It’s that time of year. When marketers send out e-newsletters in droves, announcing Black Friday deals, store hours, when Santa will be at their location, flights to get home for the holidays, etc. My inbox gets filled up more this time of year, than any other time. The holiday season is upon us.
E-mail marketing should be one of the pillars of your content marketing strategy. Social Media is great to mention your Black Friday deals, holiday items, etc, but as a marketer I like to think of Facebook and Twitter, etc, as rented platforms. Everybody’s favorite past time is complaining about the changes that Facebook makes to it’s platform, how brands are not getting the organic reach as they have in the past, etc. Technology changes fast and there are new social media platforms coming out just as fast; that consumers are flocking too. Everyone is always trying to be on the next great thing. These platforms can go away at any moment and everything you have built will be gone. Don’t get me wrong, social media is an extremely important component to your marketing strategy.
Email marketing is a personable way to reach your customers and who doesn’t have an email address nowadays. Most people have their email linked to their phones and check it a couple of times a day. When sending out our email messages, we can tailor them to the customers actions so they are relevant to their interests. Plus, if you have any type of retargeting happening, you can send them an email of that appliance they just viewed on your website, (similar to the retargeting ads that you are serving to them on social sites or digitally).
Email marketing is action orientated. You can use it to drive business directly to your website and ultimately drive sales. Email marketing is also measurable. Any email marketing program that you utilize allows you to track who opened it, what links were clicked, how many people unsubscribed, how many forwarded it, etc. This information provides you with the picture of how your email campaigns are performing, so you can make adjustments and improve its effectiveness. The email marketing programs also allow you to do A/B testing, which can reveal a wealth of information about your subscribers, such as do they respond to tempting subject lines that includes offers or softer subject lines that inform them what to expect when opening the email, and much more information.
Email marketing has been around a long time, it’s one of the older forms of marketing. It is cost effective as it is cheaper than traditional methods such as TV, radio and print. It can support your content strategy, as you can include your blog posts, and YouTube videos to continue to tell the story that you are telling on your social networks. Email marketing is also a great way to showcase your Instagram posts. For instance, if you are curating content on your Instagram feed with images from consumers who are utilizing your hashtag, you can promote your feed and give them more exposure by including them in your email message. Email messages are a change of pace from the constant message consumers are receiving online and an effective way for businesses to direct traffic to their website and generate sales.
