign that stands out in their inboxes.