Email vs. Social Media Marketing: Six Reasons Email Marketing is Better Than Social Media Marketing

Are you looking to launch a new product? Are you planning to introduce a new service to existing and prospective customers? 

In today’s internet-dependent world, marketing has never been this dynamic. Today, businesses have several ways to bring their message across their target market. 

Social media, for one, continues to increase its reach. Statistics show that there are over 3.4 billion social media users globally. However, did you know that an old reliable method still beats social media in many ways?

In the email vs. social media marketing debate, the former still trumps the latter.

Why Email Beats Social Media Marketing

Though you can combine email marketing and social media to improve your business, if you need to focus on only one, you should choose the former. 

Studies reveal that email marketing affects consumer behavior in different ways. Moreover, it also influences people to visit websites if they need more information.

These studies also note that 76% of email recipients buy through an email marketing message. So how does email marketing pull off its success? What are the reasons you should invest in email marketing?

Let’s take a look at some of the best ones below:

1. A More Personal Touch

First, emails offer a more personal touch compared to social media marketing. This is crucial since most consumers prefer marketing that connects on a more personal level.

When you publish your marketing spiels on social media, you are pretty much at the mercy of the users. You will need to wait for them to scroll down their feed to see your post.

Moreover, some algorithms are in play. This means social media platforms like Facebook segregate content. It tends to focus on content coming from users’ relatives, friends, and the brands they support.

On the flip side, when you send a marketing email, you are sure that the message goes into the inbox of your target market. Furthermore, email marketing offers room for personalization. This means you can customize your message to make it more suitable for a specific person.

Sure, you can personalize emails on social media, but the problem is it may lead to communication that doesn’t scale. In social media, you either use general terms or talk to people one-by-one. 

In other words, email marketing helps you build relationships much better. In turn, it adds to your credibility. It earns you the trust of your target market.

Apart from building relationships, it also helps strengthen your brand. Email helps increase brand recognition through personalization. Instead of hard-selling clients, you can tweak your emails with a tone that focuses more on value.

2. No Algorithms

Another advantage of email marketing is you don’t have to deal with algorithms. An algorithm is a series of instructions that aims to solve a particular problem. Social media platforms use algorithms to manipulate data.

This method helps Facebook and other platforms to reflect what its users want and need. Facebook believes that users want to see more content from their friends and family. Facebook focuses its algorithms on bringing people closer.

In turn, businesses need more creativity if they want to appear on users’ Facebook feeds. They need to come up with strategies that will make them stand out. 

Furthermore, there are biases in algorithms. These biases come from the algorithm creators or code writers. The creators’ values and perspectives may influence their algorithms.

Emails, on the other hand, do not have any algorithms. This means when you send an email to someone, the message goes directly to their inbox. So long as you use an effective subject line, you can rest knowing that the receiver opens your email.

Additionally, email marketing allows you to segment your messages. You can slice and adjust your mailing list the way you seem fit.

Simply use the information you have on the people on your mailing list. This includes the links they click and the type of emails they open. By analyzing the users’ previous actions, you can segment your mailing list according to how they interacted with your brand.

3. Higher ROI

Despite the wider reach of social media marketing, it still trails email marketing in terms of return on investment (ROI). 

On average, businesses can enjoy an ROI of $44 for every dollar they spend on email marketing. That is a 4,400% ROI.

Trailing emails are SEO ($22.4), internet display ($19.72), mobile ($10.51), catalogs ($7.30), and banner ads ($2). These numbers translate to the actual ROI of marketing emails.

Additionally, the median ROI of email marketing is 122%. That is four times higher compared to social media and paid search.

4. Subscribers are Yours

Speaking of lists, with email marketing, you get to own your list of subscribers. This means that no matter what happens, you still get to keep your mailing list.

Take for example the now-defunct Vine. People lost millions of fans in Vine when the platform shut down. This is because the platform had the final say over the followers.

If you manage a Twitter account for your business and the platform ceased operations tomorrow, how many of your followers will you get to keep?

When it comes to retention, email marketing is still the most effective channel. It beats social media’s 37% retention rate with its 56% clip.

With email, you can create your list of subscribers using a simple Excel file or CRM. You have full control if you wish to retain or delete a particular subscriber. 

You can also address specific customer concerns more effectively. By personalizing your emails, you can resolve your clients’ complaints without sounding like a canned response. This sends clients a message that you are listening to them.

This gives the notion that you are serious when it comes to customer service. 

The biggest challenge an email list brings is building it from scratch. Thankfully, there are ways to help you build one faster. 

