Do social animals bring e-shots to the party?

It’s come to our attention that some companies appear to have dropped email marketing from their digital offering and replaced it entirely with social media. We have certainly found the once prevalent ‘sign up to our e-newsletter’ prompt difficult to locate on many websites, whereas share and follow buttons are hard to miss.

So what’s happened? Are e-shots not instant enough? Too much like hard work to put together? Or put simply, not a sexy enough marketing proposition anymore? We have put together a few good reasons why this digital marketing forerunner ought to be among the first to get an invite.

They’re the friend that won’t let you down

E-shots are proven to drive a lot of traffic straight to one or more of your intended destinations; be that your website or otherwise. And consequently, according to a contributor on Forbes.com last month, email marketing is said to generate 50% more sales when compared to other marketing techniques, and has a conversion rate higher than most social media platforms.

Brings something to the table

An e-shot can contain a substantial amount of content. Meaning you’re able to inform or sell as much as you like in one hit. You’d need to be glued to your social networks for some time to see the equivalent from one company.

Knows the dress code

Yes, you can customise the content you add to social networks but the overall look and feel of the page is still native to each network. E-shots enable you to provide a more comprehensive brand experience.

Always remember your name

Too many emails are bothersome. But if someone’s signed up to your e-shot, go ahead use their name and bother them. They are interested and will want to find out more. Its harder to get up so close and personal on social networks.

Are worth spending time with

Organising e-shot content can take time but the same can be said for social network content over a similar timescale. Let’s face it, the content for both areas could be one and the same anyway – just delivered using different timescales.

To finish..

We’re not saying that e-shots ought to replace social media. They’re just two different animals that behave in their own distinct way. Social media bring a lot of new people to the party, whilst with e-shots, the same people won’t want to leave. If you’re guilty of thinking that e-shots have had their day – think again. The two should co-exist as part of an integrated digital infrastructure.

Image courtesy of Flickr