Email Marketing Vs Social Media Marketing

By Amy @BubbleJobs

When anyone hears the word ‘marketing’, it can be easy to make the jump to images of flashy posters and all-singing, all-dancing TV adverts (a la Go Compare) but that isn’t what internet marketing is about at all. OK, so the aim is still to raise brand awareness and generate more sales as a by-product, but internet marketing is also about building a solid online audience that truly cares about what the company has to offer – enter email marketing and social media marketing.

The first thing to point out is the difference between email and social media – now I’m not talking about the actual formats (I’m sure you’re all well aware of the differences), I’m talking about the different purposes of both.

In simple terms, email marketing is all about bringing the latest company news and offers direct to the inbox of a dedicated mailing list – it’s 100% opt-in so it’s more than likely that the list is made up of previous customers that have been impressed by your services or products in the past. In essence, signing up to your email mailing list means they’ve already ‘bought in’ to your company and could be willing to do so again as and when the time comes.

While email marketing is all about selling and the traditional aspects of e-commerce, social media marketing is more about building a brand and connecting with your customers on a personal, albeit more informal, level. Your company’s Facebook fans or Twitter followers might like what your company stands for but might not have actually purchased something from your store before – they simply want to keep up to date with your latest company news and offers. Social media offers much less of a ‘buy in’ than email marketing because it’s easier to become a fan/follower and can be less intrusive but that doesn’t mean it’s any less effective when it comes to your overall marketing efforts.

In today’s world of Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn, the focus at the moment seems to be more on the question of ‘if’ social media marketing can work alongside email marketing rather than ‘how’ they can work together. And this is where the problem lies. In order to really harness the true power of internet marketing, we need to forget about email and social media as being an either/or situation. Just like SEO and PPC, the only way to maximise your true marketing outreach is to come up with a strategy where both can work side by side.

Now, this might sound like an idealistic dream but it’s actually not as unachievable as you might think. Because email and social media have very different purposes, they actually compliment each other quite well. It’s easy to tie your social media accounts in with your email marketing campaign – simply include links to your individual accounts along with a byline that encourages customers to become a fan or follower. Increasing your fan base on your social media accounts can not only help to increase your reach but can also help you to look much more powerful to potential customers.

Similarly it’s easy to encourage sign up to your email marketing newsletter on your social media accounts – just tweet or post about it every now and then. Posting something along the lines of ‘For more great offers sign up to our company newsletter (or email marketing campaign)’ followed by a link is a great un-intrusive way of making your fans aware that they have the option of signing up to your newsletter if they want to.

When it comes to internet marketing, the mantra should really be ‘the more, the merrier’ rather than either/or. Think about it; email marketing has long been an effective way of updating customers and generating sales – the saying ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ rings true here. However social media is the quickest new way of getting in touch with your customers on a global scale. Combine the two marketing techniques in a complimentary manner and you’re sure to have an internet marketing strategy that not only generates sales but also builds your brand on a global, multi-platform basis – and really, isn’t that what marketing is really all about?!

Tags: email marketing, email vs social media, internet marketing, internet marketing tips, is email marketing dead? can email marketing work alongside social media marketing?, Social Media Marketing

About the Author

Amy Edwards Amy Edwards is the SEO Manager for Bubble Jobs. With a strong background in online content and copywriting, Amy is responsible all the on-site and off-site SEO of Bubble Jobs and the Bubble Jobs blog. You can follow her on Twitter here or add her to your circles on Google+ here.