Email Marketing And Social Media 2013 Report

2. Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Email isn’t the opposite of social, even though some people try to position it that way. Like any
communication between human beings, email is social.
However, email and social media sites are not the same. Each has strengths and limitations.
Used together, they can be a powerful combination.
Download a visual companion
Infographic available here: http://blog.getresponse.com/social-sharing-boosts-email-ctr
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3. Overview
Overview
Since the goal of marketing is to grow the Social media channels can expose your brand
business, we’ll examine how email and social to new markets. But many businesses still
tactics can be combined to produce growth: struggle to convert those new contacts into
customers.
Grow by attracting a target demographic
Grow sales by engaging audiences Smart marketers use social media referrals to
Grow profits by achieving higher conversion attract a wider audience and email marketing
Grow customer base by improving retention for the person-to-person work of engagement,
Grow qualified leads through referrals retention and conversion.
In this whitepaper, we give you the facts and
Which social channels are best for implementing figures for 2012.
these growth tactics? Based on our research
and experience, no single channel is optimal. And we offer techniques you can implement
today to build true brand loyalty and to create that
Email converts sales better than social media. mysterious, valuable marketing phenomenon
But growing your email marketing list using called . . . “buzz!”
email-only is an uphill battle.
“Email converts sales
better than social media.”
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4. Market Research
Part One: Market Research
We examined independent studies from reputable sources. And we performed our own research,
using data collected from GetResponse users (using anonymous, confidential means only.)
Research on Social Sites These numbers are impressive, and marketers
can’t resist diving into social media sites to
Think of the size of your email list. Then think of spread their message.
each subscriber’s social accounts. How many
friends or followers does each have? What if at But the harsh reality of social media is that it
least one subscriber shares your newsletter? has low conversion rates, compared to email.
See the potential there?
Here are the latest stats on number of active
users on social sites: “Social media
Facebook: 1 billion
has lower
Twitter: 200 million conversion
LinkedIn: 200 million rates.”
YouTube: 800 million
Google Plus: 135 million
Instagram: 100 million
Pinterest: 40 million
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5. Market Research
Email Accounts But when permission has been granted and
confirmed, email turns into gold.
According to research, there are more than
3 billion email accounts across the globe, The “2012 Marketing Channel and Engagement
and approximately 294 billion emails are sent Benchmark Survey” found 63% of respondents
per day.* cited email as the channel with the best ROI.
This means email has nearly 3 times as many Email was the channel most likely to get more
user accounts as Facebook and Twitter investment in 2012. According to a survey of
combined. Facebook and Twitter combined business leaders, 60% planned to increase
make up just 0.2% of the number of emails sent their email marketing budget. Social
each day.** media was the next most popular at 55%.
Permission email The Direct Marketing Association*** “2012
Response Rate Report” showed that “email has
the highest return on investment (ROI) compared
The harsh reality of email is that roughly 78%
to other marketing channels. The ROI for email
of all emails are marked as spam, either by
is $28.50 compared, for example, to just $7 for
the recipient, the recipient’s Internet service
direct mail.
provider (ISP) or any of several organizations
that provide email filtering services.
These numbers support the value of email.
For marketers, this means that using email to
But an email marketing list is still a closed
contact cold prospects no longer works — email
system. For growth, you need a steady supply
is not a push medium. People are unwilling
of fresh leads.
to tolerate emails unless they have granted the
sender explicit permission.
*http://mashable.com/2012/09/20/evolution-email/
**http://blog.kissmetrics.com/email-crushes-social-media/
***http://thedma.org
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6. Market Research
18+62
Social Media Plus The difference in CTR between email messages that
Email Marketing include and don’t include social sharing.
According to MarketingSherpa (2011), social
6.20%
media tops the list for trends most likely to
2.40%
affect an organization’s email program. Email
marketers are looking to develop relationships
through email marketing and social media
working together.
Include social sharing
Why?
Don’t include social sharing
We recently updated last year’s research which
found that social sharing boosted email Click-Through Rate for messages shared on specific
click-through ratio (CTR) up to 115%. social networks.
62+62795350
+++
7.90%
This year, the most important finding is that 6.20% 6.20%
5.30% 5.00%
the CTR of the messages that included social
sharing rose dramatically from last year. Our
2012 research shows that social sharing
31+42134
+++
boosts email CTR by 158% compared to last
year’s 115%. Average number of shares per 10000 emails opened
42
31
0.3 3 4
Facebook Twitter Linkedin
Google+ Pinterest
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7. Market Research
Business Trends Most marketers used three social sharing
icons (39%). Four or more icons were used
We wanted to see what changed over the by 37%, two icons by 15% while only 11%
course of the year for our customers. Here’s stuck with only one sharing icon.
what we discovered:
Social media sharing buttons are considered
The number of users who include social the third most popular email list growth
sharing buttons in emails increased from tactic (MarketingSherpa Email Marketing
18.3% in 2011 to 29.4% in 2012 — clearly Benchmark Report 2012) just after a website
an upward trend. registration page and offline events.
