Essence of Email Weekly - The future of eCommerce? It's on social media

What's it all about? Zenith's Advertising Expenditure Forecasts report says that the global ad market will see 9.1% growth in 2022, 5.7% in 2023, and 7.4% in 2024 as brands continue using advertising to spur eCommerce growth. Interestingly, social media ad spend will reach $177 billion in 2022, overtaking television at $174 billion.

The big picture: The pandemic has shifted buying habits, and many people who would otherwise shop in brick-and-mortar stores have switched to online shopping. This caused businesses to invest more than would otherwise have been justifiable in new technology, infrastructure, organizational change, and most importantly – advertising.

This includes brand advertising to promote eCommerce platforms, performance advertising to direct traffic to those platforms, and advertising within the platforms (retailer media advertising) to promote specific products.

In such a climate, social media is leading ad growth and is expected to overtake television next year. It is believed this will be the fastest-growing channel between 2021 and 2024, with an average annual growth rate of 14.8%.

And social media platforms have been embracing eCommerce for quite some time now. Shopping is possible on almost every platform and interactions between brands and consumers are enhanced through influencer marketing, how-to guides, livestreaming, and similar.

The power couple? Social media and email marketing. While the former is great for spreading the word about a brand and getting first-time customers, the latter focuses on nurturing the relationship and getting repeat sales. In addition, brands can use social media to grow their email lists, target inactive email subscribers, and so much more. The two channels work hand in hand to provide customers with top-notch marketing.

Need help to integrate them and get the best results? Shoot us an email. We're here to help!



SMS MARKETING


Black Friday is over… Now what?


Source: Giphy
Cyber Week and its supercharged sales might be over, but that doesn't mean you should sleep on your SMS customers. Postscript is giving away free tips on how to make BFCM shoppers into repeat customers.

Where do we begin? First off, it's important to note that the holiday sales don't stop once November ends. On the contrary, there are a lot of mini-peaks during the ''off'' months. And for the brands that gathered a lot of phone numbers during the busiest time of year, this holiday list can be an inexhaustible source of possibilities throughout the year.

Here are a few ideas on how to engage them.

• Set up Post-Purchase campaigns targeting holiday shoppers: Make sure they get the campaigns as soon as they buy. If you expect shipping delays, go ahead and make sure to mention it to level-set expectations. In addition, show some interest, get to know if they purchased for themselves or for their loved ones, and recommend related products based on that.

• Collect reviews from your gifters: In case you've segmented out the gift buyers from the people shopping for themselves, consider asking for gift reviews. This can be really helpful to other buyers, and getting a lot of positive reviews can even help your brand gain an edge over other stores people may be considering.

• Create a Winback automation for holiday shoppers who've gone quiet: Casually mention new products that have launched since their last purchase. Offer a discount to help them make a decision and purchase again.

• Keep gifting in mind when creating campaigns throughout the year: For the gifters mentioned above, throw in gift-focused campaigns before each gifting holiday (Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, etc.) or after a gift-appropriate product drop.

Don't miss out on various opportunities to engage with your holiday shoppers! Check out Postscript's blog post for more details and examples.



CYBERSECURITY


A busy week for hackers


Source: Giphy
The Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) has seized 42 websites that the China-based hacking group Nickel used to attack organizations in the US and around the world, targeting government agencies, think tanks, and human rights groups.

Zoom in: Microsoft said that Nickel used various techniques to install malware on computers, some of which were third-party virtual private networks and spear phishing. Thanks to this, the group was able to obtain sensitive data from the devices without the victims realizing it.

"During the infection of a victim's computer, Nickel deploys malware designed to make changes at the deepest and most sensitive levels of the computer's Windows operating system. The consequences of these changes are that the user's version of Windows is essentially adulterated, and unknown to the user, has been converted into a tool to steal credentials and sensitive information from the user.", it is stated in Microsoft's complaint.

Microsoft reported it has been tracking the Nickel group under its various other names since 2016, when the group started targeting diplomatic organizations and ministries of foreign affairs across the world, including countries in North America, South America, Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Africa.

What else is new? Bitmart, a cryptocurrency trading platform, was a victim of a cyberattack in which a hacker reportedly stole $196 million. This theft is reported to be "one of the most devastating centralized exchange hacks to date."

PeckShield, a third-party security platform, estimated that the loss is somewhat greater, closer to $200 million: about $100 million in different cryptocurrencies on the Ethereum blockchain, and $96 million on Binance Smart Chain.

According to the sources, identifying the individuals behind the theft may be difficult due to the process they used to steal the cryptocurrency.

The big picture: It's often heard that 2020 saw a decade of digital transformation in the span of a few months. And with all the innovations and increasing number of positive aspects, there's an increase in cybersecurity threats too.

But it seems that the US government is aware of the problem. In August this year, they announced that a number of leading tech companies promised to invest billions of dollars to strengthen cybersecurity by training tens of thousands of people in cybersecurity skills, enhancing open-source software security, and providing technical services to help local governments boost security protections.



EMAIL DESIGN INSPO


Speaking of social media… ''From IG to IRL''


Source: ReallyGoodEmails
Speaking of social media (scroll up!), here's another creative example on how to pair it with your email marketing program.

Urban Outfitters has gathered its most-liked products on Instagram and decided to promote them in this nice email.

No copy is needed: a clear and short heading on the first image is more than enough to establish the topic. This is an interesting way to promote the pieces and provide some inspo on how to wear and pair them!

Great work!