3 Ways to Promote Social Media and Email Marketing Together

1. Link to your social media pages in your email: your Facebook fansite, Twitter page, LinkedIn page, Myspace site, YouTube library, etc. Don’t just throw a Facebook or Twitter icon into your design; include a call-to-action and explain why they should join: “Become a fan on Facebook for exclusive discounts” or “Follow us on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news and specials” or “Check out user videos at our YouTube site.” Also, don’t link to it if you don’t have quality content there. If your YouTube library consists of a couple PR pieces and a CEO interview from 2008, maybe you need to wait to promote this until you’ve had a chance to beef up the content – better yet, start a contest and call for subscribers to submit videos!
2. Add SWYN (“Share With Your Network”) links in your messages This function allows your subscribers to broadcast that message to their friends and followers on those networks. Even better: if you use the Bronto SWYN feature, you can not only see how many share your message, but also how many of their friends click to check it out. This is a great way to measure the viral impact of your email marketing, as well as to discern whether it’s worth it to invest marketing resources on a brand presence on specific social media sites.
3. Promote email list growth via social media outlets by asking for opt-ins on your Facebook or other social media pages. There are a couple of ways to glean opt-ins from Facebook, ranging from the quick and dirty to the more sophisticated. At minimum, you can periodically throw a call-to-action and link to your site’s opt-in page in your Status or Wall. You can also create a new Tab specifically for opt-ins, or even embed a box onto your Wall (like Scrapbook.com) so that users don’t have to leave the Facebook experience to opt in.  On Twitter, try tweeting out a preview or teaser with a link to your opt-in page before your email newsletter or special promotion goes out the door (see cool examples from StreetSideAuto and OurStage).  This tactic not only helps build your email list, but also alerts existing subscribers to look for your upcoming message, hopefully boosting anticipation and therefore open rates.

If you’re already doing any of the above, do you have any success stories, lessons learned, or new ideas to share? Please do so in the comments below.
Julie Waite
Email Marketing Strategist at Bronto