Kilde: Silverpop.com  

But rather than being alarmed by this development, canny email marketers recognize social networking as an opportunity to expand the subscriber relationship to incorporate community, content sharing, feedback and user-generated content.

Some marketers say that with the growth of social media, this medium is poised to challenge email as the supreme online communications channel. But rather than being alarmed by this development, canny email marketers recognize social networking as an opportunity to expand the subscriber relationship to incorporate community, content sharing, feedback and user-generated content.

In a socially connected world, brands are no longer defined solely by marketers who create ads and dispense them to consumers. They are built by countless conversations increasingly taking place online. As a marketer, you can’t control those conversations. But you can facilitate, shape and participate in them.

By creating email marketing campaigns with social networking aspects, you can become more relevant to your subscribers, tapping into their desire for connection, nurturing your relationships and increasing your list size.

Here are three aspects of social media that you can integrate into your email marketing program:
 

• Ratings/reviews/feedback: Your customers can decide which product to buy or which article to read based on popularity (top sellers, most read or forwarded) with statistics posted in your emails.
• Community/user-generated content aggregation: Your readers post information and experiences about your products or comments on your Web site, which you can reprint, with permission, in your emails.
•  Sharing and viral content: Email has always been viral, whether users forward your messages through their email client or use your email’s forward-to-a-friend function. But forward-to-a-friend in email appears to be declining in popularity and usage. According to 2008 figures by JupiterResearch, only 8 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds used the feature. That figure has declined compared to previous years. Recipients find forwarding to large groups time-consuming, or they worry that you’ll spam their friends if they use your form. Forwarding from the email client can also break your HTML code, making messages difficult or impossible for forwarded recipients to read.

Social sharing: the next generation of viral email
Incorporating a “share” capability such as Silverpop’s Share-to-Social feature in your emails solves these weaknesses and makes it much easier for your campaigns to spread. By including links in your emails that enable recipients to share your message to their profile page on their social network page, you can quickly turn your emails into socially enabled viral messages.

When you add sharing links to your emails, be sure to create sharable content, and measure the actions of your most valuable “sharers.” Develop content you know appeals especially to them to keep them engaged and sharing.

Why integrate email and social?
Retooling your email program for social media has these benefits:
 

• Your subscribers 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 attract new subscribers and build your list.
• You encourage more subscriber interest and involvement, which builds relevance and anticipation.
• All of these together can lead to greater return on investment without significantly greater expense.

Social email marketing is first and foremost about relationships, and successful email marketers have learned to engage customers with timely and relevant communications that build these connections.

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