As we enter 2024, email marketing continues to stand out as one of the most profitable channels of communication between businesses and consumers.
With over 77% of marketers claiming that it is their most valued strategy, email marketing is now predicted to generate $38 for every $1 spent.
The question is, how do you stand out from the crowd? As our devices are flooded with hundreds of advertorial emails per day, the goal is to no longer engage in an email campaign, but to optimize it to see open-rate success.
One way to do this is to combine your efforts with marketing’s next biggest phenomenon. Social media. With a whopping 38% of consumers preferring to be contacted about a product or service via a social channel, it has become a key destination for all things ecommerce.
Those who combine their email and social content campaigns create a foolproof strategy for success. Want to find out how? Then, keep reading.
Can You Integrate Your Social and Email Strategy?
For many years, social media and email campaigns have been pitched against each other and compared in terms of the leads they generate. As two powerful strategies of consumer targeting, it could be time to combine their efforts for a shot at conversion success.
“Comparing social media and email marketing is like fishermen arguing over which is better—a net or a fishing pole. It is not worth comparing because the tools serve different purposes. Social media is like the net; you can catch a lot of fish, but only some of them can be sold.
Email marketing is like the fishing pole. You can add the right kind of bait to attract the right fish, but it won’t yield a huge catch,” say experts at Mailerlite.
With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at some benefits associated with combining the two:
A Boost in Email Subscribers
Did you know that several shoppers make their purchases based on social media recommendations and referrals?
If your current email subscribers are raving about the newest email code or loyalty deal they have just scored in their inbox, you’re more likely to see more subscribers flocking your way.
Word-of-mouth marketing remains one of the most popular selling strategies for a reason. If you’re including share-worthy content within your email campaigns, you’ll improve your chances of being talked about in the social sphere.
A Wider Reach
If you offer your consumers a number of channels of communication, you open up more opportunities for interaction. For example, within an email, you’re able to link to your social accounts and encourage subscribers to follow for more updates on your latest offers.
On the flip side, your social media pages are great at drawing in new leads. Why not create content that encourages them to opt into your emails for specific rewards and exclusive deals?
Enhancing Digital Marketing Metrics
Did you know that 93% of business owners still struggle to adapt to an ever-changing digital marketing scene? As consumer behavior turns towards social media commerce and omnichannel shopping, integrating your digital strategies puts you on the path to success.
Combining your email and social strategy maximized your chances of gaining new site traffic. Working on your cross-channel linking, consistent branding, and sharable content will improve your open rate probability, as well as your conversion metrics on your online store.
How To Create Your Social Inbox: 5 Strategies for Integration
There are plenty of ways to combine your email and social strategy in 2024. From cross-channel linking to creating socially sharable email content, most marketers simply need to tweak their strategies for integration success.
Here are 5 tactics to get you started when creating your new socially-infused inbox.
1. Encourage Consumers To Opt Into Your Mail List On Social Media
The old and faithful ‘opt-in’ is still one of the best ways to gain a loyal, interactive subscriber list when it comes to email. However, if your consumers have not yet reached your landing page and that all-important pop-up, it could be time to offer an opt-in option to your social followers.
Creating private groups surrounding your business or niche on social media is an easy way to gain new opt-in subscribers. In order to join your group on Facebook, for example, followers can opt into your exclusive content using their email.
Ensure that you segment and narrow down your most interactive consumers for maximum success. This could mean that you create numerous groups based on location, interests, and values.
Using this method, targeting the right consumers with the right content is easier than ever.
Another way to increase your opt-in count using social media is to start linking to your website’s opt-in/subscriber page. When you build an online store, creating a page or pop-up that encourages consumers to subscribe to your mailing list for updates and offers is important.
With a linkable sign-up page on the site, you can quickly insert the link into your social profile and within your sharable content in order to attract email subscribers from all angles.
2. Sync Your Branding Across Both Platforms
If you’re integrating your email and social efforts, it’s time to sync up your marketing language; if your social content and email strategy speak different languages, you’ll find it hard to carry over consumers onto multiple channels.
“Social media and email marketing are especially effective when integrated together. To do this well, you must have brand consistency,” says experts at Constant Contact. “This means keeping the same tone, message, images, colors, fonts, and overall style.
While the marketing outreach for email and social media will be slightly different, you still want to remain authentic — especially for anyone who might see both.”
The key here is to create a seamless experience across all channels, especially if you want your social consumers to become email subscribers.
One of the easiest ways to do this, is to create a logo that can appear on your website, within your emails and on your social feed.
For businesses just starting their branding journey, we recommend using a logo generator to ensure that your logo is exciting yet professional on every channel.
3. Showcase Your Social Content Within Your Emails
If you’re looking to build your social following via email, it’s time to start sharing your social content.
Not only do visuals boost email engagement, but they are a great way to showcase your current social content. Why not insert your latest Instagram post within your email?
For example, if you’re running a competition across your socials, show your email subscribers how to get involved, and don’t forget to leave a call-to-action link to the content below.
Take H&M for example. They are pros at inserting social content within their email strategy. From embedding helpful YouTube style guides and tutorials to showcasing user-generated social content relating to their brand.
They make their social channels look exciting, which helps encourage consumers to keep clicking.
4. Leverage QR Codes
In a recent insider Intelligence study, 75% of people said they were more willing to interact with branded QR codes.
As the quickest way to get mobile consumers interacting with your content, they have become a key component of a well integrated email strategy.
“The benefits of QR codes may be obvious: They are a simple way to cut out some steps in the consumer journey and bring potential customers to the exact online place you want them to be.
This can be a website, a landing page for giveaways and promotions, or even a page where you offer a free download that will increase engagement and build a returning audience,” says Rebecca Kowalewicz, Vice President of Digital at Clearbridge Branding Agency.
The point here is to insert QR codes within your email that send a consumer straight to one of your social pages or a high-value piece of content.
5. Play On Social Campaigns For Email Success
We’ve all heard about the viral social trends dominating TikTok and Instagram. Why not use these to your advantage in your email strategy too?
In order to increase email and social engagement, you need to be up-to-date with the latest content trends and shareable topics. These will inform your content strategy across all channels, allowing you to create an email that encourages your social consumers to share.
Embrace humor, topical skits and so much more. The door for creativity is wide open with this one.
An Integrated Future?
Could an integrated future be on the horizon for email on social media lovers?
As digital channels become increasingly connected, it’s never been easier to combine your email and social strategies.
Whether you opt for seamless QR codes or introduce creative ways to share your opt-in links, there’s no doubt that combining the two fields of marketing will raise your engagement in 2024.
