Social media can be integrated into your email marketing strategy in a number of ways. However, the method that you choose depends on what you want to achieve. For example if your goal is to syndicate your content online then you will want to target your campaigns to encourage readers to share your content on their social networks.

In 2010 Aweber conducted a survey. The results showed that 36% integrate social media into their email marketing with the purpose of asking readers to send the email on to their social network followers.
The three main tactics for implementing an integrated social media and email marketing strategy to share your newsletter content are as follows:

1. Include ‘Share’ buttons in your newsletters

Including social sharing links in your email newsletters is a great way of combining social media with email marketing. It is also a great way of encouraging your readers to share content. Most websites have a share button on them to make it easier to share.  Five tips you should consider:

1. Identify the most relevant social networking sites.
2. Integrate the ‘share’ icons in your newsletter templates.
3. test the new  newsletter template with a focus group.
4. Roll out the news letter template to the rest of your database.
5. Track shared article metrics.

2. Increase your social following through email marketing

As well as including the ‘share’ icons in your email newsletters, it is equally as important to include links for your subscribers to follow you on social networking sites.  Add call to actions including ‘Follow us on Twitter‘ and ‘Like us on Facebook‘, even ‘Subscribe to our YouTube Channel’.

Also change your email signature to include these ‘follow’ links.

3. Promote your email content in the social Media Platforms

Be confident and cross promote your email marketing and social media.  Just like you inform your subscribers to your email marketing list about your social media profiles, you can do the same on your social networks informing your followers of your newsletter.

Remind all your Facebook fans, Twitter followers, Linked In Followers and YouTube subscribers that you have a great email newsletter and encourage them to subscribe. Email marketing should be used as a catalyst for starting conversations online about your brand.

Conclusion

Email marketing is the least costly method of marketing but the most measurable, most effective and easiest to implement as part of your online marketing strategy.  More importantly, by incorporating social media into your email marketing strategy you can boost your business, keep your audience engaged and enhance your brand reputation.

The main lifeline for a company to survive is generating new sales and repeat business from existing customers. Without existing customers staying connected and engaging with you and new leads entering your sales pipeline you company will stay stagnant and not grow.  However, implementing a well planned email marketing strategy can help your business generate new leads and nurture existing clients to ensure continued growth.

Nearly everyone uses email and it is continually growing and evolving. Email marketing is a drip marketing technique which is a direct marketing strategy. Email marketing involves scheduling promotional messages with relevant and specific calls to action sent via email.  It is a campaign spread over a period of time.

5 things to consider with email marketing

Everyone has heard the saying ‘don’t run before you can walk’, well the same applies to email marketing.  Any email campaign must have best practices implemented before any social media integration. If your email campaign is poor it doesn’t matter how much social integration you have, it just won’t work. So, here are some basic email marketing guidelines.

#1 Start with a clean database

Make sure your contact database is clean and complete as this determines how successful your email marketing campaign will be.

#2 Keep it personal

Always make your emails personal so your readers know you are human and feel like you are personally addressing them. Rather than starting ‘Dear friend’ or ‘Dear customer’, use the greeting ‘Hi John’ as this will go a long way.

#3 Compose a catchy subject line

As soon as the email lands in the inbox of the recipient it is the subject line that will stand out next to the sender’s name. Ensure the subject line is catchy and will compel the reader to open the email. It is the subject line that will make or break your email.

#3 Educate and Captivate

Never hard sell in your email. Remember, your readers subscribed to receive email communication that has valuable content – not emails that are sales pitches.

#5 Design your emails for mobile devices

Mobile and Smartphone’s are now indispensible for both personal and business users. More and more people are using their mobile devices to read emails and browse the web. Ensure your email is correctly designed for mobile users.

Benefits of Social Media and Email Marketing

Social media has exploded in the last few years and more and more people are using sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. This explosion has transformed the way people communicate online and more importantly how companies market their products and services to their target audience.

Get Educated on the Ins & Outs of Leveraging Facebook for Your Business | Download Now

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WSI has released a phenomenal new whitepaper (which also happens to be entirely complimentary!) designed to unravelling the Facebook phenomenon. This whitepaper is also the perfect supplement to our upcoming digital marketing webinar taking place on October 6^th @ 1:00PM EDT.

