Stop Spam Marketing

We've all been there—receiving irrelevant emails or DMs from people or companies that clearly haven’t done their homework. Or maybe you've been tagged in social media posts that have nothing to do with you or your company. I can’t think of a more annoying marketing tactic (if you can even call it that) than spamming.

While it may seem like casting a wide net could help expand your reach, it often does more harm than good. It’s a waste of everyone’s time (including yours), and it shows a lack of effort in understanding your audience. And repeatedly spamming people or companies who aren’t part of your target audience can create negative brand perception. So, if it’s been a while since you looked at your marketing lists, let’s do a little leg work.


RESEARCH
Make a list of everyone you were about to add to your email or tag on social media and go check out their websites to learn about them.

     What exactly do they do?
          Are they a buyer in markets that I sell to?

     What social platforms do they use the most?
          Save yourself some time and don't advertise to them on platforms they're not on.
          Also, take a look at their social media and see how they use it.
               Do they share other's posts or just their own?

     What markets do they deal with?
          This will be helpful in the next step.

     Can I offer them value?
          If the answer is YES, go to the next step.
          If the answer is NO, remove them from your list.

SORT
Now that you know what each person or company does, divide them into categories by market allowing you to target each one with the appropriate message.
If you have some great ideas for an upcoming holiday/event - ex Nurse’s Week - you can send ads with relevant products and information to your Healthcare list. Or maybe you found a lot of people or companies that deal with schools and universities, make an Education list and provide them with helpful education related content.
If you’re using a personal profile on Facebook, you can create different audiences so your posts can only be seen by those you included. Try creating market-based audiences. On the left side of your Facebook homepage click Friends > Custom Lists > Create List. When posting, simply change the audience from Public to your desired list.

MONITOR & ADJUST
Don’t set it and forget it. Make sure you are monitoring the interactions of your emails and social content to keep your lists clean.
EMAILS
Who is opening?
     Keep them on the list.
Who rarely opens?
     If they aren’t unsubscribing they may not be totally disinterested.
     Re-research the company to see what you may have missed so you can entice them.
Who has never opened?
     Remove them from the list.
     Review their website again to see if there is another way you can offer them value.
SOCIAL (If you’re tagging or utilizing Facebook audiences.)
Who is interacting with your posts?
     Keep them on the list.
Who never interacts with your posts?
     Remove them from your list on that particular social platform.
     Re-research the company to see if there is another market they focus on more.
Who is untagging themselves from your posts?
     This is the equivalent of an unsubscribe, so be considerate and stop tagging them.

If you’re not making these adjustments then it is obvious to your spammed audience that you haven’t done any research and don’t consider their time, which makes you look bad. So take charge of your marketing and learn about your clients and potential clients by doing a little research before you hit Send (or Post).