Email Marketing Solutions and Social Media

Direct mail has been a tried and true marketing method for about as long as there has been mail delivery. Email marketing is a natural technological step up in direct mail’s evolution. But, what exactly is email marketing and what are its advantages?

Definitions and Advantages

Simply put, email marketing is the electronic version of direction marketing. As a business or association, your messages go directly into your client’s or potential client’s email inbox. Email marketing is not only used for advertising, but it also is advantageous when used for newsletters, promotions, and even fundraising.

There are many advantages to using email marketing, especially for small businesses and non-profit organizations. Email marketing is quick and cost effective, allowing you to control who your emails target and when the emails are sent. Essentially, you are bringing your message to your clients instead of waiting for your clients to come to you. Detailed tracking and analysis of your email marketing gives you exactly the information you need to tweak and improve your marketing campaign.

Social Media Integration

A social media platform is an essential part of any marketing strategy, but how and why should social media be integrated with email marketing? Last year, a study by GetResponse, an email marketing firm, revealed emails that included a social media share link enjoyed a 30% higher click through rate than emails without those links. Even better, if those emails featured three or more share options, the click through rate rose to 55%.

A 2010 study by MarketingSherpa, an independent marketing research firm, discovered that 42% of people who use social media on a daily basis also tend to check their email four or more times a day while only 27% of non-social media users do the same. Additionally, 63% reported using the same email address for both social media and opting into permission-based emails. Finally, 49% of Twitter users reported making online purchases as a result of an email offer whereas only 33% of all email users made those types of purchases.

The statistics make it clear that the key to email marketing success is to integrate social media by providing plenty of sharing opportunities within those e-mails. But, what’s the best way to get started?

Email Marketing Options

There are many email marketing websites and options to choose from to get your campaign rolling, including companies like Constant Contact, MailChimp, Graphic Mail, Vertical Response, Benchmark Email, iContact and GetResponse. Websites like Email Marketing Options offer helpful “apples-to-apples” comparisons of the most popular email marketing services. They are also a great place for a business new to the concept of email marketing to start out.

While each email marketing company offers its own unique brand of services, most companies offer similar types of services. Some things to look for include free trial offers, easy-to-work-with customizable interfaces and mailing lists, detailed analytics, helpful and reliable customer support and, of course, a reasonable monthly fee. 

Have you used any of these services and found them to be particularly beneficial in facilitating your marketing efforts? What has integrating your social media strategy and email campaigns achieved as part of your Internet Marketing program? Share your success in the comment box below.