5 Similarities Between Email and Social Media

Although social media has higher returns than email and is the preferred method of communication for most customers, the two are not mutually exclusive. In fact, email marketing and social media marketing have similar tactics, goals, and use cases, and by using the two together, you can take your demand generation and lead nurturing to the next level.

1. Click-Through Rate Reigns Supreme

While conversion rate on the landing page might be your ultimate goal and give you overall ROI, CTR is the clearest indicator for the performance of your email and social media strategies. Every email should have a call-to-action, just as most Tweets, posts, and social media messages. CTR will also tell you if the content and channel are the right fit for that stage of the customer journey.

2. Fueled by Content

Neither email nor social media benefit from the endless public promotion. For the few leads who are ready to buy, an email or Tweet about your product might close the sale, but most leads are still learning about your brand, your industry, and their own needs. Social media and email are not billboards; they’re content channels. If click-through rate is an important measure of success, you have to give your leads something to click—an interesting and relevant call-to-action. This may be a signup form for a demo or trial, but often this will start as top-of-funnel content, such as a whitepaper to download or a blog post to read.

3. Frequency Can Help…

Few marketers think of social media as a drip nurture campaign, but sites with one-to-one access to leads, such as Twitter and LinkedIn, can be used exactly for this purpose. B2B marketers especially can take advantage of long-term engagement on social media. In the same way that you can distribute content to your leads over time through email campaigns, offers, and newsletters, social media newsfeeds provide leads with consistent reminders about your brand, and direct message CTAs can encourage leads to take the next step in their buying journey.

4. …And Frequency Can Hurt

Have you ever unsubscribed from an email list because there was a daily tip in your inbox every single morning? Have you unfollowed someone on Twitter because they live-Tweeted every aspect of their lives? Unsubscribe rates for email blasts are anywhere from 0.5% to 2%, and unfollowing rates for social media are in the same range, with “too many promotions” as the most common reason for unfollowing a brand. Email blasts and social media promotions are for important, relevant information. The rest of your content can be focused on the customer.

5. Personalization Goes a Long Way

The other day, I received an email from a fellow startup I follow with this crazy yet unsuccessful attempt at personalization.

As a marketer, I know that sometimes glitches happen, and since it was a company I know well, it didn’t bother me too much. But that kind of “spam” can still rub the wrong way.

Fortunately, I received another email that same afternoon, with the subject line “We Messed Up” and my name bolded in the email three different times. And guess what—I read both emails. They were on my radar twice in the same day, and it ended with a very positive impression. Not that I advocate premeditated mistakes, but it just goes to show what a difference personalization can make.

What This Means

Email marketing and social media marketing are not isolated from each other. In fact, since they serve similar functions, they can complement each other well. DJ Waldow wrote an article over at Social Media Examiner, “9 Ways to Integrate Email and Social Media Marketing.” He lists some helpful ideas to try, such as:

• Promote email sign-ups on social
• Create exclusive email campaigns for social followers
• Always include social icons in emails

Socedo integrates with Marketo and Salesforce, so you can easily implement social media into your overall marketing strategy. The conversation doesn’t stop on social, nor does lead nurturing stop on email. The two are powerful together.