Inboxes

Since the start of 2016 I’ve taught a class called The Power of the Inbox as part of Constant Contact’s celebration of having trained over 1 million people since they opened their doors. These classes focus on the value of email marketing and how to do it right. Some of the main points are getting a great subject line going; using mobile-friendly templates; sending from a recognizable email address – and so much more. To see a video of the class as a webinar, click here. Something interesting occurred to me as I’ve been teaching this class – the rise of the importance of your other inboxes! Email remains the key way to reach customers, clients, friends and family, and it turns out, you can’t neglect the communications coming via your Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter messaging systems (to name just 3).

A client, Gregg Harris (of Rooseveltpdx – a fantastic terrarium store on 44th and Hawthorne in Portland, Oregon, which made my top 11 list for 2015) said to me the other day “Albert, people are expecting me to respond to their communications on Facebook“. I am so fully busy in the on-line world that I’ve just taken it for granted that messages that come in via various platforms are “like” email, and so should be treated as such.  But, like Gregg, I tend to let many of those messages languish for days – especially messages from Twitter and LinkedIn.  I’m on Facebook so much that I tend to use their messenger at about the same rate of response as email, but Gregg’s woken me up to how I should be treating all on-line communications. And there’s a simple solution – notifications.

Within each social network is a way to be notified (via email, of course) when a message has come into your account. My recommendation would be to turn on any direct messages you get via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and see if any business or important information is coming your way.  I’ll do the same and I’ll keep you posted what I learn. Timing is often important in this instant gratification world. If a request for your services comes in through a channel you’re not monitoring, you may miss something important.  Let me know what you think in the comments below. Thanks for reading. Albert

Can you spot the fish?