Mediaboss Marketing

Just like the Twix chocolate bar advert states, Its All in the Mix when it comes to integrating email and social media. So, what can marketers do to create the right mix? How can the email and social media channels be successfully combined, like caramel and chocolate, to satisfy your audience? By Kara Trivunovic.

Its evident that consumers are changing the way they approach media, circumventing traditional marketing channels such as television and print media in favour of social media sites that provide easy access to information, advice and recommendations. While it is tempting to think of social media and email marketing as different channels that dont complement each otherand certainly dont have the potential to augment each other. Dont fall to the temptation. Email marketing and social media can work together, help to optimise each other, and drive additional revenue.

Ever since people began flocking to Facebook and Twitter, marketers have been trying to find ways to leverage social media channels to acquire new customers and convince existing ones to buy more. Giants in the retail space initially piloted the trend by offering exclusive coupons on Twitter and Facebook. Eventually this led to every major company having a Facebook page and Twitter feed, and email marketers began sharing links to their emails.

As consumers find it easier to plug into the life streams of others, they are spending more time interacting on a variety of levels from communicating their activities and commenting on those of others to sharing information that they deem helpful or entertaining. In essence, consumers are relying more on their networks to help determine whats worth their attention, and less on mainstream media.

This shift requires marketers to think differently about how they spread the word about their products and services. On the social web, consumers often tune out traditional third-party banner ads, instead focusing on the endless stream of personally relevant information being served up by their friends. Thats where the new discipline of social media marketing comes into play, which enables companies to identify their biggest influencers online and develop programs that entice them to share relevant information and promotions.

Making social media work with email marketing isnt automatic and its not easy. It requires careful planning and content management. Yesmany email service providers offer what they describe as social media integration and this works well for many people with smaller lists and smaller budgets. However, for the larger business with a bigger digital footprint, integration requires more effort plus a deeper and more detailed strategy. Want to know more about some proven ways to combine the power of email marketing with social media? Lets say youre a large company and you have a strong digital marketing platform that includes:

1,000,000 Facebook Likes

2,000 Twitter followers

4,000,000 email addresses

Read more:
The power of integration: Making email marketing work with social media marketing