Last week, a colleague of mine shared an article that compares the various channels of customer acquisition. I looked up the report that was mentioned, and sure enough there were umpteen results that came up. The bottom-line? Email is doing great for e-commerce and retailers. Fantastic news! But this also got me thinking:
This report looks at Email and Social as 2 different channels. Instead, what happens if we look at them as channels that complement each other?
This is how it can work:
With Email, you reach where your audience is most of the time – their inboxes.
Now, let’s take Darrell who just received an email from her favorite clothing store (let’s call it ‘Divas’ for now) promoting their mid-year discount sale. She’s enticed and makes up her mind to take advantage of the discount. She also remembers a conversation that she had with Emily who was also waiting for such an offer. So Darrell quickly clicks the Twitter icon in the email, shares it in her Twitter timeline and mentions her friend too. Emily replies saying she’s in!
Darrell used her network on Twitter and got herself a shopping partner, while Divas got one more customer.
Emily is thrilled that Darrell shared the news with her, and decides to pay it forward by further sharing the link to the sale with her Facebook friends. A few of these friends comment on the news link shared by Emily and say they’re going to check out the sale as well. This further leads more of their friends and friends of friends to notice and… well, you get the picture!
Ideal case this, some of you might say, but I say, it’s the perfect case with consistent efforts in the right direction.
And of course, Zoho Campaigns can help you achieve that. Here are 3 ways in which you can use Social Media to support your Email Marketing efforts.
Share on your own social channels
Missed this month’s newsletter? We have it here for you: <Your Link>.
Sharing your email campaigns on social channels such as your brand’s Facebook or Twitter page can further increase the reach of your campaigns. Let’s take Darrell’s case again. She read about the sale on Twitter and that led to further sharing and engagement. It not only spread the news about the campaign but also helped grow the mailing list.
There’s a quick option to promote your email campaign on Social Media once you’ve set it up. You can quickly compose a post or a tweet and share it with followers.
Pro Tip: Before posting, do a little bit of homework. Which social platform does the bulk of your audience spend maximum time on? Decide and share accordingly so that you get maximum engagement.
Encourage your recipients to share
Make it easy for people like Darrell to share your email. It’s a good practice to have these icons at the top or bottom of the email template where these are most noticeable.
Pro Tip: For best results, try and use prominent colors to make your sharing icons or text visible. And, if you’re talking about multiple offers within the same campaign, consider placing separate icons for each of these.
Use ‘Post Campaigns’ consistently
Post campaigns inside Zoho Campaigns let you share links, status messages, polls or images on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. These can be a great way to complement an existing email-only campaign.
Let’s say you are running an online weekly course via email. With Post Campaigns you can share useful tips and hints daily. While your emails focus on a particular topic, these tips are helping your learners daily. Who doesn’t like a tip or a trick? 🙂
Pro Tip: Customize your content keeping the nature of your channel in mind. For example, tips that you’re sharing on twitter could include catchy-phrases and must be worded within 140 characters. And while you share these tips on Twitter, make sure you use a hashtag. Your online course might just become a trending topic!
So, how are you engaging your customers and increasing your customer acquisition rates?
Hi this one is great and is really a good post..very useful.. good one
Hi @avacristi:disqus, Glad to know that the article was helpful. Would love to understand how you're using email marketing + social media in your business.
Great guide, I've definitely learned some new things about social media marketing in conjunction with email marketing that I never knew before.
@fylcloud:disqus Thanks! That's a good scenario. Will work well with Post Campaigns.
@gavellbaker:disqus Glad to know that these tips are helpful!
These tips are absolutely worth for me. And, I really think that Email Marketing is precious and frequent way of marketing which is absolutely preferable for marketing and success of business.
Nice post! Another good idea: organize contests via social media that people can enter to win prizes. If they want to enter the competition, though, they'll have to opt in to (one of) your newsletter(s).