How social media can give a boost to email marketing
15/02/2012
The death of email has long been predicted, usually when a competing communications service is being launched. However, there is no real proof that the demand for email is dropping.
But what is true is that social media will continue to have an enormous impact on brand communications and can actually give a real boost to email marketing. The aim for all marketers is therefore to use the different strengths of each channel in a way that will improve customer satisfaction and increase profits.
Ever since the explosion in popularity of Facebook and Twitter, companies have been trying to use social media to get new customers and persuade existing ones to buy more. Pioneers in retail who led this drive were Best Buy, Dell and Starbucks, who used exclusive coupons on Twitter and Facebook to drive revenues.
Now most brands are looking at ways to tap the social networks of their biggest fans to acquire new customers. One of the biggest growth areas for this has been in online daily deals with companies like Groupon, LivingSocial and HauteLook rewarding their members for converting friends in their social networks into fellow customers.
Email still has a key role to play
But the surge in popularity of social media doesn’t mean that this channel will prosper at the expense of email. Don’t forget that Facebook, Twitter and other social media tools still rely on email to keep their members informed of recent activity within their social networks, with the objective of getting members to click through and drive more traffic to their sites.
Brands can use email in a similar way to increase traffic by telling customers about new content on their social media channels. By sending valuable social media content to customers based on their preferences and buying patterns, brands can build relationships that are at the heart of any successful social media campaign.
It’s all about converging different channels
To achieve this level of success with word-of-mouth customer acquisition, then the unique strengths of email and social media need to be combined. It’s not about one medium over the other – it’s all about convergence.
When done right, customers will respond. While social media channels like Twitter and Facebook are important for getting the word out to your customers – and for encouraging them to share – email also plays a critical role.
Want to find out more about integrating email marketing into your marketing mix? Call David Thacker at Perspektiv on 0115 950 0510.