And 90% of email marketers who included Social media is also the second most
social sharing buttons included Twitter popular channel to integrate with email
icons, almost twice as much as the year (78%) just after website (86%).
before.
Organizations are increasing budgets on
Facebook was included by even more social media and email marketing. The
marketers; almost 99% included a 2012 social media survey found that 87%
Facebook share icon, an increase of over of social media marketers also use
8% compared to 2011. email marketing; 93% plan to maintain or
increase their use of email.
A LinkedIn sharing icon was included by
68.1% — seven times more often than the The conclusion?
previous year! Time to share!
The emerging social networks also did
well. Google+ was included by 42% and
Pinterest by 46% of marketers who used
social sharing.
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8. Tactics for Combining Email with Social Media
Part Two: Tactics for Combining
Email with Social Media
Now let’s review the most popular sharing techniques used by smart email marketers who recognize
the synergy social media can add.
First we’ll discuss newsletter tactics you can implement to extend your marketing reach to new
niche markets. Next we’ll talk about social media tactics for building your email marketing list.
By the end of this whitepaper, you’ll have a grab bag full of ideas to help grow your business
profitably.
Newsletter Tactics Ask them to like or follow your social profile.
Use icons or simply hyperlink the call to action.
Here are easy ways to let your readers know
that it’s important for them to help share your
message and create buzz for your brand.
Promote your social sites
Invite reader to join your network. Let them
know the What’s In It For Me (WIIFM) factor,
“Invite readers
such as — get more great deals, express
opinions, and stay up-to-date.
to join your
network.”
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9. Tactics for Combining Email with Social Media
Dedicate one of your follow-up emails to inviting Invite subscribers to interact and share
your subscribers to join your community. Tell their opinion, not just follow what you do.
them what they gain – news, opinion sharing, After all, social media is about two-way
meet other users. communication.
Make it easy to share
Use preformatted social sharing icons to
encourage recipients to promote your
newsletter content. Link them to the web
archive where the newsletter is available online.
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10. Tactics for Combining Email with Social Media
Make it fun to share Tell readers what to do
People share newsletters they think their Without a call-to-action (CTA) subscribers may
friends will enjoy. Entertaining content creates not realize what they should do and whether
buzz, likewise special offers, contests, events you’re asking them to follow your social profiles
and giveaways. or share the message with others.
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11. Tactics for Combining Email with Social Media
Location, location, location
Hiding the buttons deep at the bottom is less effective than placing them in a prominent place “above
the fold” with a great description
Top placement:
Bottom placement:
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12. Tactics for Combining Email with Social Media
Size matters Be “cool enough to share”
The buttons need to be noticeable; otherwise Readers are reluctant to share sloppy,
they’re not worth including. unattractive newsletters, so keep your design
standards high. You can use generic icons or
customize them to match your brand.
Avoid icon clutter
The more icons you include, the more difficult it
may be for recipients to make a decision.
Find out where your audience is and link
“The buttons
only to those sites. B2C audiences are often on
purely social sites like Facebook and Pinterest.
If your business model is B2B, your audience
is more likely to be on LinkedIn. Social share
stats help you identify which sites work
need to be
best for you.
noticeable.”
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13. Tactics for Combining Email with Social Media
Viral sign-up form Measure your results
Your Thank-you page* is the perfect time and It’s difficult to measure how much your audience
place to request sharing. After all, they feel loves your brand, but it’s easy to count Likes,
good about signing up and may want to tell their Tweets, Pins, LinkedIn Shares and +1s. The
friends about you. GetResponse statistics panel shows total
shares on various platforms.
To make it quick and easy, place social sharing
buttons with suggested text for retweets and
Facebook shares. Both social sharing buttons
should link to a special landing page promoting
your newsletter campaign.
http://blog.getresponse.com/thank-your-subscribers-for-
signing-up.html
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14. Tactics for Combining Email with Social Media
Social Media Tactics
With a few exceptions, people don’t flock to social sites to conduct business. They show up for fun!
But is your business fun?
