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• Some recipients worry that companies will
spam their friends if they use a Web form.
• Forwarding from the email client can break
your HTML.
• Actions on forwarded email can be difficult
to track.
Why Integrate Email and Social?
Retooling your email program for social media
has these benefits:
• Your readers can generate buzz and brand
awareness when they post your messages
in personal spaces where they have
control of content and trust of friends.
A positive personal endorsement from a
friend is the best possible introduction to
your brand that you could hope for.
• Exposing your email program to new audiences
can build your email list.
• You encourage more reader interest and
involvement, which builds relevance and
anticipation–both of which build inbox
recognition.
• All of these together can lead to greater
ROI without significantly greater expense.
Some Social-Sharing Best
Practices
Here’s what I’ve seen working for clients who
have invested time and resources to add socialsharing
links to their emails:
1. Educate your subscribers.
Don’t just drop a button into an email and expect
it to take off. Highlight it in your welcome
emails and regular mailings.
2. Group all your viral features to capture both
social networkers and email forwarders.
3. Don’t despair if the clicks come slowly.
A list full of 20-somethings will likely take to it
faster than a B2B list of C-level executives who are
not as plugged in.
4. See what types of messages get reposted
most often. As appropriate, tailor your content to
encourage more sharing.
5. Designate specific messages to focus specifically
on social sharing and list building, such as
inviting your subscribers to follow or find you on
a specific network.
Break out of your regular broadcast email template
to make this message stand out. Design the
emails from the subject line to the offer, copy and
sharing link placement to encourage sharing–particularly
from your most influential sharers.
6. Track shares, and see what you can learn
about your most active sharers.
Understand who they are, what motivates them,
and how they differ from your general subscribers–and
then give them content they are most
likely to repost.
We’ve seen social networking and social sharing
blossom over just a couple years from an isolated
trend to a necessary element of every effective
email marketing program.
Social networking will not replace email for
commercial messages. But marketers who have
figured out how to integrate email with social will
hold the advantage over marketers who keep their
email and social channels securely segregated.
If you’re still watching from the sidelines, it’s time
to get into the game.
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