Email Marketing ‘boot camp’ is planned

The State Port Pilot

SOUTHPORT, NC, October 26, 2016 – Melanie Diehl, a social media trainer, will lead a Southport-Oak Island Area Chamber of Commerce seminar on the power of email marketing for businesses to increase sales.

“Email Marketing Boot Camp” workshops will be held November 2 and December 7 at the chamber office on Long Beach Road. The workshops are fee-free but registration is required.

Melanie Diehl, Your Social Media Gal Receives 2015 Constant Contact Solution Provider All Star Award

Wake Forest, NC, March 30, 2016 –  Melanie Diehl, Your Social Media Gal, social media strategist, email marketing expert, and small business trainer has been named a 2015 All Star Award winner by Constant Contact®, Inc., the trusted marketing advisor to hundreds of thousands of small organizations worldwide. The annual award recognizes the most successful 10% of Constant Contact’s customer base, based on their significant achievements leveraging online marketing tools to engage their customer base and drive results for their organization.

“I’m thrilled to be recognized by Constant Contact for achieving strong marketing results and engaging with our customers. The tools that Constant Contact provide have helped us better manage our customer relationships and increase revenue for them. 2015 was a year of tremendous growth for Your Social Media Gal, with the significant addition of training workshops made available through Constant Contact’s ALE program, and I look forward to offering more opportunities to share valuable training throughout 2016.” Melanie Diehl

Small businesses and nonprofits using Constant Contact’s online marketing tools are eligible for this award. Criteria used to select this year’s All Stars included the following:

• Level of engagement with email campaigns
• Open, bounce, and click-through rates
• Use of social sharing features
• Use of mailing list sign-up tools
• Use of reporting tools

“At Constant Contact, we aim to help small businesses become marketers so they can do even more business. Our All Stars are leading the way, showing us the difference online marketing can make for a small business. It’s truly inspiring,” said John Orlando, chief marketing officer at Constant Contact. “We’re thrilled to recognize Melanie Diehl, Your Social Media Gal for their commendable achievements in 2015 with this All Star Award.”

Melanie Diehl, Your Social Media Gal partners with Google as an Official City Partner

Wake Forest, NC, June 16, 2015 – Melanie Diehl, Your Social Media Gal is helping small businesses grow their presence online with Let’s Put Our Cities on the Map workshops that feature lessons on how to establish and manage your presence on the web.

Let’s Put Our Cities on the Map is part of Google’s Get Your Business Online program and aims to bring community members, business owners, and civic leaders together to help small businesses succeed on the web.

Your Social Media Gal’s goal is to facilitate growth through technology. “Our objective, as Official City Partner, is to ensure there is a free and easy solution available to small business owners so they can benefit from having an online presence,” says Melanie Diehl.

“4 out of 5 consumers use search engines to find local information nearby, yet only 37% of businesses have claimed their listing on a search engine,” says Soo Young Kim, Head of Small Business Engagement at Google. “Small businesses are the engine of local economies and when they flourish, their communities do as well.”

Let’s Put Our Cities on the Map is a program designed to empower communities to support their local businesses and encourage them to get on the map. Local businesses keep our communities strong; when we help them succeed on the web, they make our communities even stronger. The workshops are Google presentations hosted by Your Social Media Gal. Visit www.gybo.com to learn more about the program and get involved.

About Get Your Business Online

Get Your Business Online is a fast, easy, and free way for small businesses to get online. While 97% of consumers look online for local products and services, 55% of small businesses do not have a website. Get Your Business Online provides small businesses with a free website as well as free tools, training, and resources to help their business succeed online.

Melanie Diehl, Your Social Media Gal Receives 2014 Constant Contact Solution Provider All Star Award

Recognized for achievements using online marketing tools to drive success

WAKE FOREST, NC – MARCH 11, 2015 – Melanie Diehl, Your Social Media Gal, social media and email marketing consultant for micro, small and medium businesses has been named a 2014 Solution Provider All Star Award winner by Constant Contact^®, Inc., the trusted marketing advisor to more than 600,000 small organizations worldwide. The award, given annually to the top 10% of Constant Contact’s international customer and Solution Provider base, recognizes these select organizations for their significant achievements leveraging online marketing tools to engage their customer base and drive success. Melanie Diehl, Your Social Media Gal is one such exemplary organization.

“We’re happy to be recognized by Constant Contact for achieving strong marketing results on behalf of our clients. Constant Contact’s tools have helped us better manage customer/client relationships, increase awareness and engagement, and provide education, “ Melanie Diehl.

Constant Contact Solution Providers are businesses that provide services tailored to the needs of small businesses or nonprofits—everything from web developers, to online marketing consultants, to advertising agencies and more. They use Constant Contact’s online marketing tools to generate more business for both themselves and their clients. Criteria used to select this year’s All Stars included the following:

• Level of engagement with email campaigns
• Open, bounce, and click-through rates
• Use of social sharing features
• Use of mailing list sign-up tools
• Use of reporting tools

“Our Solution Providers are a core extension of our business, helping those small businesses and nonprofits who need some assistance with their marketing,” said Arthur Steinert, vice president and general manager, channel partner sales and marketing, Constant Contact. “That’s why we’re thrilled to recognize Melanie Diehl, Your Social Media Gal for their commendable achievements – it’s truly a win-win for both Melanie Diehl, Your Social Media Gal and the small organizations it serves.”

