A common thread found in comments from our fellow Inbound Marketers is “I know what tools I have at my disposal and how they are used…but, I just don’t have enough time in the day to do it all. What channels should I focus on?
Well, Twitter may be one of the greatest all-time innovations in content sharing, LinkedIn is a wonderful place for making B2B connections, and Facebook is the single place where everyone on the web naturally congregates…but I would suggest that the space you should be putting most of your time and effort into is “none of the above.”
Instead, for a moment, let’s delve a bit deeper into why good-old email is still the channel you had best be focusing your attention on.
Here are 5 reasons why a solid email marketing campaign is more effective than any social media campaign may ever be.
Email Converts Better
The funny thing about social media is that people don't like to leave. They get “sucked in,” staying for ungodly amounts of time. This allows social media companies to boast some amazing average visit times, but does little for converting viewers into customers. Facebook users, for instance, would rather read about what their friends are posting and doing (after all that is why they are on Facebook, right?) than get redirected to an unfamiliar website.
But email is different. People don't mind leaving their boring old inbox to check out something new and interesting. RSS by email, for instance, does very well with click-through rates, as people would rather read your posts on the full website than an awkward email program.
Email is Far More Personal than Social Media
An email inbox is simply a more personal place than a Facebook wall or Twitter feed. Sending a personal email message is the digital equivalent of mailing a hand written letter. While sending a Facebook message or Tweet is more like sliding a note under your friends windshield wiper in a crowded parking lot. People often put more thought and time into reading or composing an email message. Social media simply lends itself to posting “look at me” messaging, while writing an email allows for a more thoughtful train of thought.
Email Addresses are More Valuable than Facebook Friends, Twitter Followers, Etc.
“When a fan gives you their email address, they are giving you the keys to their inbox, a place where they receive their most personal messages from friends, family and business contacts. It's a privilege that shouldn't be taken lightly. While it seems pretty common for someone to drop-off of Facebook for a few months or longer, it's less likely they will abandon their email account (after all, an email address is required for almost all online transactions these days.)
The nice thing about keeping an email list of fans, is that you can save it, store it, edit it, and print it out. You'll always have those contacts. What if Facebook goes down or your page or fan list gets erased? (Yes, it's happened.) What if everybody hops off Facebook and joins the next trendy social network? Will you be able to find all your fans again or will you simply loose touch?”
Email Has Less Distractions than Social Media
Social media is full of distractions. People log into social media to be entertained, to watch videos, listen to music, share pictures, read news and play games, waste time at work…on and on.
Your average email inbox is free of these kinds of distractions; therefore you have a much better chance of keeping the attention of your readers when you send an email. In fact, most people will simply delete or skim right past email while searching out those written by trusted sources or that spark their interest (hopefully you are meeting both of these requirements).
Email Allows You to Inject Conversion Boosting Design
Facebook messages, LinkedIn messages, and tweets can be pretty bland and uniform. Sure you can insert a link or a picture, but you have little control over how the text is formatted or how pictures are displayed. You are also limited by the number of characters or the window size to display your message. We recommend that, at the very least, all of your social media “out-posts” are consistently designed and offer a level of familiarity to those visiting from your site for the first time.
A good email marketing program like Aweber, MailChimp or the one built into HubSpot, allows you or your designer to create templates that can be customized with your own pictures, backgrounds, colors and fonts. You can practically send a fully designed website with live links right into your recipient’s inbox (Sometimes this makes sense, other times, not so much).
What about you? Do you have some email tips to share with your fellow readers? Please post your comments below:
