Online marketing has changed the dynamics of direct marketing forever. It is now easier than ever to quickly get up close and personal with a prospect.

Unfortunately, when people talk about social media marketing, they are usually taking about setting up a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and simply sending out the same old marketing fluff. Even worse,
some businesses still believe that opt-out is good enough, and just blast out emails to lists of unsuspecting people.

You can't buy permission. You need to ask for it. The best way to build an audience of followers is to be interesting and relevant, and not outstay your welcome.

Go back to basics. Put yourself in your prospect's shoes.

How do you react to unsolicited emails ? How about emails from someone you don't know and have never heard from before ?

If your goal is to make a bad impression, an unsolicited email blast is one of the quickest ways to achieve it.

Over sharing with Twitter, and poorly conceived social media content can easily taint your reputation. And bad news travels fast.

There are also further complications for projects within Australia. Opt-in permission is now mandated for all direct marketing activities by the Australian Federal Government. Legislation exists to cover email and SMS marketing, as well as the privacy of individuals.

The consequences of making a mistake can be very damaging.

At Silverspan, we have years of experience designing and running online campaigns for our clients, creating content, and building audiences.

The focus of any corporate marketing strategy should be consistent messaging, with regular positive points of contact. You need to incrementally build trust. Especially when you use intimate social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and email. Building a clearer idea of the preferences of individual prospects and clients has never been more important.

Integrating permission based marketing into every campaign is essential.

Social media and permission marketing services that we offer:

• Campaign consultancy
• Audience building campaigns
• Opt-in recruitment campaigns
• Database management services
• Content creation
• Social media profile building for spokespeople
• Corporate blogs and email newsletters
• Social media monitoring and reporting
• Integration into public relations and lead generation campaigns