In this particularly fast-paced and ever changing digital landscape, it makes sense to have a marketing strategy that reflects the times. While email and social media marketing both stand out as powerhouse advertising channels, combining them together can really light a fire under your next campaign.
It goes without saying that both channels offer unique benefits and challenges, but in this comprehensive guide we’ll show you just how dynamic this duo can really be.
Email marketing vs. social media marketing
Like all the best partnerships, getting your email and social media marketing strategy to work all comes down to building a solid foundation of understanding… So before we dive into how to perfectly marry your email marketing and social media marketing strategies together, it bears noting some of their unique qualities and how to get all the different moving parts to work in your favour.
Email Marketing
It’s the cornerstone of modern digital marketing, it’s been around forever and there are no signs of that changing anytime soon. Email marketing works because it exists as a direct and highly personalised channel that allows you to engage with your audience, nurture leads, and drive sales. The magic of email marketing lies in its ability to provide a direct line of communication with your subscribers, building a loyal customer base. Email marketing is of course not without its challenges, so check out the pros and cons list below to find out more.
Pros:
- Highly targeted and personalised content
- High ROI (Return on Investment)
- Reliable for generating leads and conversions
- Effective for nurturing customer relationships
- You own your email list
Cons:
- Can be time-consuming to create and manage email campaigns
- Risk of landing in spam folders if not optimised
- Requires a well-maintained and growing email list
Social Media Marketing
If email marketing is the perennial golden-ager, social media marketing is the young and ambitious trailblazer. Armed with new ideas and fresh ways of doing things, it might seem overwhelming, but it’s no secret that social media has changed the face of marketing. If you’ve not yet geared your marketing strategy towards some of the main social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and Twitter, you’re really missing out. By establishing your brand’s presence on social media, you have the opportunity to build your brand’s awareness, reach wider audiences, and foster a sense of community for your business.
If you’re still not convinced, we’ve got all the benefits and challenges of marketing for social media simplified in this jazzy little pros and cons list below:
Pros:
- Wide reach and accessibility
- Real-time engagement and interaction
- Visual and multimedia content options
- Ideal for building brand identity and fostering brand loyalty
- The potential to go ‘viral’
- Easy to publicise events and give real insight into running your brand
Cons:
- Organic reach can be limited on some platforms
- Constant algorithm changes can impact visibility
- Requires consistent and engaging content to maintain relevance
- Shadow bans and deleted accounts can happen at anytime
- Followers on social media does not translate to more email addresses
How do I combine social media and email marketing?
Combining the power of email marketing and social media marketing can be a game-changer for your digital strategy and something you really ought to think about. We do a deep dive into getting it right below.
Align your strategy for both channels
It might help to think of email and social media marketing as the strawberries and cream of your advertising strategy. Individually they can hold their own, but aren’t they just that much better together?
In a similar sense, your email and social media strategies should complement each other and function in cohesion. For instance, if you plan to have your social media campaign centre around a product launch, your email campaign should provide more in-depth information and exclusive offers to your subscribers relating to the same product launch. Getting your message straight across the board and then timing them perfectly between these channels ensures a consistent and impactful customer experience.
Reuse content between channels
Creating content for two different channels can be time-consuming and to make the most of your efforts it’s not a bad idea to repurpose some of that content. For instance, a blog post can be shared on social media with a captivating visual, and then the same blog can be transformed into a newsletter for your email subscribers. This not only saves time but also maximises the reach of your content.
Use your email and social data to draw more insights
Your email and social media data are treasure troves of insights. By analysing which type of content resonates better on each platform and with different audience segments you can design your message to target specific interest groups. This strategy is great for driving overall traffic to your website or social pages and back again.
Pro-tip: A/B testing for both channels to see what resonates better with your audience is always a good idea. You might find that certain types of content perform better on one platform than the other, helping you fine-tune your content strategy.
Use each channel to help build your following
Growing your following on both email and social media is a win-win situation for your brand. Let’s explore how to achieve this synergy:
How to grow your email list using your socials
Social media is your opportunity to tap into what’s really happening out there in the world. Depending on the platform you use, there will be trending topics you can choose to engage with, pop cultural references you can play with (or even create) and diverse communities that you can interact with.
