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Pop quiz: is email marketing or social media better for winning customers?
This fierce debate is the marketing equivalent of “Does pineapple belong on pizza?”
And yeah, we might be just a little bit biased when it comes to why we think email is better.
But instead of pitting social media and email against each other, businesses should really be focusing on aligning their strategies for both.
Why, though?
For starters, recent email statistics note that people are checking their emails anywhere and everywhere throughout the day.
Meanwhile, the average person is spending at least two hours per day glued to social media.
The takeaway here? Consumers today are notification-crazy! Aligning email marketing with your social marketing is a sort of one-two punch for staying in constant touch with today’s business customers.
To help highlight how you make it happen, we’ve put together eight actionable tips for syncing your email campaigns with your social marketing efforts.
1. Sprinkle Your Social Presence Throughout Your Email Campaigns
There’s no denying that social media requires a significant investment of time and energy.
This is especially when it comes to creating share-worthy content and photos.
As a result, try to find opportunities where you can “double-dip” your social content and throughout your email campaigns. Below are some simple ways to make it happen.
Cross-posting social photos and videos
Let’s say you just took an awesome, eye-popping photo for your business’ Instagram.
Consider how you can show that photo off to your subscribers in an email body, too.
For example, check out this promotional email from Tattly.
Pretty rad, right?
And if you hop over to their Instagram, you’ll likewise see a series of stunning photos from the same promotional set.
If you go through the trouble of creating any form of social content (think: promo photos, memes, infographics), sharing them with your subscribers is low-hanging fruit.
Incorporate customer photos from social media
Customer photos and user-generated content from social media are awesome for marketing emails.
After all, they represent social proof. They show your subscribers that you have a track record of satisfied customers.
Check out how APTO highlights customer photos from their social feeds in their emails, likewise encouraging subscribers to share their own photos on Instagram with their #cleanbeautyforall tag.
As a side note, make sure you get permission before you use customer photos in your email marketing campaigns. Doing so only takes a few seconds and can actually be done via social.
Feature social icons (and hashtags) in your email signature
Perhaps the simplest and most common way to feature social media in your email is through a stylized signature.
In short, just drop your relevant social icons in your signature like DICK’S Sporting Goods does below. This represents a passive way to let your subscribers know you’re active on social media.
Check out Colorlib for dozens of free variations of social icons you can swipe or adapt based on your business’ branding.
2. Straight-Up Ask Your Subscribers to Follow You on Social
Sometimes if you want something, all you need to do is ask.
Asking for email subscribers to follow you on social doesn’t have to feel spammy or desperate.
It’s all about how you frame your relationship with subscribers.
For example, you can promote your social media channels as a way to stay in touch or deliver valuable content to your readers when they aren’t hanging out in their inboxes.
The best time to ask for follows is right out of the gate in your welcome emails. This helps highlight that you want to maintain an active, positive relationship with your subscribers from the word “go.” Check out how KonMari.co does it below.
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3. Sync Up Your Promotional Calendar
Spoiler alert: marketing doesn’t happen in a vacuum.
If you’re promoting a product or deal via email, you should ideally be doing the same on social media.
And the opposite logic applies, too.
That’s the beauty of having email subscribers follow you on social media: they’re much less likely to miss your promotions.
However, your marketing emails and social content don’t have to be exactly the same.
For example, check out this promo email from Warby Parker promoting their new “studious” collection.
Meanwhile, Warby Parker’s Instagram is posting action shots in libraries, highlighting the same products they’re promoting via email.
See how that works? In this sense, your email marketing strategy can guide your social strategy and vice-versa without being identical.
4. Grow Your Email List with Social Landing Pages
Okay, this one is super important but easy to overlook.
In short, your social profiles and shared content should funnel your followers to opportunities to opt-in to your email list.
Whether it’s an opt-in pop or sign-up form via lead magnet, you can’t afford to hide your list from your social traffic.
How does this work in practice, though? Let’s look at Skillcrush’s Instagram bio as a prime example.
Their bio link sends traffic directly to a page with the following lead magnet above-the-fold.
And once you click through, you’re then met with a landing page coupled with a brilliant lead capture form.
This technique is exactly how you turn social traffic into subscribers without spamming them to death. You can apply this same logic to social posts and pretty much anything you publish to social media. Remember: your end-game is a bigger list!
5. Post About Your Awesome Email List via Social Media
Much like you can promote your social channels via email, you can likewise promote your newsletter or list via social.
For example, check out how Kaleigh Moore hypes up an upcoming newsletter on Twitter and drops a direct link to encourage instant sign-ups.
You can also sweeten the deal by promoting exclusive offers and promotions to social followers who become subscribers. Of course, just make sure you deliver on your promises!
Much like creating social content requires time and energy, so does creating your newsletter or email campaigns. Getting as many eyeballs on your emails as possible means finding creative ways to cross-promote.
6. Collect Emails Through Social Contests and Giveaways
Social contests and giveaways are as popular as ever, representing a brilliant way to grow your email list.
Simply put, you can ask for your followers’ email address in exchange for an entry. If you’re promoting a worthwhile prize and have social follower who dig your posts, scoring subscribers is a cinch.
Of course, make sure to double-check social media contest guidelines for each respective platform. For the sake of best practices, also make a point to publish a follow-up post regarding your winners to show that your giveaway wasn’t just an attempt to grab email addresses.
7. Upload Your Subscriber List to Supercharge Your Social Ads
This is a bit of an “advanced” tip, but definitely worth mentioning!
If you’ve ever thought about running Facebook ads, your email list is absolutely invaluable.
For example, you can upload your subscriber list directly to Facebook to create a custom audience.
Translation? Facebook uses your email list to target new customers that resemble your own. Rather than go after random users, you can serve ads to folks that fit the exact demographics and interests of people who are already buying from you.
Additionally, you can use your email list to retarget current customers on Facebook with new promotions. Remarketing ads serve as a sort of “second chance” to reach out to customers who are likely to click-through but might have slept on one of your previous promotions.
For more details, take some time to read up on how to integrate Facebook custom audiences with Sendlane.
8. Make Sure Your Marketing Creatives Match
Last but not least, a quick creative tip!
Listen: you’re not the only business that your customers are buying from. Their inboxes and social feeds are filled with promos day-in and day-out.
And so anything you can do to create a sense of identity and stand out from the crowd is a major plus.
That’s why we recommend that your emails look the part in terms of branding, colors scheme and tone.
For example, check out Chewy’s Twitter profile and its distinct pet-centric cover photo, blue color scheme and playful logo font.
And then check out how their promotional emails match the same style, tone and creatives.
By being consistent with your branding and creatives across email and social media, you subtly encourage subscribers to become more comfortable with the idea of buying from you.
Thankfully, you don’t need to be a creative genius to make it happen. Sendlane’s email marketing features make it easy to match up customize your emails according to your brand. Just plug in your creatives to our pre-made templates and you’re golden.
And with that, we wrap up our list!
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Are Your Email Marketing and Social Strategies Totally Aligned?
Email? Social? Why not both?
While we absolutely believe in the power of email, there’s no denying the role of social marketing in reaching modern customers.
That’s why we recommend aligning your strategies for both. Doing so not only saves you time and energy in the long-run, but ensures you’re making more meaningful touchpoints with your target audience.
And of course, make sure to sign up for a free trial of Sendlane to check out our latest features that are perfect for bringing together your email marketing and social strategies!
