Turning Your EMail Marketing into Social Media

When I first entered the internet marketing scene one of the things that I knew to be absolutely true was that email marketing is deader than disco.

It wasn’t even a month later that we sent our first e-blast for a boutique client to a list of over 5,000 people who had signed up online. 22% of those people opened the message and 7% of them clicked a link in the email, which resulted in just over $7,500 in new sales for the client.

Just like that, the one thing that I was absolutely convinced of had been shattered. Hopefully you’re not as naive as I was and you’re aware that a large list of people who have voluntarily given up their email addresses to receive your marketing material is an incredibly valuable resource.

Sure, email marketing is valuable but what does that have to do with social media?

Everything.

EMail Marketing To Drive Social Media

Social media is any content or interaction where you get to have 2 way communication with the public. The people who have opted in to your email list have told you very clearly that they are interested in what you have to say, so what better group to convert into social media interactions?

Your fans may not be ready to drop everything and make a purchase on the spot, but they do love you so they are often left disappointed after reading through an email blast that only pushes sales. Given the opportunity they’d happily share your content, enter a contest or repin a photo, all you have to do is ask.

But Won’t That Hurt My Sales?

Not at all. The people who want to make purchases will make purchases. They won’t be distracted by a secondary block in the email that asks them to interact in social media.

In fact, it may just have the opposite effect – people who had no intention of becoming a customer today will sometimes inquire after sharing because they’ve now become ambassadors of your brand.

How Do I Do It?

First off, if you don’t think that you have an email list you are mistaken. Your most loyal customers, fans and stakeholders would love to receive emails with updates from your business, you just need to ask them first.

Even if that only gives you a list of 10 addresses, you have a start. Use all of your points of contact to get the people who interact with your brand to sign up. Facebook, Twitter, website, cash desk, store front, delivery truck, and lots more points of contact present opportunities for you to ask people to sign up.

That list of 10 will quickly become 20, then 100, then 1000 before you know it. At any point along the way you can convert them into social media interactions by simply giving them a reason.

The most powerful reason for people to do anything in social media is a cause that they believe in. That cause doesn’t need to be a cure for cancer, it can be support for their favorite bride, a vote for their city as the ultimate wedding destination or a crowd-sourced centre piece, among many other things.

Where Do They Do It?

This question is directly related to the online presence that you already have. Is your Facebook Page well branded? Do you get dozens of mentions on Twitter everyday? Or do you have hundreds of followers on Pinterest? Rather than trying to re-invent yourself, drive people to the place where you’re already well set up and you’re already seeing business benefits.

What Do They Do?

Once you’ve identified the thing that you want people to support online, and where you want them to share your content, you need to decide exactly how you want them to do it.

Driving engagement from one medium (email) to the next (social media) is all about being as clear as possible and making the action easy.

The best ways to get people to talk about you on social media are always single, straightforward calls to action. Things like “Tell us about your dream wedding” will often fall flat because the realm of possibility is so large. However, if you were to ask your readers to “Pick your dream Wedding from these images 3 and repin it” then the likelihood that a large number of them will share it increases greatly.

For more social media stories and insights, check back here every Wednesday for The Social Post.

Feel free to contact us any time to ask questions or suggest a topic to be discussed. We can be reached on Twitter at @JunctionYVR or Facebook Junction Marketing.