Now that we’re a healthy ways into 2017, many digital marketers are curious about what the rest of year has in store for the future of email. In this article from Team Fanbridge, we dive into four different areas of email marketing and where they might be headed.
______________________________
Guest post from Team Fanbridge
With 2017 well underway, many digital marketers remain curious to find out what’s in store for the future of email this year. We saw a few innovative trends break out in 2016, but what lies ahead in the near future? Let’s take a look at what email marketing trends have been building steam so far:
Segmentation/Personalization
2016 brought forth a massive shift in focus towards the value of customer activity data. When used efficiently, this data makes it easier to predict who to reach out to, when to connect with them, what they’ll respond best to and more. This allows for deeper segmentation and can be used to create highly targeted campaigns based on subscriber activity. Subscriber data can also be used to create a stronger personal tone in your emails which can help improve engagement rates.
Automation
Knowing how your audience acts gives you the ability to predict what fans will do before it happens. The vast growth in valuable data in the past year has given way to a rise in popularity for automation among independent marketers. The right automation tools allow you plan to connect with your audience ahead of time without constant scheduling and tedious campaign production. More brands have begun adopting methods including cart abandonment popups and trigger emails that send when subscribers perform certain actions for efficient customer outreach with little hassle. With more marketers warming up to automation, there’s no doubt we’ll be seeing more advancements in 2017.
Interactivity
After Apple’s release of iOS 10, videos can finally be embedded and viewed in emails…for iOS mail on iPad. While this functionality isn’t currently available on desktop or most mobile devices and is limited to non-YouTube sources, it’s just a matter of time until playback video in email becomes more of a widespread possibility.
Cinemagraphs and gifs have also proven to be a popular and easy way to add compelling visual flair to your emails in 2016. We’ve preached about these handy tools before and we have no doubt they’ll prove their use in 2017. Since most email clients support gifs, they’ve become a strong alternative to video for adding motion to your emails.
Design
One key takeaway marketers have picked up on in the past year is that your subscribers’ time is precious. Which is why it’s crucial to communicate their message as quickly and easily as possible. This necessity has created an audience demand for minimalist and flat designs that allows your subscribers to scan and digest your campaigns quickly. These campaigns use clean visual elements, a small amount of text and simple images to convey your message efficiently. And with less time spent on campaign design, you can focus more on improving their email content.
Now that you’re up to date on what’s new, see how these methods work for your marketing efforts. Find out which trends your audience respond best to and whether they’re here to stay or a passing fad.