The Impact Of Social Media on Email Marketing

As someone who has a vested interest in email marketing, I find that the evolution of social media is playing a critical role in how email marketing is being used today and how it will be used in the future.

Take for example something as simple as an organization that has been publishing a bi-weekly, monthly or quarterly newsletter. When it comes time to begin compiling relevant (keyword relevant) content for your newsletter, there are times where you feel hard pressed to find enough quality (and again relevant) content that truly engages your audience. Your audience needs to be engaged and interacting with your emails if you're going to build a lasting relationship with them and try to keep there attention for an elongated period of time or nurture them through the buying cycle. So, if you're finding yourself hard pressed to come up with quality content on a regular basis, perhaps you're sending your newsletters too frequently and should consider sending once a month or once a quarter; or perhaps you're in need of more ways to get your audience engaged in a relevant manner. Bam! The beauty of social networks.

By injecting the use of social media into your integrated marketing plan, not only are able to begin taking advantage of the ability to expand brand awareness and promotions, grow your email database, observe brand perception and the dozens of other benefits social media offers, but you're also able to take user generated content from your social media and plug it directly into your newsletters to create a more engaging and valuable experience for your audience. Now, imagine the possibilities. Top photo of video submissions, product reviews and feedback, complimentary products or services, top blog posts, polls, recurring customer questions or issues.... and the list goes on and on and on...

What ideas do you have to inject social media into your email marketing?