Global Media News

Successful E-Mail Marketing: Fashion E-Commerce

If you have ever shopped online, you may have signed up for the store's email newsletter. What's that? You know, all of those annoying daily emails about shopping their newest collection and the three day sales where everything is 20% off. 

Although they can be annoying, believe it or not, these companies do find a way to make you open up the email and click through to their website. They may even get you to make a purchase; all from a simple email.

But is it really all that simple?

Even if you hadn't planned on making a purchase or shopping online anytime soon, Fashion E-Commerce Brands and Businesses always know just the right words to say to engage you into opening what you might consider spam mail. 

With subject lines such as "Offer ends today! Extra 20% off all sale items! Today only! You asked for it! It's back! Back in stock! Limited Time Only!" This pattern of simple phrasing with an explanation point may get you excited too if you're an avid shopper. Key words that Fashion E-Commerce brands tend to use are "save, today, sale, enjoy, extra, and FREE". Now who can resist that last one there? 

Although social media has been taking over the internet world lately, email marketing for e-commerce brands still remains the most powerful E-Commerce marketing tool to engage customers. E-mail marketing allows consumers to reach out to their customers with offers, news, product launches, and more. 

According to Targeting Mantra, there are five main factors for Fashion E-Commerce brands to keep in mind when it comes to email marketing.

1. Frequency: Less is more. Try not to spam your customers' inboxes; sending too many emails might force them to unsubscribe or kick you to their Spam list.
2. Subject Lines: Being gentle and subtle in your subject line without overselling will allow for better responses and openings. Using everyday words is more human.
3. Content: Attractive visual content that is easy to read works best. 41% of emails opened are through mobile devices so be sure they are optimized as such. 
4. Personalization: You are mailing an experience, not just an offer. Be personal with your customers and send things like trend alerts, styling tips, and a birthday shoutout.
5. Cart Abandonment: These emails should be a reminder to the customers that leave items behind in their online cart in order to fulfill the sale. According to SalesCycle, eCommerce brands who sent cart abandonment emails received 46% open rate leading to 35% of the returning customers completing their checkout processes!

Email marketing does not have to be complicated or annoying to your customers. Using these tips will help increase your click through rates as well as your sales!

Delhi Bus Gang Rape Documentary Banned in India

 

  In 2012, a 23 year old female student in Delhi along with a male companion were victims of a vicious assault. The young woman had been brutally gang raped on a public bus for several hours before being left to fight for her life in a hospital. In the end her injuries were so bad that she died from them. Wishing to shed light on the crime, director Leslee Udwin interviewed one of the rapists in prison and made a documentary about it. The documentary titled "India's Daughter" has been banned from release in India.

    Every country has problems with different forms of censorship, but one must wonder with India being the world's largest democracy, why is free speech being stifled? The home minister Rajnath Singh conveyed a feeling of shame brought to his country by the words of the rapist, Mukesh Singh. He and many others believe that the film glorifies the criminal and gives him a platform to share his sick and perverted views on women's place in Indian society. As noble of a gesture as this might be, banning the film undermines a much larger problem in Indian culture; despite being such an advanced nation, India is another in a long list of countries that suffers from misogynistic societal norms. 

    These norms include but are not limited to the popular South Asian practice of "Eve Teasing". Eve Teasing is in its simplest form, sanctioned sexual harassment. Women in South Asian
countries experience constant verbal abuse, groping, pinching, pushing, and poking from men who are just having "fun" in one of the most juvenile ways they can. There's a slew of laws and practices that value men over women in this culture, and perhaps that is the reason why showing this movie has been banned; it might not be that the country will be ashamed that five Indian men committed such an atrocity, but rather that the views expressed by these rapists coincide with views expressed by many people who have been raised in the same culture. The director (right) of the documentary has said that her work can be used as a "powerful tool for change".

    The documentary has been unofficially screened in the slum homes of the rapists, and will hopefully be shown to more upper class Indian residents to enlighten them not only to the mindset of the men who committed the crime, but also to the underlying problem that as long as societies throughout the world, not just in India, continue to devalue women, these atrocities will continue to happen.

Verizon Tech News Site Bans Stories on U.S. Spying

 Verizon is getting into the news business. What could go wrong?

Is Vine good for journalists?

     Vine is a mobile video sharing app. It allows its users to create and share six second videos. The videos loop continuously and are posted online. Vine is owned by Twitter. It can be used to show action and explain stories. Journalists use Vine to share videos of breaking news as it is happening. 

Upshot Journalism

     Upshot was created because of new opportunities being created for journalists due to the spread of digital data and the Internet. 

  

US Allows Drone Use for Filming

    On Thursday, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gave permission to six television and film firms, which allows these firms to use drones are Astraeus Aerial, Aerial MOB, HeliVideo Productions, Pictorvision Inc., RC Pro Productions Consulting, and Snaproll Media. 

eBay's Security Flaw Existed for Months

    A security flaw on eBay's website has been exposing eBay's customers to malicious websites.  This has been happening on eBay's site since Feburary. It has been revealed that by clicking on some of the listings on the site will automatically redirect customers to harmful sites. eBay has failed to fix and inforem users about the security flaw, despite having known since Feburary.

    According to BBC News, an eBay user Paul Castle contacted eBay in order to report the problem in a chat log which outlined the problem in detail with eBay's staff. This is not the first time that eBay has been hit with a security breach. eBay had a massive security breach which happened in May. The breach affected 145 million customers, which was performed by unknown hackers. The information stolen was email addresses, encrypted passwords, mailing addresses, and birth dates.

