Key takeaways
- Add social share buttons to emails so readers can share deals and extend your reach. Incentivize shares with discounts or offers.
- Use Facebook’s built‑in sign-up feature to turn social followers into email opt‑ins directly from the network.
- Run a social tie‑in sweepstakes to boost social activity and expect higher opt‑in rates as word spreads. Offer a prize worth entrants’ time.
- Mention social in your subject lines (example: “Are You a Social Butterfly?”) to signal social-oriented content and increase responsiveness.
- Prioritize the platforms your audience actually uses. Don’t default to only Facebook and Twitter. Consider Instagram, Pinterest and Google+.
Introduction
Some things are just destined to be together. If you’re in the business of connecting with customers via email marketing, you know that this practice, when paired with social media, is right up there with mustard and ketchup, Abbott and Costello, and all the other great tandems found throughout history. To make this bond even stronger, here are some creative and effective ways to build a better relationship between your marketed messages and the social outreach that compliments these offerings.
Don’t Forget the Social Buttons
One of the easiest ways to fortify this connection is by giving your readers a chance to share the great deals found within your emails. As DJ Waldow of Social Media Examiner notes in his piece on the subject, simply dropping in a button for Twitter, Facebook, or any other relevant network into your messages is a powerful strategy that provides new reach to your deals and promos. With each share, like, favorite, and retweet, your email ends up in front of an entirely new audience. Incentivizing this social promotion with additional discounts and offers gives your audience even more reason to let their friends and family members in on your latest message.
Generate Social Opt-ins
Waldow goes on to point out that your social media accounts hold an untapped reservoir of new contact list members. Unfortunately, these ready and willing consumers simply don’t have an easy way to get in touch with your brand’s email marketing campaign. To put an end to this unfortunate circumstance, use Facebook’s built-in sign-up feature to generate an opt-in page. This way, as word spreads about your campaign and all the great savings that end up directly in shoppers’ inboxes, these social networkers will have easy access to your next round of emails and you’ll have a whole new set of members to add to your brand contact list.
Run a Social Tie-in Contest
Regardless of the medium, there’s one universal truth in the marketing world; customers love giveaways. For this very reason, social media expert Jeff Bulas suggests on his personal blog that brands looking to build better harmony between email and social marketing should operate a sweepstakes via these networks. The benefits of running this type of outreach program are numerous.
First, you’ll generate a major boost in your social network activity, which is never a bad thing. From here, expect to see your opt-in rates go up as word spreads to every corner of the web about the free stuff your brand is handing out. Naturally, you’ll need to offer a prize that’s worth the time and effort put forth by these customers when they sign up, but that’s the easy part. One look at your contact list after the fact will give you all the motivation you need to really knock their socks off with an amazing giveaway.
Put a Social Spin on Your Subject Lines
It’s amazing what a great subject line can do for your email marketing campaign. Obviously, we’ve talked about optimizing these headers at great length, but when it comes to integrating your social strategy, there’s still a few thoughts to cover. Amy Birch of Social Media Today helps get the discussion rolling by covering this very concept in her article detailing great integration examples.
In her piece, Birch notes that fashion retailer New Look pushed customer responsiveness through the roof by using the simple headline, “Are You a Social Butterfly?” With this simple, straightforward, and incredibly powerful headline guiding the way, New Look was able to let contact list members know right away that this brand’s message was all about looking good in person, as well as on social media. Even if you’re not in the fashion business, a smart headline oriented toward social media can really help your brand strut its stuff.
Know Which Platforms Matter Most
The final tip for complimenting your email strategy with powerful social media tactics comes from Pamella Neely of Web Marketing Today. Neely explains that to really build a dedicated following that boosts inbox open rates and shares, you need to know which platforms matter most to your audience. While some brands might say Facebook and Twitter are just fine and go from there, if you really want to make a splash, this path of least resistance simply isn’t good enough. With Instagram, Pinterest, and Google+ all pulling plenty of subscribers, harnessing the power of all the options placed before your brand can really set it apart from the competition. If your organization can put this tip with the rest of what you’ve learned in this post, there’s nothing stopping your next email marketing campaign from reaching new heights, all thanks to a little help from the world of social media.
FAQ
Include social share buttons (Twitter, Facebook or other relevant networks) in your emails and incentivise sharing with additional discounts or offers so recipients have a reason to spread your message.
Use social channels to generate opt‑ins. For example, use Facebook’s built‑in sign‑up feature so social followers can easily subscribe to your email campaign and promote sign‑ups via social posts and contests.
Yes. Running a sweepstakes via social networks typically boosts social activity and, as word spreads, you can expect opt‑in rates to rise as more people sign up for a chance to win.
Choose a prize that is clearly worth the time and effort required to enter. Offering a reward that motivates people to sign up so your contact list grows meaningfully.
Orient subject lines toward social media when appropriate and be straightforward about the social angle. The example “Are You a Social Butterfly?” signals social content and drove strong responsiveness for the cited retailer.
Know which platforms matter most to your audience rather than defaulting to only Facebook and Twitter. Consider other channels such as Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ and prioritize based on your audience.
Give readers share buttons in emails, incentivize shares with discounts, run social sweepstakes to generate buzz and opt‑ins and use social‑oriented subject lines so your emails and social outreach reinforce each other.
