Here comes the debate. Is email or social media the better marketing channel in today's landscape? Its very topic that is heavily debated between marketers these days, but for most there to see to be agreement that you need to be using both platforms. Whereas email will allow you the opportunity to connect at an intimate level, social media helps you to grow your brand and list building efforts. But what do you have to do to increase that email list using social media? First, you can try these tips below, and you will see your subscribers increase gradually.
What are the Statistics: Email vs. Social Media?
Before we start, we need to get a better understanding of some of the statistics and see where each of the marketing channels rank. Based on research that OptinMonster has done:
60% of people liked to hear from brands via email, whereas only 20% preferred social media.
From conversions, email converted higher than social media by an average rate of 6.05% compared to 1.9%.
And currently, email has a more extensive reach with 3.8 billion accounts worldwide compared to 3.4 billion social media accounts event that social media is growing all the time.
Now you are going to say why even bother with social media when you consider Facebooks organic reach went down by less than 2%. But don’t walk away yet. Let anything you need to know how to utilize the appropriate marketing channels to gain the most potential and get the most out of it. Let's dig deeper and share a few ways that will help you take advantage of social media and grow your email list.
Share with the audience what they are signing up for
If you’re venturing out there to create a new email list or even if you’ve had it for a while, the bottom line you always need to keep on adding new subscribers. Your social media audience is a great place to start.
By now, you have probably built up over time the right amount people following your social media networks (Need help in to grow your LinkedIn followers read our blog: Five Creative Ways You Can Add LinkedIn Company Page Followers).
First things first, you need to tell the audience what they can expect once they join your list. Make sure you’re as transparent as possible. If you are promoting your newsletter monthly, then make sure you tell them that so they know they will be hearing from you only once a month. But make sure you stick to that.
Offer exclusive content
This a great way to increase your subscription because you are telling the audience that you have unique content that they will not find anywhere else. Make sure when you head down this route that you are delivering content that is unique even that once in a while, you can share content that was previously on your website or blog. Just don’t overdo it!
One thing people like is belonging to exclusive clubs, so if they already like your brand or the content you are delivering, they will love to be part of this. Remember the content needs to be extra special every time. And you will be rewarded not only in subscriptions but also in increased open rates.
Develop a content offer
Are you ready to go the extra mile? Content offers are specifically developed content that is designed for the sole purpose of increasing your email subscription list. The content could be anything from ebooks, infographics, whitepapers, free assessments, or maybe cheat sheets.
Once these assets are ready, you need to place them behind a simple gated registration form where they have to enter their email address to obtain the offer. Note: that we said a simple gated registration form. Don’t go asking the person to answer 100 questions to be able to get the offer as they will turn away very quickly. Usually, all you need is the email address, as that will typically give you enough information about who the company is and who possibly a person is. And yes, you might have to do some leg work to find out who the person is but you can use tools like LinkedIn to help you. Remember the goal is to make it easy for them because if you don’t, they will not give you their contact information. If the email address looks poor quality then don’t add it to your subscription. You will always get some of these, so expect it.
Don’t have the bandwidth to work on a complex content offer; then, you could look to a quiz as an alternative. Or you can simply contact us at Marketing Monarchs via email or phone, and we will discuss how we can assist you.