Lastly, you need to ensure that your list is clean. You can do so by tracking each segment. This means avoiding spamming everyone on your subscribers’ list.

5. Connect to Mobile Users

As more companies engage in e-commerce, more people are opting to shop online. Today, there are over 1.6 billion people from across the globe that purchase online via mobile devices. 

Moreover, the average person checks their mobile phone 80 times a day. Forty-four percent check their inbox at least three times daily. Three out of five respond to these emails using their smartphones. 

Tapping this massive potential becomes easier through email marketing. People no longer need a PC or laptop to open their emails. They can read your emails anytime and anywhere through their mobile devices.

Interestingly, market studies reveal that 60% of consumers prefer to receive promotional messages via email. This means they prefer signing up for email promotions than social media promotions.

6. Generates More Engagement

Last but not least, emails generate more engagement compared to social media marketing. Studies say that Facebook has an average click-through rate of 0.07%. This is the ratio of users who click on a particular link against the total number of people who view the page.

On the other hand, people open 1 in 5 marketing emails. The emails also come with an average of 3.57% click-through rate.

This means the 1,000 names in your opt-in subscription list will likely generate more engagements compared to your 1,000 followers on Facebook or Twitter.

Tips for a Successful Email Marketing Campaign

In the email vs social media marketing discussion, it is not enough to know which of the two edges the other. You also need to know how to run a successful email marketing campaign.

Let’s take a look at some valuable tips that will go a long way.

1. Have a Clear Objective

Every email marketing campaign starts with an objective. What is your main reason for launching the campaign? Some businesses focus their attention on the subject line. 

They hope it will generate more clicks and engagements.

Though a subject line is a vital element in email marketing, it is not your campaign’s foundation. Thus, the key is to come up with a clear objective that will serve as the basis of your email’s content.

When thinking of an objective, keep your target market in mind. What type of content will give them the most value? What kind of message will they view as most helpful?

Be empathetic to your market. Find out what they need and create a campaign around solving that particular need.

2. A Crystal Clear Subject Line

As mentioned above, a subject line plays an integral role in email marketing. Hence, you need to come up with a subject line that is clear and concise. This means your subject must accurately tell the reader what your content is all about.

Even if you have a subject line that may sound more enticing, stick to something more accurate and authentic to your content. This will keep you from confusing prospective customers.

When you say something in your subject line and say a different thing in your content, you will lose the trust of your subscribers.

3. Conduct A/B Testing

Maximize the power of A/B testing. This will help you determine the kind of messaging that yields more optimal results. You can test the different segmentations, variations, and personalization you applied.

You can also look at the engagement levels of your emails. This is not always available on some social media platforms. 

You can also test different headlines when you send out your email blasts. You can come up with two different subject lines containing the same content. You will send the two headlines to groups “A” and “B.”

From there, you can observe the market’s reaction and make the necessary adjustments moving forward.

4. Measure, Measure, Measure

Finally, you need to measure your campaign’s results. This entails measuring your open/send ratio (OR) as well as your click to open rate (CTOR). The open rate is the percentage of subscribers who opened your email against the total number of email recipients.

Meanwhile, the CTOR refers to the number of unique clicks over the number of unique opens. What you want to achieve is a CTOR that is above your OR. When this happens, it means people who opened your email also translated into conversions.

Also, you need to mind your data. Data can help predict what your target market needs. It can also help create customer-centric campaigns. 

The proper use of data improves the overall customer experience. 

Should a Pro Take Over?

Though you have the option to go in-house, hiring a professional digital marketer may equate to better results in the long run. Modern marketing strategies come with numerous intricacies. A professional has the knowledge and tools to navigate around such complexities.

A digital marketer can also assist in content creation. With so many things on your plate, you may not have enough time to focus on content. A professional marketer can create emails that are effective and error-free.

Additionally, professional digital marketers can help in the analysis of your customer engagements. They can interpret data and recommend strategies to further strengthen your campaigns.

A professional can serve as an unbiased eye. He can offer a fresh perspective and help pinpoint things that you may overlook.

Overall, hiring a digital marketer is an investment that will yield dividends in the long run.

Email vs Social Media Marketing: Verdict

Even if email wins the email vs social media marketing debate, it doesn’t mean you should forget the latter. Incorporating emails and social media in your marketing strategies will result in more conversions.

However, if you feel the task is too overwhelming, we will gladly extend a helping hand. We specialize in digital marketing strategies for businesses from various industries. We offer content marketing, PR strategies, and social media initiatives. Let us start with a comprehensive digital marketing review. Fill out the form and we’ll take it from there. Let’s build a solid marketing strategy, today!