Well, any business can be fun. For example, there’s a Facebook page for people in Brazil who love
Hellman’s Mayonnaise. As of this writing, it has 1,332,267 Likes! If mayonnaise can be fun, so can
your business.
So get busy. Here’s how.
Share newsletters on social profiles Place a sign-up form on Facebook
When you send out a newsletter, share it on Turn your fans into subscribers. To collect new
your Facebook and Twitter profiles to maximize sign-ups and get more Customers, use the
its reach. unique link of your sign-up tab in your Facebook
ads and share it across other social media
TIP: Place a subscribe link in your email so that channels, as well as in your timeline posts.
people from outside your list can sign up.
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15. Tactics for Combining Email with Social Media
Social sign up Run contests
Allowing new subscribers to use their Facebook Contests engage your audience in a friendly
account when signing up for your newsletter and fun activity. And they can deliver a bonanza
has some serious advantages: of customer data and feedback you can use to
improve your campaign ROI.
1. Signing up with Facebook is faster, so
visitors are more likely to sign up. Running them on social media minimizes costs,
2. Most people use their primary email maximizes returns, and builds your email list.
address on Facebook. This increases the
chances of your newsletters being opened
and read.
3. Facebook friends see who signs up for your
newsletter, providing social proof of the
value of your newsletter.
4. Subscribers who are active on social
networks are more likely to share your
newsletters with others.
5. The GetResponse “social web form” lets
you include additional custom fields to
collect information you need.
“Signing up
with Facebook
is faster.”
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16. Tactics for Combining Email with Social Media
Here are a few pointers for Capture email addresses: The contest is a
planning a contest. newsletter sign-up incentive, so include the
following on your entry form:
Theme: This can be as simple as an enter-to-
“By providing your email address, you give
win drawing or as complex as a competition
[[your company]] permission to email you with
judged by experts.
product updates, articles and news. You can
unsubscribe at any time”.
Prize: It doesn’t have to be an iPad, but it needs
to be exciting enough to get people to submit
Promote: Make viral participation your goal.
an entry form.
Start by announcing the contest to your existing
subscribers, blog readers, and social contacts.
Rules: Summarize the rules, policies, and
Give them fun information to forward to friends
restrictions on the entry form and link to full
and share on social media. Create a schedule
details. Let participants know exactly how
and promote regularly on Facebook, Twitter,
and when the winners will be chosen and
blog, social channels and advertising media.
announced.
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17. Summary
Summary
Ideally, your email marketing and social media programs should work hand in hand. Social media
sites are perfect for expanding the reach of your marketing message.
Email marketing is perfect for building a stronger relationship with new contacts. Here’s a handy
checklist to keep both programs on track:
1. Define your target that members will want to share. However, it’s
Don’t waste time and resources on social media perfectly OK to cross-promote content from
sites that don’t deliver ROI. Create a profile of one medium to another, so your most loyal fans
your ideal subscriber, then find the social sites have multiple opportunities to interact with your
where they like to hang out. GetResponse brand.
provides 6 social media share buttons to add
to newsletters with just a click. But be selective 5. Encourage two-way communication
and add only as many as you can manage Invite your newsletter subscribers to share
effectively comments, ideas, and opinions on your social
media channels.
2. Make sharing intuitive
Make the buttons visible — definitely “above 6. Relax
the fold.” Use a clear call to action that makes Make your social channel a place for a
sharing a natural, logical next step. relaxed style of communication. This is
especially important in B2B marketing, where
3. Incentivize participation communication can be stuffy.
Offer a contest, survey, charity — anything that’s
entertaining or promotes something important. 7. Add a personal touch
Link to the real people behind brands.
4. Define objectives Exchanging views with a brand’s decision
Don’t broadcast everything everywhere. -makers can be a buzz booster.
Instead, design separate content for each social
site, your blog and newsletter. The goal is to
build a community-within-a-community feeling
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18. Conclusion
Conclusion
Why do people flock to social media sites? They want to connect with cool people who are doing fun,
interesting stuff. And they subscribe to your newsletter for exactly the same reason.
So put people first — be fun, be interesting, be cool! That way, you attract people who actually like
you. And when you do business with people who like you, things get so much easier.
Note: And speaking of likable people — when you need a word of advice, reach out to our Customer
Success Team. They love to help you, anytime.
Questions? Get in touch!
We are always here to inspire and help, so don’t hesitate to contact us if you run into any problems
or have any questions along the way of your Email Marketing Success.
Mack Górski Karolina Kurcwald
Education Expert Social Media Expert
maciej.gorski@getresponse.com karolina.kurcwald@getresponse.com
facebook.com/GetResponse twitter.com/GetResponse
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