Benefits of Email Marketing for Small Businesses
Social media is rented space. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok could shut down tomorrow, and if those are the only platforms you’re marketing your business on, where do you market yourself? How do you get in touch with your audience, or your customers even if you only communicate with them on social media?
I mean, sure, there’s in-person networking or “the old-fashioned way” but where’s the fun in all that? I kid, I kid, I used to hate networking but you know, it’s not so bad. I’m an introvert through and through but once I’ve found my people, I’m pretty happy connecting in person! But even those opportunities aren’t always my ideal customer nor are they always as well attended as even the slowest day of website traffic.
I 100% advocate for a multichannel marketing approach. Your email list is a channel you OWN. Your email list is full of people who WANT to hear from you so planning to communicate with them regularly to share events you might be at, content you’ve created, or promotions you have going on is going to deliver. Just the other day, I had a client of mine tell me that she gets a discovery call with every email we send for her (this was right before she said she booked a new client.). Email, according to Litmus, delivers a $36 ROI for every $1 spent. That’s a pretty hefty ROI…just saying.
So if you’re not email marketing, read on for reasons you should add it to your strategy and how to do it in conjunction with a social media strategy.
The Benefits of Email Marketing
Direct and Personalized Communication
Email marketing allows you to connect with your audience in a personalized manner directly. Through segmentation and targeted messaging, businesses can tailor their emails to specific customer preferences, behaviors, and demographics. This personalized approach fosters stronger relationships and enhances engagement. Additionally, YOU choose when you show up in their inbox. They choose whether to open you or not, but you don’t need to wonder how many people will actually see your content thanks to shoddy algorithms.
A Higher ROI
Compared to traditional marketing channels, email marketing offers a cost-effective way for small businesses to reach their target audience. With minimal investment, businesses can send out promotional offers, newsletters, and updates to a large number of subscribers. Additionally, the high return on investment (ROI) associated with email marketing makes it an attractive option for businesses with limited budgets. If you have a list, chances are you’ve made a least one sale from it. Email typically has a $40 ROI for every 1 dollar spent on it. That’s a HUGE opportunity - especially since we know that most people who give us their email address WANT to hear from you.
Measurable Results and Analytics
While there’s a lot to say about some of the changes in email tracking, you can still get valuable insights and analytics that allow businesses to track the performance of their campaigns in real-time. From open rates and click-through rates to conversion metrics, you can measure the effectiveness of your email marketing efforts and make data-driven decisions to optimize future campaigns—from changing up the subject line (aka how do we get them to open it) to changing the calls to action if you’re not getting a click-through rate.
Drive Traffic and Boost Sales
One of the key benefits of email is to drive traffic to your website! Whether you’re promoting products or a new service - ultimately, you can increase traffic AND sales through email marketing. Clients have told me about large client wins that they’ve had through our email campaigns, increased traffic to trade show booths, and new clients that they’ve obtained through email marketing. It works. Emails serve as a powerful tool to engage customers and encourage them to take action in a way that sometimes social media just doesn’t.
How Social Media & Email Play Nicely
Share and repurpose your content and lead magnets
Listen, organic content is great and all but sometimes waiting for it to increase can be like waiting for paint to dry. If you want to get eyes on your content, not only is social media a great way to do that but so is EMAIL. And one thing that social media can help do - through organic AND paid promotion is to grow your list. Write an email, repurpose for social media. Write a social media post (especially an SEO-rich one!) and use that to send an email. One of the first questions I ask my new clients is what are you doing for current marketing. Do you have an email list? Often times the answer is yes, but I’m not emailing them regularly. Okay, well, you’re missing out, friends! Think about what you’ve put together recently and consider how you can leverage that to repurpose. Write a blog? Send an email! Send an email, write a few social posts!
Social Advertising
Social media platforms offer pretty amazing advertising tools that allow businesses to target specific demographics, interests, and behaviors. Through ads and remarketing campaigns (if you have those skills or hire someone to do them), businesses can reach potential customers who have shown interest in their products or visited their website, increasing the likelihood of conversions and sales. Creating a lead magnet to post about and then boost can help grow your email list and reach people who are probably more likely to convert.
Nurturing Relationships
Social media platforms enable you to establish and nurture meaningful relationships with your audience by engaging in two-way conversations, responding to comments and messages, and sharing behind-the-scenes glimpses of your business. By interacting with your audience, you are more likely to build that trust and loyalty, making it more likely for them to opt-in to your email list to stay connected and receive personalized offers, updates, or recommendations tailored to their interests and preferences.
Conclusion
When you have a multi-channel approach to your marketing efforts, you ensure you are reaching the most number of people and providing opportunities to convert your audience. Remember, each channel has a different purpose so when you’re capitalizing on these various stages of the marketing ‘funnel’ you’re optimizing your marketing for growth. Need support with crafting a content plan for your marketing? Get in touch to learn about our strategy sessions where we audit your current marketing and craft a strategy to help you accomplish your goals.