About Constant Contact, Inc.

Constant Contact helps small businesses do more business. We have been revolutionizing the success formula for small businesses, nonprofits, and associations since 1998, and today work with more than 600,000 customers worldwide. The company offers the only all-in-one online marketing platform that helps small businesses drive repeat business and find new customers. It features multi-channel marketing campaigns (newsletters/announcements, offers/promotions, online listings, events/registration, and feedback) combined with shared content, contacts, and reporting; free award-winning coaching and product support; and integrations with critical business tools – all from a single login. The company’s extensive network of educators, consultants/resellers, technology providers, franchises, and national associations offer further support to help small organizations succeed and grow. Through its Innovation Loft, Constant Contact is fueling the next generation of small business technology.

Constant Contact and the Constant Contact Logo are registered trademarks of Constant Contact, Inc. All Constant Contact product names and other brand names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Constant Contact, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

Granville County Chamber of Commerce hosts “Lunch & Learn” session

By Linda S Nicholson, Staff Writer

February 26, 2015

Melanie Diehl – Your Social Media Gal

OXFORD —  The Granville County Chamber of Commerce (COC) held a “Lunch and Learn” session at the Richard Thornton Library on Monday, Feb. 9. The session focused on growing business networking efforts through “Constant Contact,” a social media and email marketing tool.

Toni Anne Wheeler, COC Membership Chairperson, introduced Melanie Diehl, Constant Contact representative, who presented 50+ ideas and tips on how to grow a healthy email list to utilize in marketing businesses, products or services.

Some of the advice presented included basic tips such as using a sign-up sheet at the register or at local events to collect customer e-mails, and asking friends and family to give feedback on any new business emails. Diehl explained that it was important not only to collect the emails, but to actually respond to them and let your customers know you appreciate their patronage.

When asked about the acceptable or optimal frequency of email contacts between businesses and customers, Diehl explained that it depends on the type of business and that the norm is once a month. When restaurants have specials, or retailers have specific sales, however, she said that it is a good idea to send out emails for those or for any new event your business is involved in or sponsoring. She also warned against flooding customers with unwanted emails. “Businesses need to be aware of not over-marketing and losing customers,” she said.

Diehl reviewed a number of social media and websites useful in generating interest in a business, such as a “Join My List” link imbedded in the business site to enable visitors to leave email addresses for more information. She added that Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and a new site, Vine, are all media outlets that can be explored to determine how they fit into each small business owner’s marketing plan.

Diehl also advised business owners to stay aware of the reviews they receive through online sources such as Yelp, Angie’s List, and others. She recommended continuing to use print advertising, radio and all available information sources which target the customer base. She added that it is also important to make it easy for customers to “unsubscribe” from news-letters or other email contact lists to increase your business’ credibility.

For more information on “Constant Contact” call Melanie Diehl at 919-395-1366 or visit www.YourSocialMediaGal.com. For information on joining the Granville County Chamber of Commerce, email Ms. Wheeler at tawheeler-@granville-chamber.com.

Zebulon Chamber Members Learn Social Media Basics

BY MECHELLE HANKERSON

mhankerson@newsobserver.com
July 22, 2014

Melanie Diehl – Your Social Media Gal

ZEBULON — To continue an effort to help local business owners tap into new technologies, the Zebulon Chamber of Commerce hosted a business education session about the basics of social media.

Melanie Diehl, the instructor and owner of the Wake Forest-based social media consulting company, Your Social Media Gal, hosted a session to help business owners see which social media platforms would be the best fit for their use.

“It seems to change every day, so trying to keep on top of trends is hard enough for me, let alone someone who is trying to run their business at the same time,” she said. Diehl has worked with businesses and the chamber for about five years.

Diehl told a group of about 15 business owners about the top five most popular social media platforms, but focused her presentation on Facebook.

She briefly reviewed sites like Twitter, Pinterest, Google Plus, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Diehl made sure to explain how some of those platforms can work together (she mentioned it was especially easy to link Instagram and Facebook since Facebook recently acquired Instagram). She also gave the group tips on how best to use some of the more unfamiliar sites.

With Pinterest, for example, she explained businesses that create material products may have a good chance to attract buyers through a photo linked to the business site. She told the group that Pinterest now drives twice as many sales as Facebook does.

“(The importance of social media) is that it works,” Diehl said in her introduction.

Kim Valentine, the executive director of the Zebulon Chamber, said sessions like the social media one are to help clear the fog on a topic that is sometimes hard for business owners to tackle.

“A lot of people are confused abut social media and which ones are best for their business … so we try to have experts in from different areas to guide them to how best to utilize those resources,” she siad.

Valentine herself has taken on implementing a more thorough social media strategy for the Chamber.

When she took her position five years ago, she said the chamber had some social media accounts set up, but they weren’t regularly used.

Now, the Chamber has a Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and Pinterest.

“I too am still learning how best to use some of these things at the chamber,” Valentine said.

The classes are integral to a business operation because it doesn’t cost money and it allows the business to take ownership of its presentation, Diehl said.

Valentine said that dynamic, of free, controlled promotion, makes social media a no-brainer.

“You’re crazy not to take advantage of it,” she said.

http://www.easternwakenews.com/2014/07/22/4022400_zebulon-chamber-members-learn.html?rh=1

Hankerson: 919-829-4826; Twitter: @easternwakenews