Facebook has been hyped to the point where some marketers have pronounced email to be dead. Of course, it should be intuitive that as long as people still have email addresses, email can’t be dead. Email marketing reaches people where Facebook can’t. Just like Facebook reaches people where email can’t. That’s why the two must work together to reach the broadest possible audience. Facebook reaches the “everyone else” of email marketing, and email marketing reaches the “everyone else” of Facebook. Successful marketing campaigns must learn to integrate the two for greatest effect. Here’s how to get started:
- Provide email signup options on your Facebook page and Facebook like buttons in your emails. Make it possible for people to engage with your company wherever they encounter you. Asking them to sign up for additional marketing options keeps your company in the forefront of their minds as often as possible.
- Promote Facebook contests in email and announce the winners in an email newsletter. Let your email subscribers know what they’re missing out on by not being a fan on Facebook. You can use Facebook pictures to showcase your winners, but always get permission and give the subscriber an opportunity to choose which picture he wants you to use.
- Promote email marketing contests by asking people to provide their email address on your Facebook page. Again, let people know they’re missing out by participating in only one of your marketing venues. If you intend to add these addresses to your subscriber list, make sure your viewers know that up front or you could end up with disgruntled subscribers.
- Use the same design in both places for continuity between venues. People shouldn’t wonder whether the email they got was delivered by the same company who created that awesome Facebook page. It’s important to create brand recognition across multiple venues, so make sure your social media and email follow the same basic design structure.
- Recognize the differences between Facebook and email. Email remains much more personal than Facebook—perhaps even more so since people don’t have to give their email addresses out in order to stay in touch. Most people guard their email addresses much more closely than their Facebook pages and will unsubscribe quickly if you bombard them with unwanted messages. To remain on the nice list, keep emails on point and make sure each one provides something of value.
Email and Facebook can work together to accomplish the same marketing goals as long as you recognize and respect the differences between them. eConnect Email can help you create opt-in forms, manage subscriber preferences, and create custom email templates that will keep your audience engaged, no matter where they encounter your brand.