Why email marketing is essential to your marketing strategy

Marketers are often looking for “bigger and better”. E-mail went a bit out of style as a result. The tall stories from Instagram, Snapchat or Facebook called for more attention. Mistake thanks. E-mail has tacitly expanded its influence. Not only fashion from the fifties to eighties and pop groups regularly make a comeback; email marketing is also back (never) and deserves (again) a prominent place in your marketing strategy. Indeed, research proves that email marketing is still one of the most effective marketing strategies. Gigaom Research asked a large group of marketers to rank their most effective digital marketing tactics. What turns out? E-mail is the best method for conversion, retention, acquisition and awareness.

Email vs. social media

No matter how addictive Facebook is or how beautiful your company's Pinterest board looks, the old, familiar email hasn't lost its magic. We are all familiar with inboxes that flood. We're all wasting time cleaning them up. There will undoubtedly be a big sigh at the sight of all (useless) e-mails. The reality is: e-mail is baked into our digital life.

Your customers can check their mail while waiting for a good cup of coffee or while on their way to work. And did you know that email is still the preferred means of communication for many? You may send a private message via LinkedIn or Facebook, but then you quickly say “send me an email”. Definitely recognisable. E-mail is personal and secretly the first social media channel. And that's where the power lies that you can take advantage of.

E-mail at the top of CTR

Today, such 3.04 billion people use email (2020 estimate). Facebook has approximately 2.99 billion users (2020) and Twitter around 321 million (2019). The majority of them always check their email first before they click to Facebook or other social media. In Europe, the average email click through rate is around 3.2%. For Facebook, this figure is 0.9% and on Twitter, about 1%. Surprise!

What did we see happen to email marketing?

Out Content Marketing Institute research shows that for 91% of marketers, email marketing works best to distribute content. At least in the B2B market. This same study also shows that email is #1 to measure the success of content marketing.

We therefore see that more and more large companies are returning to their newsletters. Think of the world's supersized players like The New York Times or The Washington Post. The latter sends 75 different newsletters. And at The New York Times, they employ as many as 12 people for the newsletter. Not for nothing.

With social media channels increasingly concerned about revenue growth, brands have little control over how they communicate with fans and followers. Of all the ways to grow your audience, email isn't that bad. Social media giant Buzzfeed also decided not to fully focus on social and was highly regarded with email. Within 12 months, they were 1 million more newsletter subscribers.

Looking to the future: should social make way for email in your marketing strategy?

While some believe email is dead, studies actually show that there is still plenty of growth potential. The honeymoon of social media is over. The numbers speak for themselves. E-mail is simply more effective.

Paid ads and revenue growth are what social media is all about right now. For example, influencers are frustrated by the constant algorithm changes in social media channels to make the shift to paid advertising possible. As a company, you can easily use paid promotion to put your brand in the spotlight. An advantage for you as an entrepreneur. Or not? After all, it comes at the expense of the freedom and dynamism that social media is known for.

More and more marketers are realizing that all the complex social media strategies may not have yielded as much as the email lists they already had. Of course, that does not mean that social media marketing is unimportant. Quite the contrary! Acknowledge that they both play an important role. Social media is great for creating and sharing your best content. The ROI of this may not be precisely measurable, but many email newsletters and email campaigns would have less impact if a basis had not already been laid (for branding) via social media. After all, via social media, you create interest in your brand and increase likeability.

How do you approach email marketing as an entrepreneur?

So, put your email marketing on your to-do list (again). Please note that email is more than just releasing a number of autoresponder messages on your mailing list these days. Keep an eye on three things:

1. How does your email work?
   Make sure you check how your mail is doing on a regular basis. Also, set up your website so that you can see and measure what happens after a click on a newsletter item and how your content converts. In short: collect valuable data that you can use in turn to improve click through rates and engagement.
2. Segment your lists
   We don't need to tell you that marketing these days is much more personal than sending the same message to everyone. Make sure you segment messages effectively. Review your lists and test different list segments. Not sure how to get started? There are plenty manuals to find.
3. Make choices based on the behavior of your target group
   The most effective email marketing messages are sent after someone takes a certain action. This action then triggers an email. These automated messages have a 70.5% higher open rate and 152% higher click through rate than “normal” emails. So make sure your email marketing strategy is personalized and meets your customer's needs.

Conclusion: email and social media reinforce each other for a big impact

E-mail has never been gone; with optimal interaction between mail and social media, you only have the golden formula in your hands. Emails are perfect for sharing promotions, discounts, promotions, and instant calls to actions. There is room for deepening your marketing strategy on social media. People expect more entertainment, fun content and news here.

How do you benefit from this as an entrepreneur? Provide personalized, targeted, and relevant newsletters that your subscribers love to read. This way, your audience continues to grow. Do you already have a newsletter? Take a closer look at these. Forget email as a marketing tool and use it to create a great, relevant customer experience.

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