There are many out there who are saying that social media will be the death of email—and along with it, email marketing. But such predictions are premature, precisely for the fact that social media is still so new. Nobody can accurately say how it will affect email marketing, if at all. Your best bet? Cover your bases by incorporating your company’s social media strategy into your email marketing campaigns.
Step one is to have a presence on all the top social networks if you don’t already: Facebook and Twitter being the flavors of the year, but sites like MySpace still offering viable opportunities to connect with potential customers.
Step two is to learn to use social media marketing to your advantage. Consider social networking tools as an extension of your email marketing campaigns, and vice versa. Do the following:
- Include a link to your social media profile in all of your email newsletters so that your readers can help raise your social media profile.
- Post updates on your social media profiles that give your followers a peek at the content of your next newsletter. Most importantly, always give them instructions on how they can opt in.
- Remain active at the top social networks. Never let too much time pass between your last update. This leaves people with a negative impression. If you’re too busy to update your Facebook status, perhaps you’re not worth looking into?
A social media strategy is vital to growing your company’s online profile. Learning how to incorporate social media into your email marketing can give your efforts a serious boost.