With the ridiculously fast growth of social media, many people have begun to count out the power of email marketing on acquiring more business. There are several very important reasons email marketing isn’t dying.
People are already interested
People that sign up for your email lists are interested in what you have to offer; whether it’s a free gift, first dibs on product info or just really interesting content. They are going into it knowing that they will receive emails from you. With the battle for attention all across the Internet, getting someone to sign up to receive emails from you is a huge win.
It is extremely customizable
Facebook posts are limited to images, videos, links, and text – no customizable sizes, graphics, and buttons. Twitter is limited to around 140 characters of text and links. Email however usually has the full capability of HTML, which means that you can change the graphics, embed images, videos, and buttons, and place them wherever you want. You can change the sizing as your marketing team sees fit. There is a ton of customization that you don’t have with social media.
There is no distraction
Email is very direct. If someone opens your email, they are looking at only your email. Not a feed of tweets about sports, business news, and deals. Not a page full of pinboards with delicious food and motivational quotes. They are looking at whatever you have to say, even for a split second. So make sure you put a lot of thought into it.
Exclusivity
When people signup for an email list, it’s often because they get access to something that they would not normally have access to. Maybe they get a free gift. Maybe they get access to a membership website. Maybe they get tips sent to their email every day. Being on an email list is like being in a club, and if they see enough benefit to your club, they will remain members for a long time.
People still purchase a ton directly from emails
A study conducted by Custora, an e-commerce analytics company, shows that customer acquisition from email marketing has quadrupled over the past 4 years. That’s pretty impressive with all the social media talk crowding the digital space. This shows that people are seeing and hearing the messages put out in emails, and it is triggering them to make a purchase.
Email is amplified by Social Media
One of the main reasons that email marketing has grown over the past 4 years is that brands have learned how organic search, social media, and email marketing work together as an effective customer acquisition “channel”. Think of the last time you bought something online. Where did you first hear about the online retailer? Was it a Google Ad, a promoted Facebook post, or maybe a banner ad on a website. Maybe you saw it a bunch of times before you decided to click over to the website – there, you were prompted to signup for the email list to receive 10% off your first purchase. This is a common road that many online customers take to get to a purchase. Take note.
Baby Boomers know how to buy stuff from email
While social commerce is growing and no doubt will be a major player in the coming years – it just doesn’t command a large percentage of e-commerce yet. There is not a large presence of baby boomers (or those approaching) using social media to make purchases. There are however, a lot of baby boomers signed up to receive coupons and specials via email. They are used to this and have been growing with this method of buying online for years – don’t downplay this demographic.
Moral of the story, just because the buzzword is “social media” doesn’t mean you should forget the keyword “email marketing”. Research your customers, develop a plan, and get more sales – or hire someone who can.
Resources:http://blog.custora.com/custora-content/uploads/downloads/2013/06/Custora_EcommSnapshot_2013_Q2.pdf
Read this to know more email marketing tips that will yield great results.
