How to Effectively Use Email Marketing in the Age of Social Media

When I think of the terms “email marketing” and “social media” it brings to mind the old song we all learned in elementary school about making new friends but keeping the old. Not only are both effective marketing tools but necessary to get the most from your marketing efforts. Combining the two creates a synergy that neither alone can beat.

E-Mail

Email is still considered the most effective digital communication method available. After all, everyone is familiar with it, and approximately 90% of the population checks their email at least once a day. In addition, more people have email addresses than Facebook and Twitter accounts combined. Twice as many in fact.

The advantages that email marketing offer include:

• Deeper relationships
• Room for longer messages
• Emails get saved and therefore have a longer life span

Social Media

Social media has given the world the chance to connect with even more people who share our interests, opinions, and needs, no matter where you live. It’s a way of capturing a personal look into the lives of others and reaching people you may never come into contact with previously.

The advantages of social media include:

• Wider audience
• Less pressure to respond
• Greater networking through sharing

Combining Forces

Combining two vastly different marketing tools may seem daunting, but it’s only a matter of knowing how. Today, I’m going to help you blend these 2 tools into a force to be reckoned with. Keep in mind as you go through these actions that this is only the tip of the iceberg. Don’t be afraid to try any additional ideas that come to mind as a result! And please share your ideas and experiences!

Ask

1. One of the most effective ways to get your email subscribers to follow you on social media or your social media subscribers to sign up for your newsletter is to ask them. People have a basic wish to please and signing up is a small gesture that won’t cost them much time or money.

Give Incentives

1. Incentives are like magic in the marketing world. The more valuable the incentive, the better it works. You can reach out to email subscribers and give them a special discount if they “like” your Facebook page or follow you on Twitter.
2. To encourage sharing, give a discount dependent upon how many new subscribers you get in a specific time period. 10% for 100 new subscribers or 50% for 300.

Combine Contact Lists

1. Most social media platforms allow you to import your email lists and find people you know on the platform. Import your email list to all your social media accounts and follow your subscribers. Take this even a step further, follow your Facebook users on Twitter and your Twitter users on Pinterest.

Retarget Ads

1. This is the super secret sauce of social media. It takes a bit of work but is well worth the time and effort.
2. Keep track of what content in your newsletter draws the most attention. Create a targeted Facebook ad campaign with your most popular content. You’re reaching more people with a proven content and increasing the number of times your subscribers/followers see it.
3. We all know that on average it takes between 7 and 13 views to get a qualified sales lead. So the more times you’re in front of your viewer, on social media and email, the sooner your lead funnel will fill.

Make Use of “Snippets”

1. Post little snippets from your newsletter or blog posts on social media and include a link back to the entire post or newsletter sign-up. To get even more interest, link back to your newsletter archive, so new people get an even better idea of what you have to offer.

Use a Common Theme

1. When mapping your monthly marketing strategy, use the same themes on blogs, newsletters, and social media. You will capture the interest of people who enjoy your topic in a variety of places at the same time.
2. Give each platform reader some unique content to encourage cross-platform subscriptions. Let the readers on each platform know that their content is unique.

Final Thoughts

The silver of social media meeting the gold of email is a friendship that will enhance every other area of your marketing efforts. It takes strategy, time and effort to set it all up. But working from both angles becomes not only profitable but can be downright fun as you watch your contacts grow and see your relationships with people growing deeper. It eventually becomes a circle where each method feeds off the other, synergistically allowing them both to flourish.

Do you use MailChimp as your email service provider? Have questions? Join me for my MailChimp help call every Wednesday at 10am Pacific time. Feel free to ask questions on Facebook and Twitter with #mailchimphelp.

1st published on MaximizeSocialBusiness.com