Until recently there has been conflict between social media and email marketing. Each platform competes against one another for the attention of consumers. Some say email is dead although reports state that email is actually more successful when it comes to selling products online compared to Facebook and Twitter. Study shows that 77% of people prefer to get marketing-related messages by email.
While statistics state that email is far from dead, the social media 'team' should not be ignored. Why? Look at the number of users and the significant growth on the platforms. So the great news is that email marketing and social media don't have to box it out, they can work in harmony to help you spread the word about your business.
Here are a few simple steps to incorporate social media into your email marketing:
- Add social media sharing buttons to your emails. Give your readers the opportunity to share what they read and spread the word.
- Add social media connect icons to your emails. Give your readers the opportunity to view your social media pages and learn more about you.
- Send an email dedicated to socially connecting or sharing on social media. Sometimes including buttons or links might not be enough. This is an excellent way to get the point straight across.
- Add social media engagement buttons to your email unsubscribe page. Even though a user does not want to get your emails it doesn't mean they don't want to hear from you completely. Please give them the opportunity to connect with you on a social level, they might like it more that way.
- Use social media to build your email list wherever you can add prompts for your audience to join your email list.
- Share web-based versions of your emails. Share links for consumers to view your emails throughout your social media platforms.
- Use competitions to motivate consumers to subscribe to your email list. This is a fantastic way to integrate with consumers and get information that will be useful to you.
- Promote email marketing on your blog and website. Make sure your blog and website have a clear integration option where consumers can easily subscribe.
While many small businesses are utilizing social media and email marketing, most are missing out on the benefits of integrating the two. Where they once fought it out, they now can work in perfect harmony with each other, to provide you with significant reach to your target markets. Incorporate some of the tips above in your next campaign, or if you need help integrating social media with email marketing, talk to us today.