When it comes to limited-time promotions or major holiday seasons, like Labor Day (coming in just a month!) or Black Friday, a business owner's primary focus is to invest their time and money in platforms that will have the greatest impact. Many businesses rely on email marketing for promotions, while others swear by social media ads. But the truth is that both of these tactics offer unique benefits that can help you achieve your promotion goals.
Benefits of Email Marketing for Sales
Email is one of the best and most cost-effective marketing channels for reaching a large audience of consumers who are already showing interest in your products or services. Even better, cell phone number list users are very active: 91% of email users log on at least once a day, and most users check their email first thing in the morning. Remember that your email will land among dozens (if not hundreds) of competitor messages, so make yours appealing.
Although some may argue that email marketing is obsolete (how many times have you seen one of those “Email marketing is dead!” messages?), it is clear from these statistics that email is still an extremely powerful channel. Consider this: the average email open rate is 21.73%, while Facebook's organic reach has shrunk to around 6%. Think you have better luck with Twitter? A marketer found that less than 2% of his followers actually see his tweets. So while social media can be a great tool for reaching new people, email can take the cake in terms of lead nurturing.
Email marketing also offers higher conversion rates than any other marketing channel. A report found that 66% of online consumers made a purchase as a result of email marketing. Conversely, only 20% made a purchase as a result of a Facebook promotion. This is largely because most consumers are familiar and comfortable with receiving marketing messages via email, while retargeted ads on social media can seem intrusive or interrupted, and promotions organics on social media can be totally missed.
When Should You Use Email Marketing?
Drive traffic to your website with specific CTAs. When marketing your holiday sales via email marketing, be sure to take advantage of the opportunity to drive traffic directly to your site. Use a distinct and compelling call to action that invites readers to click for more information or to make a purchase. Pair each CTA with a targeted landing page that provides more details about your vacation promotions. You can also link directly to a product page for easy shopping.
Benefits of Social Media Advertising for Promotions and Sales
Email marketing can be a great way to reach your current and past customers and influence direct conversions, but social media can also be a valuable tactic for advertising your holiday promotions. Overall, social media channels have a much higher engagement rate than email marketing – consumers are more likely to share brands' social media content than email content.