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July 20, 2020 Content Chat Recap: Creating Email Content That Creates A Sense Of Virtual Connection

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With the rapid closure of most in-person operations, businesses now rely almost solely on digital means to build connections and strengthen their customer relationships. This switch is especially challenging, though, for local and small businesses that thrived by building unique and valuable in-person experiences that distinguished the brand from its competitors.

In this #ContentChat, we discuss ways that businesses of all sizes can use email to create compelling, personalized email content that keeps audiences engaged even with a physical disconnect. Read the conversation below and comment with any other thoughts or examples of brands delivering a great customer experience through email.

Q1: Over the past 4 months, what is the one in-person consumer experience you miss the most?

There are a lot of experiences that our community misses from pre-pandemic life. Thinking about your customers and/or audience members, what are some things that they may miss about your business? How can you (re)connect with them through email?

Q2: With everyone’s answers to question 1 in mind, what are some ways we as content marketers could use the email channel to help give people a virtual experience that gives them at least a somewhat similar experience? Let’s start w/missing dining at restaurants.

First, any company should decide what its business model will be moving forward and then communicate that with its customers. For restaurants, this includes changes to dine-in, pick-up, or delivery procedures.

How else can restaurants nurture their audience through email? Spotlight team members and say how they’re doing…

Share lighter stories about the restaurant or community…

Provide recipes for your most popular dishes or drinks, with bonus points for offering all the ingredients in a kit that can be purchased, or for including a video on how to make the recipe…

Showcase the most popular take-out options…

Link to a playlist or soundboard that replicates the dine-in experience…

Or host a VIP dinner through video chat.

Remember that you likely have a wealth of data at your disposal when reaching out to customers. Consider ways you can personalize your emails using this data, such as suggesting dishes similar to those that your customer has purchased before, or asking if they’d like to reorder their last dish.

And if you’re looking for an example of how to approach an email newsletter, Derek recommends the Bellagio email newsletter.

Q3: Not surprisingly, #ContentChat folks are missing visiting their local libraries. How can we use the email channel to help give people a virtual library experience?

Building on the ideas for restaurants, libraries have unique opportunities to engage their audiences through email. Some things to try? Host online book readings, potentially with authors, celebrities, or local personalities…

Highlight other types of content available from the library other than books, such as music and audiobooks…

Spotlight educational content, such as how-tos and tutorials on topics that librarians generally help people with…

Recommend books based on what’s new, seasonal relevance, staff picks, or by using customer data (when applicable)…

Or offer previously in-person programs through online means.

Q4: While we can’t replicate the plush velvety movie theater seats in an email or the popcorn smells, how can we use email content for a virtual movie-going group experience?

Movie theaters can connect with audiences through email a few different ways, such as hosting/promoting online watch parties. Include a hashtag or chat room for guests to interact, and highlight some of the engagement in a future email…

Offer advice on how to replicate a theater-going experience at home…

Share recipes, especially for the best at-home popcorn…

Or offer movie kits for purchase, complete with snacks, popcorn, and merchandise.

Q5: Many self-care businesses like salons, yoga studios, spas, etc. are closed. How can they use email to keep their customer relationships alive and provide their patrons with much-needed self-care support?

Self-care businesses have an opportunity to provide educational content through email to keep customers engaged even if they can’t come in the store. Offer curbside pickup or delivery, and share emails that describe how to use the product(s). Videos can also be made with step-by-step instructions and expert advice.

If possible, offer ways for your customers to connect with your self-care experts, such as through a video chat.

Explore ways to sell products today while encouraging in-person business when it is available again. This can be done by offering gift certificates or vouchers that can be redeemed at a later date.

And, as is relevant for any business, keep your customers up to date on your business plans and the ways they can connect with you.

Q6: I have spent many hours and many days wandering through thrift, vintage, and antique stores. I love to browse both for things to add to my servingware collection and for gifts. How can we use email to enable this sort of browsing?

Tell stories about the products online…

Curate collections of goods, along with details of why they fit together and any special care instructions…

Survey your customers to better provide them with information on their areas of interest, and encourage your customers to guess the price of obscure items in stock…

Or offer virtual shopping/walkthroughs through video chat.

Q7: OK, with all these great ideas collected, what are some next steps or tools for small businesses to take now, to move from fabulous idea to engaged customers?

Taking the ideas above into consideration, how can businesses engage with customers through email? Start by building or refining your email list, informing everyone of your current business model, and asking what they’d like to see/how you can provide value.

As mentioned in the earlier Qs, it’s vital to explore new ways of delivering your product. Once decisions are made, communicate these with enthusiasm and excitement.

Prioritize activities that will benefit your audience and keep them engaged with your brand. Some ideas may be too resource intense for too little of a payoff to be worth your time.

Leverage the tools at your disposal, including any automation functions in your email campaign management software. If you’re unfamiliar with small business marketing automation, check out this #ContentChat recap on the topic.

And remember that you’re not alone. Ask your team members and brand advocates to help brainstorm ideas or create content that they can share.

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