Relying entirely on one customer channel is a very shortsighted approach. To be an effective marketer today, companies need to leverage and monetise both traditional online channels and emerging online channels to reach and influence their audience. This requires not only technology for creating, delivering and monitoring campaigns, more than ever it requires expertise and understanding in how to use emerging channels appropriately and in cooperation with traditional channels.
A decade ago, the term social media didn’t mean much to consumers, let alone marketers and corporate executives. Today, none of us can get away from the term – it’s everywhere.
But in the rush to get your companies tweets in order, it is important to remember Social media isn’t new; neither is the idea of sharing short updates with people you are connected to online. Email is considered by many to be the first social network, word-of-mouth marketing has been around for decades and viral marketing isn’t a fresh idea (arguably the pyramid scheme, which dates back to Charles Ponzi, was fueled by viral marketing).
Yes, the mediums have changed, but the underlying fundamentals and human motivators have not. People know how to share information. Companies that recognise this are not pushing content, but are promoting engagement, looking at their customers as skilled knowledge brokers who are adept at reaching the right audiences with the right messages at the right time.
Those companies that are willing to step back and take a more philosophical approach to social customer engagement will benefit from stronger customer relationships, more trusted, recognisable brands and increased revenues.
Email and social media both have unique benefits and are significantly more powerful when used together. By integrating social features and exclusive offers, companies could improve the value of their email programmes for their subscribers and ultimately boost customer acquisition.
Companies looking to drop one channel in favour of the other are looking at things from the wrong angle. For starters, email marketing allows your company to own its email list, but with a social strategy the identities of your Twitter and Facebook followers are owned by those respective parties.
Social cannot yet stand alone as a marketing solution; it needs email to make it work as a direct channel. While Ben & Jerry’s see fit to ditch email entirely, other brands are taking the opposite route. Google and Microsoft are integrating social functionality into Gmail and Outlook respectively, a measure that will enhance the customer’s view of email and social media as mutually compatible.
Viral marketing programs are set to become exponentially more powerful, and email marketers should prepare for this shift by developing an integrated marketing strategy for the two channels now.
Paul Bates is Managing Director of StrongMail in the UK
To read another take on this To see another take on this issue, read a piece by Felix Velarde,of Underwired Amaze here.
A decade ago, the term social media didn’t mean much to consumers, let alone marketers and corporate executives. Today, none of us can get away from the term – it’s everywhere.
But in the rush to get your companies tweets in order, it is important to remember Social media isn’t new; neither is the idea of sharing short updates with people you are connected to online. Email is considered by many to be the first social network, word-of-mouth marketing has been around for decades and viral marketing isn’t a fresh idea (arguably the pyramid scheme, which dates back to Charles Ponzi, was fueled by viral marketing).
Yes, the mediums have changed, but the underlying fundamentals and human motivators have not. People know how to share information. Companies that recognise this are not pushing content, but are promoting engagement, looking at their customers as skilled knowledge brokers who are adept at reaching the right audiences with the right messages at the right time.
Those companies that are willing to step back and take a more philosophical approach to social customer engagement will benefit from stronger customer relationships, more trusted, recognisable brands and increased revenues.
Email and social media both have unique benefits and are significantly more powerful when used together. By integrating social features and exclusive offers, companies could improve the value of their email programmes for their subscribers and ultimately boost customer acquisition.
Companies looking to drop one channel in favour of the other are looking at things from the wrong angle. For starters, email marketing allows your company to own its email list, but with a social strategy the identities of your Twitter and Facebook followers are owned by those respective parties.
Social cannot yet stand alone as a marketing solution; it needs email to make it work as a direct channel. While Ben & Jerry’s see fit to ditch email entirely, other brands are taking the opposite route. Google and Microsoft are integrating social functionality into Gmail and Outlook respectively, a measure that will enhance the customer’s view of email and social media as mutually compatible.
Viral marketing programs are set to become exponentially more powerful, and email marketers should prepare for this shift by developing an integrated marketing strategy for the two channels now.
Paul Bates is Managing Director of StrongMail in the UK
To read another take on this To see another take on this issue, read a piece by Felix Velarde,of Underwired Amaze here.
