How To Boost The Effectiveness Of Email Campaigns Via Social Media

Posted on Sep 12 2013 - 11:30am by James White

Checking Email

It seems that social media is everywhere these days, and that popularity means it’s much easier than in years past to smoothly incorporate it into your e-mail marketing efforts. By thinking creatively, you can improve the reach of e-mail campaigns and strengthen engagement with your target audience as well. Below, you’ll find four strategies you can start using today. Even if you haven’t previously thought of combining social media activity with e-mail marketing, it’s not hard to do, and is definitely worth it.

Slip Respective Logos Into the E-mail Body 

It’s always a smart idea to let people know how you’re cued into social media. One of the easiest ways to do that is to include logos and links to social media profiles directly within an e-mail marketing letter. Be aware of how there are often specific rules to follow about how to use the logos properly, but they are usually fairly straightforward, and published directly by social media websites themselves.

By adding social media logos into the body of an e-mail, you’ll instantly let readers know you have a social media presence, which could subsequently improve your traffic levels across the channels. More importantly, social media links clearly encourage readers to share information you’ve offered in an e-mail on their own social media profiles.

Tailor E-mails Specifically to Social Media Followers 

People like to read e-mails that seem especially relevant. Rather than using a single e-mail that goes out to all your subscribers simultaneously, write one that’s just for social media followers. In it, you could talk about special incentives that are only broadcast via social media.

Also, consider using the e-mail to draw attention to open-ended questions you post on social media destinations to gain feedback. By doing that, it shows how you’re keyed into the way people tend to use these services, and you could end up with valuable insights after checking to see how users respond to your queries. 

Use Social Media Stats to Inform Your E-mail Campaigns 

Perhaps one of the most helpful characteristics of social media is it offers the chance to almost instantly see how followers are reacting either to your own posts or topics that have gained momentum on the Internet at large. By taking a few minutes per day to understand more about what’s catching users’ attention across social media, you’ll gain knowledge to use when crafting e-mail campaigns.

Even better, you can learn a lot by looking to see when your social media profiles get the most activity.  You may be surprised to find the majority of your followers tend to visit late at night, or perhaps early in the morning. It may seem like minor information, but once you have a firm grasp on when your followers are most likely to be online, you can then adjust the timing of when e-mail marketing campaigns will reach their inboxes. 

Appeal to People Who Just Know You on Social Media 

You’ve already learned how it’s useful to seamlessly promote social media involvement within e-mails. However, don’t forget to do the reverse by also letting your social media users know, just in case they didn’t already, that you have an e-mail list they’d probably enjoy.

To make the sign-up process more exciting, tell users about any incentives you may have for signing up to receive e-mail. Some examples may include a coupon for a percentage off your services, or a free e-book that ties into the kind of principles you often talk about within your e-mails.

The Statistics Are In Your Favor

In April, a company called Experian Marketing Services found how 27% of the time that Americans spend online is devoted to social media, equating to about 16 minutes per hour. Furthermore, about 3 minutes of every hour is spent doing something related to e-mail.

Those statistics demonstrate how if you’re not already using social media to propel e-mail marketing efforts, there’s no reason not to at least give it a try. Use the four tips above for inspiration, but don’t be afraid to adapt methods as you become more aware of what resonates most with your audience.

Photo Credit: Flickr/Ben Grey

About the Author

James is a writer for Hermance Tooling and founder of Infobros.