Has your current email marketing strategy hit the wall? Do you think that your emails are not converting? Maybe it’s time to look beyond conventional emailing, and check how social media can help make things easier.
Social media done right can help hype your email marketing campaign. With the aim in mind to convert fans and followers into customers, here are some hands-on guidelines on how to leverage social media to hype your email marketing strategy.
Harvest email subscribers from social media
A broad social media following list doesn’t always translate to impressive profits. Followers don’t always convert; and this happens for several different reasons:
- You’re inactive on social media
- Your social media updates are not impactful enough
- You’re redirecting your audience to generic website pages
- Your content is not qualitative enough
If you want to see results, you must leverage social media to harvest the best email subscribers. Start with uploading a suggestive Facebook Cover Photo. Make your business page on Facebook stand out with a cover photo that references your email list.
For example, you can mention that you have a broad following; add a testimonial, or even provide your fan base with a free gift if they choose to share their email address with you. Don’t forget to add a call-to-action button to make sure your followers are sent to the right landing page on your website.
One of the easiest ways to harvest email subscribers is by spreading the word on social media. Reference your email list periodically, and invite more prospects to get involved.
It’s not enough to gather email subscribers for your email marketing strategy to succeed. People get lots of emails on a daily basis; most of them have a marketing purpose, so how do you make yours stand out?
Set up a contest on social media to gather emails
Did you know that 35% of the people who like a Facebook page only hit “Like” when participating in a contest? This is great for boosting Facebook exposure; but it’s not enough when the goal is to build and expand your email list with social media.
What you need to do to is reroute your traffic to your email list. Tell participants that the winners of your social media contest will be announced via email. In case you didn’t know, you can use Twitter or Facebook to get people to sign up for your email newsletter. Here’s what you need to do to get started:
- Be prepared to offer something valuable to your fans or followers. Nobody will offer their email address for free. A guide, access to a webinar, an e-book, course, etc.
- Set up a privacy policy for your contest/giveaway. People are sensitive when it comes to offering private information. You need to tell them how their data will be handled.
- Credit card. On Twitter, you need a credit card even if you’re not planning to run paid ads.
Integrate an email opt-in form on Facebook
Facebook allows business pages to embed email sign-up forms among their other apps. Use this feature to ask your fans to share their email, too: subscribe to your list to get updates, and receive the latest news through email, before anyone else.
When using a third-party tool to integrate an email opt-in form into your Facebook business page, spend some time researching as there are different tools available. MailChimp is a great platform you can use to merge social media efforts with your current email marketing strategy to craft an efficient emailing campaign.
Here are some basic steps on how to have MailChimp integrated into your Facebook Business Page.
- Log into your Facebook account and switch to your Business Page
- Log into MailChimp in a different browser tab (leave the Facebook Business Page open as well)
- Select “Account settings” in MailChimp
- Select “Integrations”
- Now log into Facebook using MailChimp (click “Okay” to allow MailChimp to access your Facebook account)
- Decide on your email list (if you have more, settle on the list that links to your Facebook page)
- Select a theme: avoid choosing a general theme, and have your own designed. Your core goal is to reinforce your brand on Facebook, not make Facebook famous (they don’t need that anymore).
Hone your email marketing strategy with Twitter’s lead generation cards
If your target audience is on Twitter, you can use the platform’s lead generation cards to collect email addresses within the Twitter platform; the cards available are included in Twitter’s ads toolkit. They have a description, customizable image, and a call-to-action that you can use to gather email lists. Lead generation cards can be added to tweets; and then shared with your followers. You can do it for free; or you can opt for a sponsored tweet.
Use retargeting ads on social media for people who open your emails
Running ads at random on social is like throwing money out the window. However, if you match interest and intent with targeted ads, your email campaign will start rendering pertinent results. To get started with retargeting you need to install a tracking code on your site. This move hooks or “cookies” your visitors, and then shows them ads on social platforms, like Facebook.
A targeted campaign aimed at your subscribers focuses on people that clicked through. It’s a smart move because you eliminate guesswork. Social channels are a great place to start because they’re affordable, heavily trafficked sites. Here’s a quick example on how to use Facebook for retargeting your email list.
Takeaway
Bottom line is, both social media and email allow you to connect with your target audience in a productive way. Leveraging social channels helps you hone an efficient email marketing strategy, provided that you stay focused on a fundamental aspect: quality content. For your emails to catch on, you need to hook your audience with content that grabs attention. Keep in mind your goal: to convert visitors/fans/followers into paying customers.
