If you’ve spent any time in Mailchimp, you’ve probably come across tags, segments, and subscriber preferences.
What you really want to do is send an email to a specific group of people – but you’re not quite sure how to navigate that.
Tags, segments and subscriber preferences all seem to sort of do the same thing, but they also sort of don’t. And the last thing you want to do is muddle your audiences up and send the wrong email to the wrong people at the wrong time.
So, let’s take a look at what tags and segments in Mailchimp actually mean…
To take it to the most basic definition, according to Mailchimp itself, tags are labels that you apply to contacts, while segments are filters used to pull the right people together.
Think of segments more like saved filters, while tags are notes added to individual contacts (that you can do en masse!).
Tags are internal labels you apply to contacts to help you organise and track them, which means that they’re quick to use and you can apply a range of tags to contacts.
They’re incredibly useful for labelling prospects, customers, event attendees, distributors, and specific datasets that might be divided by location, sector, role and a whole load of other factors.
Contacts can have multiple tags, so there’s no need to worry if you want a prospect to have the ‘prospect’ tag but also the ‘West Midlands’ tag, as an example. Tags can be added through automations, too. So, if you have an automation set up, you can trigger a tag being added through a specific action being taken, such as a link being clicked.
To clarify, these tags aren’t visible to your audience, they’re only visible within Mailchimp to you and whoever else has access to your account on your team.
Tags are easy to create but things can quickly get muddled if your tagging isn’t maintained, organised and managed. And the last thing you want is your CRM to become harder work to maintain than you need it to be.
Because that’s when you can’t rely on your targeting, your emails might not go to the right people and you can’t rely on the data you have.
What are Segments in Mailchimp?
Instead of adding information (like tags), segments use the data you already have to filter your audience, rather than the other way around.
You can actually use tags to build segments, alongside data you have in contacts, which can include location, job title, sector, and any other relevant information you have.
In fact, one of the most useful and applicable ways you can add a segment in Mailchimp is by a specific action, which might be:
- Clicks
- Form submissions
- Opens (over a sustained period)
- Engagement
It might be that you’ve sent out several emails and you want to then target anyone who’s tagged as a ‘prospect’ that has clicked on a link to an upcoming event page you’ve created.
You could then create a segment, send a specific email about the event to encourage sign-ups and track all of the opens, clicks and engagement within that specific segment.
Segments are automatically updated, so once you’ve created the parameters you don’t need to worry about manually checking individual contacts.
How Do Tags and Segments Work Together in Mailchimp?
Why Does Tagging And Segmenting Matter?
There are plenty of pitfalls when you’re managing your audience in Mailchimp, not least when you’re trying to start from scratch.
If you’re creating tags but you don’t have specific campaigns or targeting in mind, it can be hard to know where to begin. The technical side of things tends to be straightforward in Mailchimp, it’s designed to be user-friendly… but the issue can be knowing what you need to do to create your audience and start sending quality, targeted marketing emails to them.
The real issue is that if your contacts aren’t organised properly your emails don’t feel relevant to the people receiving them, and thus your chance at nurturing a prospect and turning them into a customer diminishes.
And eventually, marketing starts to feel harder than it should be.
You could have the greatest email campaign in the world but if it’s not getting in front of the right people at the right time, it’s never going to be a success.
Ultimately, tagging and segmenting in Mailchimp is a must-do if you’re planning on (or have already begun) sending emails.
But if your Mailchimp account feels a bit disorganised or you’re not quite sure where to begin with your audience, fear not! You’re far from alone and mastering your CRM is a question of familiarity, time, and knowing what you need to know and what you can leave be to get going.
Once you’ve got your audience organised and your emails are written and designed, the most important thing is to get them sent so your audience can read them.
Three imperfect emails that go to your entire audience are infinitely more impactful than one perfect email that doesn’t get to them, after all.
Who Are 3XM?
We’re 3XM Marketing, our goal is to generate you more leads and get more customers.
Simple, right?
The 3XM Marketing team with the ‘Best Strategic Marketing Firm’ Midlands Enterprise award from SME News.
If you’re looking for a strategic marketing partner to work with and ensure you’re doing the right stuff (and getting it to the right people) and you want to make sure it happens… consistently, then we can help.
Across our team, we’ve got most marketing bases covered, from strategy to copywriting, from paid traffic to CRMs, and we can work closely with you to:
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