Facebook has established an unrivalled reputation as an essential online tool for everyone of all ages, professions and industries. This tool has become so ingrained into our culture that your business’ marketing team cannot afford to ignore its power.

Key highlights & takeaways to this whitepaper include:

• Top 7 steps for monetizing your company’s Facebook page
• How-to’s integrating Facebook into your customer nurturing strategy
• How-to’s for using Facebook to generate leads and deliver ROI
• …and many more useful Facebook tips and tools!

Download your complimentary copy of the whitepaper “The Facebook Effect: 7 Ways to Monetize Facebook For Your Business” at http://getwsipowered.com/facebookeffect2011

Click here to reserve your spot now! | Thursday, October 6, 2011 @ 1:00PM EDT

We’re pleased to invite you to a special webinar geared to unraveling the phenomenon of Facebook. Reserve your spot now!

Since its inception, Facebook has established itself as an essential communication tools for students, professionals and – most recently – for businesses.  As a social media tool it has effectively ingrained itself into our culture and ensuring your business’ marketing team is equipped with the fundamentals of leveraging Facebook is a strategy you can’t afford to ignore.

This webinar will cover how-to’s for monetizing Facebook to grow your business. REGISTER NOW! Some of our other objectives on the webinar’s agenda include:

• 7 Proven steps for monetizing your company’s Facebook page
• How to integrate Facebook into your customer nurturing strategy
• Techniques for populating your Facebook page with valuable content
• How-to’s for using Facebook to generate leads and deliver ROI
• …and much more useful Facebook tips and tools!

We hope you can join in for this special webinar. Here are the registration details:

TOPIC: “The Facebook Effect: 7 Ways to Monetize Facebook for Your Business”

DATE: Thursday, October 6, 2011

TIME: 1:00PM EDT *Please check your local time zone!*

REGISTER: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/765308504

Is the hype around social networking just a quick trend or is it here to stay? Is social networking a permanent evolution of the online social media culture? Should you and your business embrace social networking and make it part of your digital marketing strategy?

To answer the last question, YES! An increasing number of businesses are using social networking strategies to increase their brand authority, reputation, business leads and sales.

Human dynamic

I strongly believe social networking is part of the human dynamic (what makes us human) and it is here to stay. Social Media is growing rapidly where almost anyone can broadcast their message to any corner of the world. Even in the earliest days of the Internet, forums allowed collaboration, discussions and interaction. This movement is a long-term trend toward socialization of the web where anyone can participate and share information with other people sharing the same interests.

Social networking is really all about conversations. The essence of Web 2.0 (Social Media) is technology assisted conversation and the interaction of people.

Social networking for marketers

Social networking marketing is a skill that online marketers needs to develop in order to stay ahead of the latest trends and curves in the market. Social networking can be used to communicate and target customers in a strategic and interactive way.  As a result, online marketers are taking advantage of this to deepen their relationships with customers.

So what does the future have in store for social networking?

Social networking is not just growing on the web but towards mobile social networking as well.  The use of mobile devices continues to grow and be part of our culture and I’m sure we will see lots of changes in the future steering towards mobile social networking. How easy is it to use your mobile device to quickly check the online profiles of the prospects you are getting ready to meet?

What ever the future holds, social networking is a basis for communication and the sharing of valuable information and it is here to stay.

To stay up-to-date on the latest social media marketing tools & techniques, visit www.wsidigitalmarketing.com/social-media.aspx

WSI’s Steve Harvey-Franklin was quoted in the Yorkshire & Lincolnshire Business Link Magazines 12th January edition

The article goes on to say that business owners need to get  more value out if their website and their online activity.

Special attention was drawn to the role that Social Media  can play. Our clients are finding that a well managed social media campaign can:

• increase sales or leads conversion two or three fold
• get you found on more keywords
• generate more traffic

Steve also drew attention to the importance of communicating to customers and prospects with a Blog,  not in a sales way, but in the spirit of giving and contributing. We’ve found that his is an exceptional branding tool, positioning active Bloggers as industry experts.

To read the full article follow click here

Steve Harvey-Franklin is the Managing Director of WSI Yorkshire, The Social Media Experts

Related Social Media Links

Social Media Marketing

Social Media Monitoring

Social Media Strategy Kit

Social Media Marketing Guide