How to really maximise your marketing strategies on your socials is really only as strong as your campaign, so to give yourself the best chance at success check out our tips below:
Host contests and giveaways
One sure way to get people talking about your brand is with an exciting contest or giveaway. Not only can this generate engagement on your social pages, but by making email subscriptions one of the conditions of entry, you can rapidly expand your email subscribers’ list in one easy swoop.
Pro-tip: You can use landing pages such as link tree on Instagram to make it easy for your audience to sign-up and take full advantage of your promotion/ giveaway. You can also put this link in your bio as a CTA so anyone visiting your brand’s page can follow the link and check out what else you’ve got going on.
Lead magnets
If you’re someone who has an eBook, podcast, webinar or anything of a similar nature, social media is the ideal place to promote them. Doing so will encourage followers to join your email list to access these valuable resources.
Pro- tip: Hosting a Facebook or Instagram live session can really get people in your corner, seeing the kind of content you’re likely to be sharing all while giving you an opportunity to plug all the great things you’ve got on the horizon if they sign-up with their email.
Social media ads
If you’re in the position to do so, you might want to launch a couple targeted social media ads to promote your email sign-up page to a wider audience and hopefully help you acquire new subscribers in the process.
However, before springing for a paid ad campaign, make sure to test your promotions with your current audience on your platform of choice. Doing this will help you determine which offer performs the best and is likely to get you the best results as a paid ad too.
Collaborations and partnerships
Another way to get your email-list choc full of new subscribers involves teaming up with influencers or complementary brands. This is a great strategy for both parties as it allows everyone involved to mutually benefit from getting a look at each other’s audiences and cross-promote the content they want to get out there the most.
Another benefit of these kinds of collaborations is the social media share function. Through building relationships with other brands or influencers you can organically grow your follow count and subscribers list by incentivising audiences to share your content.
Pro-tip: Beware shares shouldn’t be forced… Your visual content should reflect your brand, be appealing and be compelling enough that people want to share your content voluntarily. Another bonus tip… making video content is a smart move considering it’s the more shared visual format on social media as a whole.
How to grow your social media following with email
Social channels have the reputation of being a little more creative, abuzz with activity or an exchange of free flowing ideas… in other words it’s fun! This is where your email list can do a lot of the heavy lifting for you, because realistically, if people have signed up to hear from you through email they’d probably love to know what’s happening for you on Instagram, Facebook or any of the other social platforms you use.
The challenge is therefore using the right strategies to get the job done, in which case, we’ve got you covered below:
Email signature promotion
I’m sure you’re aware that anti-spam legislation in Australia outlines the need to have a clear unsubscribe button and all the necessary contact details for consumers to get in touch… you might not know it’s also a great spot to put all your social links. By doing this your subscribers can take their own initiative to connect with you via your social channels.
Exclusive social media content
Nothing peaks anyone’s interest than the fear of missing out on something great. Using your emails as teasers for upcoming promotions or experiences is another way to encourage your email list to check you out on all of your socials too. This could be behind-the-scenes looks, live events, or exclusive stories.
Remember, social media platforms are a great place to make stories and convey the feeling or vibe of your product or service. People love to romanticise online and depending on your target audience and the kinds of lifestyle choices they might make, you can really go to town with the visuals of how you tell your story. The key point being your email list can be a real tool for determining what about your brand is so appealing to your audience.
User-generated content
You may have heard the term user-generated content thrown around a lot in recent times and for good reason. User-generated content is highly effective at getting your brand’s name out there without dropping the big bucks. The beauty of it being that users of your product or service are in the best position to give honest feedback. If you have a bunch of positive reviews and happy customers just vying to sing your praises, why wouldn’t you give them a platform to let the rest of the world know?
Putting this kind of feedback into your emails is one way to get people invested into whatever else you’ve got in the works… Even better if you can have those same customers post things on their own accounts for you to share again onto your brand account.
Final takeaways
The power of email and social media marketing really becomes apparent when they are brought together into one nifty advertising strategy.. By aligning your strategies, reusing content, and using data to refine your approach, you can really create a seamless and engaging experience for your consumers. Moreover, by growing your following on both email and social media, you expand your reach and maximise your marketing impact. Start implementing these strategies today and witness the magic of integration in action.
