Better connecting the dots between e-mail and social media
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.
- Six Creative Ways to Integrate Social Media and Email Marketing – BufferSocial
- Infor Updates Email Marketing to Allow for Social Media Integration – MediaPost’s Email Marketing Daily
How important is it for retailers and brands to improve the social media sharing functionality of e-mail campaigns? Are e-mail campaigns that can be passed along more effectively and appealingly in social media a big step forward?
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4 Comments on "Better connecting the dots between e-mail and social media"
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It’s vitally important to retailers to fully integrate marketing messages across platforms. This was relevant before the Internet and it’s relevant now. The key change has been in the message itself. Simply selling in an email or social media will not resonate with consumers. Messages from retailers and brands need to be personal and informative, not just another 10 percent discount. Sell by solving a need or being socially relevant, not through promotions. If the content of an email or social post resonates with consumers they will be far more willing to pass it along.
The need is inevitable for email campaigns to be integrated into social channels. Whether a majority of retailers are currently leveraging this capability or not, the trend is toward a simpler, seamless vehicle to share offers, and social is the de facto method as of the foreseeable future.
Encouraging customers to share offers with their social connections certainly adds topspin to email campaigns.
But growing your “house list” of social connections like you’ve built your email list shouldn’t be lost here. Uploading email subscriber lists to Twitter and LinkedIn and connecting with them builds your connections. Retargeting those who click through your emails on Facebook and Twitter builds your reach.
Once you’ve built your community, you can change directions and get your social messages into email. Providing your LinkedIn Groups with valuable content will get those messages passed on to subscribers’ email via group updates.