Social media has been very powerful today. It is where people connect to the world and search for products and services. SEO has also been a great marketing strategy. By posting quality content on a business website, search engines help brands get discovered. There is one marketing technique still used today by B2B marketers – email marketing. It reaches out to target audiences in a different way. This is by sending them messaging content on their email addresses. It has not been so popular nowadays. And the question is – does email marketing still work?
WHAT IS EMAIL MARKETING?
As mentioned, email marketing is a digital marketing strategy of sending out emails to customers and prospects. It has been around for more than two decades and has become a marketing mainstay. A digital marketing speaker Hong Kong noted that some businesses believe that modern technology has killed email marketing, yet this isn’t true. Email marketing is the most effective way of directly connecting with leads to convert them into customers. It is the number 1 communication channel as 99% of consumers check their emails daily. People who receive email offers spend 138% more than those who do not receive them. That is why email marketing has steadily recorded a 4400% return on investment (ROI). This is 3x better than social media conversions. In other words, email is the best way for businesses to get online sales.
Another unique power of email marketing, according to a social media agency Hong Kong, is that it can boost the discovery of social media posts. Email is the safest way to inform social media followers about any promotion or updates. There are times when social media pages are tagged as too pushy with their followers and these pages become deactivated. With email marketing, no one can take away the list of leads from a business.
HOW TO GROW YOUR EMAIL LISTS
For email marketing to work and have a larger reach, brands and businesses first need to grow their email lists. An email list is a collection of names and demographics from customers, event attendees, website visitors, etc. There are several ways brands and businesses can build an email list. Some of the best ways are:
- CTA buttons through social media
- Embedded signup forms
- Loyalty and referral programs
- Pop-ups
- Sign up notifications for discounts and deals
- Squeeze pages, a dedicated page to capture leads on a business website
A video marketing agency Hong Kong has noted that videos can also be used as lead magnets. An explainer video, how-to, live streams, unboxing, and webinars are great examples of them. Most marketers recommend placing an email request when 20% of the video has already been played. Such a technique captures 43% conversion rates.
DOES EMAIL MARKETING STILL WORK?
In 2021, email continues to be the simplest method to market a business online.
Email Marketing Complements Social Media Marketing
Digital marketing is not a single process. It needs different strategies and techniques to work. Email marketing can complement social media marketing. Pairing these two digital marketing strategies side by side can ensure successful ads and campaigns. Using emails, social media pages can remind subscribers about their active social community. They can notify them of any new post, product launch, upcoming events, or updates from the business through email. Social media pages can also launch contests and giveaways via emails. All these efforts lead to boosting connection and engagement among customers and prospects.
Email Marketing Increases Brand Recognition
Most people are not ready to buy products and services online. They may see a brand or business in social media the first time around, but it does not provide them any major buying impact. Email marketing can help increase brand recognition. By sending targeted emails, a brand will be exposed to potential customers. They can help brands stay on top of people’s minds so that when they are ready to make a purchase, it is the brand that they will consider buying.
Email Marketing Is Cost-Effective
When compared to social media marketing and traditional marketing, emails are less expensive and cost-effective. You don’t need to pay artists or creators to curate social media content. You also don’t need to pay for ad spaces, postage, or prints. At the same time, email marketing has a higher ROI. The Direct Marketing Association estimates that emails result in a $40 revenue for every $1 ad spend.
Email Marketing Is Measurable
One way to make digital marketing effective is to measure its results. Email marketing still works because it can very well be measured. Bounce rate, click-through rate, and open rate are some ways to measure the effectiveness of email marketing. The average email bounce rate is 2%. The average email open rate is 18%. On the other hand, the average click-through rate for email is 2.6%. These metrics give valuable insights that email marketing still works today. Other email marketing insights can also help brands and businesses discover their customers’ behaviors and interests. This is by finding out what email content they commonly open, ignore, and reply to.
Email Marketing Is Target-Focused
When a brand or business runs a television ad, there is no control over who can see the ad content. When these ads are run on social media, a brand or business can segment the target audience. Yet only interested readers and viewers can reach those segmented campaigns. Like social media segmentation, brands and businesses can send emails based on demographics, locations, and lead status. Customizing email messages based on these elements can lead to higher open rates and, eventually, conversion and sales.
To wrap it up, email marketing still works! Being the easiest and simplest way to market, it has stayed for more than 2 decades and will stay a decade more.
Reference: https://www.webfx.com/internet-marketing/is-email-marketing-still-effective.html