A report from Constant Contact found that many organization using both email and social media marketing fail to integrate the strategies, leading many prospects and customers to interact with just one of the two channels. According to Annette Iafrate, managing director for Constant Contact, allowing users to engage new channels through those they already subscribe to can save marketers time and provide greater value.
The research found that only 19 percent of companies using Facebook include links to their social presence within their email newsletter marketing campaigns. Additionally, just 21 percent allow users to share content from email marketing to their Facebook profiles. This prevents social media marketing from providing one of its main benefits – exposing an extended network of consumers to a brand.
On the flip side, just 6 percent of companies include a call to action to enroll in an email marketing list on their businesses’ Facebook Pages.
“While both social media marketing and email marketing can drive great results independently, the magic really happens when you combine the two, using each tactic’s strengths to generate the biggest impact possible,” Iafrate said in a release. “Those who aren’t integrating their efforts are missing a big opportunity.”
Working with both social and email is increasingly important for marketers. Brafton recently highlighted data from the Direct Marketing Association that found both channels are top investment priorities for markets moving into the second half of 2012. For those launching new efforts, especially with an eye to the December holidays, allowing users to share and engage with different channels from an email or social campaign can increase visibility for both and drive website traffic.