    The site eBay gives permission to many of their users who sell on eBay to use Javascript and Flash to make their listings more attractive, which is related to the security flaw. The search engine of eBay only allows customers to find completed auctions that are more than 15 days old. In each case of the listings, it appears that cross-site scripting (XSS) was used to steal the customer's information using Javascript. Cross-site scripting (XSS) is not allowed on eBay and eBay uses a range of security features, which are designed to detect and remove the listing containing the harmful codes. BBC News uncovered that many of their listings have been posted for more than 15 days, which posed dangers to eBay's users.

    In an interview BBC News reporter Dave Lee, a spokeswoman for eBay, "The company assures that they have a security team for the site, but the hackers used tactics capable of by passing their security. These hackers intentionally adapt to their code and tactics to try to stay ahead of the most sophisticated security team."      

    The site eBay is being heavily criticized by security experts for failing to react quickly to the problem and allowed it to go on for so long. This is the second time eBay has had security issues this year.  

Hashtags: From Twitter to Television

Hashtags have gone from an organizational and promotional tool on Twitter to a tactic for broadcasts aimed at getting the audience to interact. 

Like a previous Global Media News article explained, 

A hashtag is the # symbol, followed immediately, with no space, by a word or phrase: #GlobalMediaNews. In tweets, the hashtag becomes a hyperlink you can click to go to a search of recent tweets using the hashtag.

Journalists use hashtags in two primary ways: to find tweets and to help others find their tweets. Other users of the platform use hashtags in other ways that may still be useful to reporters: regular hashtags, event hashtags, breaking-news hashtags that may spread virally before reporters can get the story out.

What's interesting about journalists using hashtags is that they're not limited to the online platforms. The advancement in technology that allows so many mobile devices to be in use has catapulted a modern integrated media. Reporters, joiurnalists, networks or programs are all looking to engage their target audiences and keep their attention. 

One way they do this is through a call to action.

Turn on your television for the morning news and you're most likely going to here some variation of "Join the conversation!" as they instruct you to tweet using #xyz hashtag to voice your opinion on the topic or share a relevant photo. 

In an article in the New York Times social media analyst Debra Aho Williamson said,“It’s not just hashtags appearing on your TV screen, but TV content appearing in your Twitter feed.” 

Here's an example of how a television broadcast appeared via Twitter:  

Apps are Saving Lives in Israeli!

Israel has been a big part of app creation worldwide. Many of these apps have been changing the lives of people. Recently there has been a string of new i-Apps that helps keep the lives of the Israeli citizens safe in this time of the war. One new app that emerged during Israel's  time of crisis is the Color Red App.

The Times of Israel reports:  

"The application, which is not an official warning system, is the brainchild of 13-year-old Beersheba resident Liron Bar. Bar provides constant reports on missile attack warnings, known as Color Red alerts, and rocket strikes in the south on his Facebook page as well."

This is just an all around great app for a Israeli people. The Color Red App gives the user time a warning whenever a missile is launched find a shelter. The app was created by 13 year old Liron Bar an Israeli teenager. The extra time the app provides could be the difference between life and death for the Israel citizens. The Israeli government suggest everyone should have this app on their mobile device. The next question is what do the people of Israel do after they are warned off a missile threat? The citizens of Israel uses the bomb shelter app.  

 

Ynetnews.com reports:

"The GPS-based app assists a citizen fleeing from rocket fire to locate the closest bomb shelter or secure area, providing the fastest route to it. Updates from the emergency authorities are also provided in real time. The app enables anyone to add information about available shelters which are not yet listed on the app."

This second app that  locates the closest  bomb shelter using the GPS in the mobile device. This simple idea again has the power to save many lives. During bomb threat  times people tend to panic and get lost and confused with app guides people in the right direction to the closest shelter where they can be safe. There are many other apps that save lives in Israel these are just two of them. Apps are making the lives of many easier everyday and in this case the apps are saving the Israeli's people lives. 

 

 

 

Live Mapping the Kenyan Elections

After the violence during the country's 2008 election, Kenyan tech company Ushahidi formed and developed a platform for mapping the violence. With the upcoming 2013 election in Kenya, the company has again mobilized with the program Uchaguzi - a mapping tool which allows both local citizens and "global helpers" to visually present data about the election in real time.

Uchaguzi is a citizen initiative which utilizes tools like Facebook and Twitter to get the word out. There are various Wikis for the project which allow users to share information and work together. The stated goals of the project are to: "share the information from the crowd, verify details and respond."

According to an article in Project Pan-Africa, violence is once again expected during Kenya's upcoming election. The article says that a lead investigator of the previous election's problems, Johan Kriegler, warned that "violence could recur every five years if measures were not put in place."

Uchaguzi is, according to its Twitter page, "Using technology through partnerships to empower citizens to protect their elections." They are mobilizing in advance of the election in order to be prepared and efficient when election day arrives. According to Hivos, "The project’s technology platforms provide a neutral and secure space through which citizens can channel their voices directly to authorities."

Uchaguzi is a citizen-run tool which allows both citizen journalists and ordinary people to provide information on potential problems and to bring them to the attention of the authorities. This seems like a very useful project and one which will hopefully help to quell unrest and make the election a smoother, less violent event.