Social media interaction is all well and good but that doesn’t necessarily translate into tangible ROI. In fact, no other form of communication provides you with the same ability to deliver targeted messages and content. You can take this targeted approach one step further through the use of personalised subject lines, which has been shown to deliver impressive results. Effective communication is the result of multiple tools and channels working in harmony to deliver an integrated and cohesive message. The same study by Experian shows that “welcome emails sent to segments that subscribed via Facebook had 11% higher click-to-open rates than other welcome mailings from the same brands”. In terms of content marketing, this means linking your social media and email distribution plans to create visibility of your material across a variety of touch points. Email delivers results Far from being the pariah of marketing communications, 72% of consumers report that it is their preferred way to communicate with businesses*. Shoppers are more likely to make additional purchases as a result of emails Looking at this from a marketer’s perspective, eConsultancy research reveals that 55% of companies generate more than 10% of sales from email*. That’s a lot of statistics in one go, but these findings clearly shows that email is a highly effective way to share your content with a wide variety of stakeholders. In fact, studies have shown that email promotions are three to five times more effective when communicating with existing customers in comparison to prospects.
Email marketing has received its fair share of bad press over
the years. Once the golden child of marketing communications,
declining open rates led to much soul searching and the widely
touted claim that consumers are annoyed by intrusive commercial
messages arriving in their inboxes. It seemed that email’s days
were numbered.
Step into the limelight, social media. As email fell out of
favour, social’s star was firmly in the ascendant. Early adopters
were quick to praise this new marketing channel as the most
effective way to reach today’s discerning stakeholder, and many
more were wooed by the promise of unprecedented levels of
engagement.
While social may often deliver on this promise, that doesn’t
mean it is the sole answer to a marketer’s prayers. Social media
interaction is all well and good but that doesn’t necessarily
translate into tangible ROI. Pepsi learnt this lesson the hard way
when the brand forwent its traditional Superbowl advertising
campaign in 2010,
choosing instead to launch a social platform that funded good
works.
While the ‘Refresh’ initiative generated a significant spike in
engagement and positive social media sentiment that didn’t
translate into sales, and Pepsi dropped to third place in the cola
wars behind Coca Cola and Diet Coke. What was an undeniably brave
and socially valuable decision turned out to be a commercial flop,
and the brand quickly returned to a more conventional way of doing
things.
Social isn’t necessarily the most effective tool when it
comes to bottom line impact
The moral of this story is that social certainly has a place,
but that it isn’t necessarily the most effective tool when it comes
to bottom line impact. Re-enter from the wings email marketing. Far
from being outdated and ineffective, email is still one of the most
powerful ways to reach prospects and customers and should form part
of any content marketing strategy. Here’s why.
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Email gives you control
Unlike other marketing channels, email marketing puts you in the
driving seat and allows you to control exactly what you send to
whom. In fact, no other form of communication provides you with the
same ability to deliver targeted messages and content.
This means you can share tailored material that reflects the
interests and behaviours of your varied segments or personas,
wherever they are in the customer journey. That could be anything
from an invitation to a webinar…
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