New data on open rates mark a major shift for mobile email marketing; plus, is monetizing video content getting more intuitive?
Mastering mobile email marketing might sound like it’s low on the list of priorities for digital magazines, but, in reality, it’s rapidly emerging as one of the most pressing skills for multiplatform publishers looking to improve their content distribution strategy.
For starters, consider the level of control you have when it comes to your message and branding: Provided you’re using best practices to get your correspondence white-listed, images seen, and subject lines clicked, then you’re in prime position to get your emails read. And if your emails are getting read, then you’re also getting an audience for your website, because you’re giving subscribers a reason to visit.
All of this used to happen primarily on desktop, but not anymore. MediaPost relays news that mobile email marketing has surpassed desktop for the first time. Let ‘s start there this week!
Movable Ink Report Shows Mobile Email Marketing Is Thriving
New data from a Movable Ink study, reported on by MediaPost, shows that mobile opens are now at 50.12%, blowing past desktop email opens (32.97%). Meanwhile, mobile email marketing is resulting in more purchases (49.3%) than desktop (36.6%).
“Consider the way people read content on mobile devices, says the report. The time people spend reading email is short and shrinking. 70% of iPhone users are reading an email for less than 15 seconds. With too much content (in their emails), or their messages and calls-to-action are mixed, they’re losing that conversion without an easy on-site experience. … Conversion is not the end-all-be-all metric; retailers should track unique orders per shopper and active shoppers as two primary metrics. This calls for a collaboration between CRM and commerce teams, says the report,” writes Jack Loechner.
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“The biggest challenge for marketers is to understand and optimize the customer’s buying journey, suggests the report. [Demandware Director of Strategic Initiatives Rick] Kenney highlighted that cross-device shopping is up 15% from last year according to Demandware’s Shopping Index, and thus marketers need to recognize the shopper across devices and deliver appropriate messages, including personalized product offers or abandoned cart reminders.”
Is Auto-Play Fool’s Gold for Digital Publishers and Digital Magazines?
Ari Rosenberg, writing for MediaPost, believes that auto-play is driving the video boom, because it kicks up views for advertisers, resulting in bigger payouts for publishers.
But this isn’t a good thing, Rosenberg writes. Auto-play is creating an inflated market that could come crashing down once consumers have had enough. Video’s sustained success depends on user-controlled feeds, he says.
Do you agree?
Flipboard Launches Video Ads With Cinema Loop for Native Video Ads
If you do agree, perhaps a new feature from digital publishing platform Flipboard will make for a satisfactory compromise. Cinema Loop plays a silent, GIF-like clip from the video once a consumer lands on a page, but it doesn’t start playing until the user presses play, MediaPost reports.
But Web Advertising Banners Are Still First Choice for Publishers
Banners are still the monetization preference for digital publishers, at least for now, MediaPost reports. A HubSpot study shows that 80% of surveyed publishers look to banners as their primary strategy, with email banners and native ads clocking in at 70% apiece. Of note for Mequoda Members: Events are gaining ground, cited by 40%.
How’s you mobile email marketing progressing? Download our free Organic Audience Development Strategy for a few pointers!
To read more about mobile email marketing in the news, visit MediaPost.
