When it comes to digital are we are all focused on the latest social media and Google products? Is it because we use these earned, paid and earned channels all the time? If that is true, why are we not focused more on Email? I’d like to dedicate more focus to email marketing.
Why Pablo?
While the world goes bananas over social media and flashy AI, email has been stealthily amassing an army of 4.4 billion users, ready to take over the digital battlefield.
It's time to give credit where it's due!
Email: The Global Powerhouse You Can't Ignore
Picture this – a channel with a global reach that spans languages, cultures, and continents. That's right, we're talking about email! With a whopping 4.4 billion users, email connects people and businesses worldwide. It's like the United Nations of digital marketing, bringing everyone together for a General Assembly. Think about it, every email is as good as the next. It's what you do with it that will determine it's success.
My feeling is that email is so inherent to our daily life that we almost don’t even think about it as a channel anymore. Moreover, it's been misused by so many scammers and companies that we have had to create new legislature around it. And yes, the first big digital scams (enter the Prince of Nigeria) came via email...
... it got a bad rep. But it's still there, and you look check who sent you mail everyday. So instead of ignoring it, as marketers, we need to understand how to tame it.
The Daily Devotees
Move over, social media – we've got a real contender for daily engagement. A staggering 99% (source: Statista) of people check their inbox every day. No kidding! And the average email marketing benchmarks by MailChimp will tell you that in 2022 the open rate of emails was 21.5% across all industries.
With such undivided attention, email becomes the digital rockstar that can't be ignored. Alas, many marketers do just that. I see it all the time in marketing meetings. People discussing digital marketing channels without considering email. Granted, a lot of what I do does not involve e-commerce. I would imagine those guys have to be email savvy.
But still… we all should.
No?
Personal Touch That Hits Home
I’ll tell you what’s better than a personal assistant. Email marketing! It's like sending a heartfelt letter to your customers, tailor-made for each one. Personalized content, special offers, easy automation – heck, it’s a virtual hug for digital marketers!
So let’s unpack it.
The ROI Beast Unleashed
Now, let's talk about money – the real deal!
When it comes to return on investment (ROI), email marketing flexes its muscles like a beast. For every dollar, euro or peso you invest, it returns a jaw-dropping $42! As any blackjack player how good those odds are, they’ll tell you “it’s goooood”.
Email: The Ultimate Team Player
Forget rivalries – email marketing is the ultimate team player! It seamlessly supports your other marketing efforts. Amplify your social media campaigns, drive traffic to your website, and nurture your content marketing strategy. What I like about Email is that it plays nice with others. Therefore, integration is easy. That’s not always the case with social media, huh Zack…Elon?
Increase Social Media Engagement with Email
But how exactly does email marketing work its magic on social media engagement? Let's break it down with some rock-solid examples:
1. The Exclusive Social Media Offer: You can send out exclusive offers and discounts via email, encouraging subscribers to engage with your brand on social media. Access unique deals or content. Hey, everyone wants to be part of a secret club where only the most loyal fans get the VIP treatment. Email is a good place to give VIP passes in exchange for the right to market one on one.
2. Invitations to Virtual Events: Host a live event or webinar on social media and send out email invitations to your subscribers. This cross-channel approach creates a buzz and drives higher attendance rates, boosting engagement on both platforms.
3. Share-Worthy Content: Email newsletters are a fantastic way to share your best social media content directly with your subscribers. Remember that a lot of the cotent you work so hard to produce gets looked at (if ever) by people who are thumb rolling past 1,000’s of other posts and stories a day. They might love your content, but retention is low. Repurposing and reusing your social media content in a newsletter can expand the shelf life of that content you worked so hard to create.
4. User-Generated Content Contests: Back in 2015 I was doing a lot of this alongside Chinese social media platforms. It was insanely popular. I used to ask the local marketing team what was it that made it work so well.
“Chinese love gifts, anything, even a box of pasta. The thrill is to get a gift and win.”
On the long airplane ride back home I said to myself, it’s not just the Chinese… it’s human nature.
There is always a segment of the population that is particularly inclined to this type of promotion. If your target audience fits the bill, do not hesitate to run content-based contests. Just run user-generated content contests through email and encourage participants to share their entries on social media. This creates a ripple effect, drawing in more participants and boosting engagement across platforms.
Time to Embrace the Underdog
So, what's the takeaway?
It's high time we embrace the unsung hero of digital marketing! I’m Chilean, so very used to supporting the underdog. Just look at our latest attempts to qualify to a FIFA World Cup.
Anyway, enough said about that.
Unleash email’s power to connect, engage, and drive those jaw-dropping returns. Segment your audience, craft compelling content, and watch your campaigns work their magic.
Recently, I’ve been playing with the idea of creating small Audiences (email lists on MailChimp of around 50-100 contacts) of people interested in niche topics. I then connect those audiences to key opinion leaders by sending them his/her latest LinkedIn post URLs via an email with a CTA “join the conversation”. I realize that even though they might be following the KOL, an invite to comment via email boosts engagement of the post by the KOL massively.
Food for thought.
I probably won’t write about email marketing again soon; however, I did enjoy giving it the love it deserves. Please let me know how you incorporate it into your strategy, measure your results, and witness the unrivaled power it still brings.
May the force be with you.