Many people go on and on about social media marketing and how it’s the best thing ever for new businesses, but then there are a number of people who say the same about email marketing. Both can be done, of course, but both also take time and effort. If you’re short on both (and who isn’t?), you’ll have to pick one of the two to focus on. Which one, if either, is the safe bet?
Email marketing has been around almost as long as email itself. The first businesses to use email marketing did so because it was a cheaper alternative to sending out direct mailers. They were able to save money on printing and postage. Later, it became a form of green marketing, something that a number of customers look for. Email marketing allowed businesses to include links to specific products that were on sale or were new; bright, colorful images without worrying about the cost of color printing; and the option of making email newsletters as long as they wanted.
However, email marketing does have a few downsides. The first is that not everyone uses email, so you may still have to do some direct mailers. Even today, there are some people who don’t have an email account. Even those who do may not always want to get emails from businesses. They see these emails as spam, especially if they recent a large number of them within a short period of time. That’s another major concern: even those who do want your emails don’t want them every day. You have to be careful to send out enough emails to keep customers updated on your business, but not enough that they start to feel spammed.
Social media marketing, on the other hand, is fairly new. While email marketing took the place of some direct mailers, social media marketing is a new type of marketing to add to your strategy. It’s all about making connections with customers. By posting status updates, images, links, and videos that relate to what you do, the industry you’re in, or are just interesting or funny, you can make customers view you as a person rather than a faceless business that simply wants to make a sale. Social media marketing is a great way to keep in constant contact with customers.
But, of course, it’s got its downsides, too. To be most effective, you’ve got to consistently post updates. You also have to watch for comments or questions from customers and reply to them in a timely manner. You also have to make certain that you comply with all of the different regulations each social site has. Finally, you have to find the right balance between posting ads, sales, or information about your product and posting things that customers find interesting. Too many sales pitches and they will stop following you, but if you don’t post something every now and then, you may not be getting the most from social media.
