One of the bigger debates in digital marketing is the use of email versus social media. There are many that argue that social media marketing has a stronghold over the market, and why wouldn't you want to be a major player on these new platforms? It gives you audience exposure, and stronger brand recognition...right?
While there is some truth for it, email marketing has some clear benefits over social media. While yes, social media marketing might give you exposure to new audiences - how do you really measure that? And how can you be sure that this is giving you the right impact?
Email marketing allows you to advertise to those truly interested
Social media is for those passively interested in your brand, but email marketing is designed for those actively interested in your brand. Consider this, it is an audience that has opted to give you their contact, or have not opted out of receiving your emails. This is an audience that is tapped into your brand and actually wants to hear from you.
Social media marketing can often make brands feel like they are lost in the noise, but email marketing allows you to cut out those with only passive interest and advertise to those that are truly interested in you.
It gives your content more exposure
Social media algorithms are changing, which means your content is too. With Facebook and Instagram tweaking their feeds every so often, how can you be so sure that your content is getting the right exposure? Their analytics might give you an idea, but how do you gain the full picture? That is where email marketing comes in.
By having your content on multiple platforms, it allows you to gain a better understanding of what content is getting exposure and what you need to build future marketing strategy on. Only focusing on social media without email marketing will give you an incomplete picture that will not help you improve.
Better, targeted leads -- without dealing with constant updates
Content exposure plus active users create an unbeatable marketing combination. By using email marketing as a focal point for your strategy, you are ensuring that you will get better, targeted leads that are actively opting to see your content and engage with your brand.
Instead of having to navigate countless algorithm updates, or sponsor and boost posts without understanding real impact, email marketing evades all of that. It allows you to create premium content for the right segments of users, and really tailor your offerings to match their needs. Using targeted email lists, segmentation, and automation, you can build a formidable email marketing strategy that augments your social media efforts.
Ultimately, social media marketing should be used in conjunction with email marketing, not just as a solo effort. Algorithms change, newsfeeds are not static, and email is often the strongest way to build a connection and establish a long-term relationship with your customers. Using social media and email marketing methods in tandem will provide the best results, but do not ignore email marketing as a strong digital marketing tool.
