DISCUSSION
Better connecting the dots between e-mail and social media
Written by RetailWire Staff
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By now, we can hopefully assume that most retailers and brands have a handle on e-mail campaigns (although personalized campaigns may be another matter), and at least a decent one on social media. But how many marketers are connecting all the necessary dots in order to increase the value of their e-mail marketing promotions by getting them shared and measured properly on social media?
At a Shop.org "Big Ideas" session last week, Jason Warnock, VP, intelligence products for Yesmail Interactive, presented the idea that, since social media in many cases is not driving a positive ROI, while e-mail marketing is, marketers need to integrate the two. The objective is to allow e-mail recipients to receive incentives for passing along promotions via social media in such a way that the campaign shares render visually well and can be tracked.
One example he gave was a Banana Republic campaign that offered 20 percent off by e-mail, with an extra 10 percent when the recipient shared the offer via social media. Right now, at least with Yesmail, this works for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest. The program allows e-mail subscribers to share an e-mail with the click of a button and the marketer can track purchases from the message plus basic information on consumers who interact with during the campaign.
The product that does this is positioned as a lower cost alternative to social display advertising. He calls this the migration from CRM (customer relationship management) to CMR (customer managed relationship). For Mr. Warnock, since a typical Facebook share reaches an average of 350 prospective customers, the sky really becomes the limit. And the Holy Grail here may be identifying star brand advocates and providing them with additional rewards and incentives.
Media Post's Email Marketing Daily says that Infor has just updated its e-mail marketing product to allow for social media integration. And yet a recent study by ReachMail says only 56 percent of marketers are currently integrating social media and e-mail, and fewer than 10 percent of e-mail marketers plan to focus on social media integration in 2015, per Econsultancy.
A post on the buffersocial blog suggests other ways to integrate e-mail and social media, including uploading e-mail subscriber lists to social networks to monitor their needs, send them customized offers, and gain new followers; running retargeting ads on Facebook and Twitter for those who click your e-mails; and creating exclusive social groups for your e-mail subscribers.