Happy birthday to Email, who turned 32 years old this past Labor Day weekend! As the saying goes, 30s is the new 20s! Even though email marketing may strike many as out-of-date and social media marketing seems to be getting all the glory these days, email marketing is NOT dead. It is understandable that marketers would want to try out the newest marketing strategies – after all, younger types of marketing have glitz and glamour. However, that does not mean traditional marketing methods have lost their effectiveness. Here are a couple of reasons why email marketing still works.
Research shows that email marketing is far more effective at bringing customers to your business than social media. Email marketing is also very cost-effective. According to DMA, email marketing has an ROI of around 4,300% (the two zeros are not a typo). Email marketing practically pays for itself! Did you know there are nearly 3 times more email users than Facebook and Twitter combined? So, even though social media is a valuable tool for a business because it is great for customer engagement, it is not always the best way to drive sales. This is why the savviest online marketers have no intention of giving email marketing up any time soon. With the popularity of smartphones and tablets, people are always reading emails on the go. This enables you to be connected to them where ever they are.
Social media is a great way to make casual connections with your audience. Email marketing provides you the most direct line of communication with them, though. There is no guarantee your posts on social media will reach your audience the way email marketing does. When someone opens your email, you have their undivided attention. At least for a brief moment. Undivided attention is harder to attain on social media. There are so many voices and distractions. When you post on Facebook or Twitter, the audience may or may not even see the post. The social media world moves very quickly. A stream of information is constantly flowing through social media networks. Unless your prospects happen to be in the right place at the right time, your message will be missed as new updates come in. On the other hand, people do read old, unchecked emails that are waiting in their inbox.
When it comes to building business relationships, the best medium is still email. Business professionals generally do not go on to social media websites for business-related conversations. Sure, some businesses use Facebook and Twitter for communicating with various people. But, when it comes to building business relationships, email is the most serious and professional way to do it. Email marketing has proven its worth and value over and over again as a great marketing tool. It has shown us that it is able to adapt and enhance with new technologies and strategies. Email marketing is as effective today as it was a decade ago.
However, it is important to recognize that email does have some disadvantages as well. One disadvantage of email marketing is the possibility of your email being marked as spam. Even though your email (hopefully) follows federal CAN-SPAM laws, the average person may still mark it as spam. Getting your emails through the spam filters can be tricky business, but do not fret! US Data Corporation is here to help you navigate the ins and outs of email marketing and make sure your email marketing campaign is a success. Call us for email marketing help at (888) 578-3282.