It is 2013. There are no more excuses for businesses not launching email marketing campaigns. In fact, there are no more excuses for businesses with social media connections either. These two things are likely the best marketing tools a small business has. Not only are they extremely simple to navigate but they are used by nearly the entire world’s population. Your business can literally reach anywhere online. Want to make things even easier? It’s time to combine efforts and include social media with each and every new email marketing campaign.
The easiest way to incorporate this into your emails is with buttons or hyperlinks. This directs customers to all of your social media sites (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.) I’d recommend also adding in links to your company’s website and hint that you have a business blog as well. The primary reason you want to make all of this available in one place is for convenience. There are many indirect benefits as well but convenience really is what you are going for. Sure, it only take a few seconds to pop onto Facebook and search a business name but what if your small business isn’t quite as standout as you thought. How often do you do a search for your business name? And can you guarantee potential customers are going to spell it right every time?
Having these links in your email will ensure that each reader has the exact social media pages and sites that you want them to see. Even if these social media sites do not include the same information as your emails, they are important connections between you and your customers. This draws customers in. No longer are they stuck searching the web and potentially finding the wrong thing because this time you’ve given them exactly what they need.
So that’s the easy part, right? The links are there and all the work is done? Not really. Here are four tips on just what to do with this new connection you’ve made:
Request that your readers share the information with friends and family. This can be done numerous ways. Creating a simple Facebook or Twitter app that pre-writes a status or tweet just by clicking a share button from the email makes things simple and quick for your customers. This is fast word of mouth. That message can then be shared over and over again by however many friends each person has, compounding each time. That’s powerful.
Make sure your blog has an email subscription option. Include a button directly from your email marketing campaign to sign up for the blog. Offer a small incentive for this sign up. This way, you don’t have to rely on customers remembering to go to your webpage to read your important messages. They’ll get the information right to their inbox.
Include important details about upcoming events and promotions for your business. The body of your email still needs to be the center of attention. Don’t overcrowd your message with so many buttons and links that readers can’t see what the message is really about. Plus then your email seems like spam.
Start a treasure hunt. This is a fun way to encourage users to actually use those extra links you’ve included. Add a link in your email to direct customers to your Facebook page for a valuable coupon on vice versa. Tweet that a special offer will be sent to email subscribers only. This will get more people to sign up if they know something is coming.
Did those ideas jumpstart your creativity? Are you thinking of all new ways to launch email marketing campaigns now? The benefits of having more people viewing your social media pages daily are astounding. If your business isn’t taking advantage of every opportunity to get those pages out there, it is wasting valuable cheap and easy marketing. So what are you waiting for?
Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com. She specializes on the topic of small business tips and resources. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and facilitates connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide.