Online marketing is a key component in driving traffic to your website. Two online marketing tools we recommend our clients make use of are social media and e-mail marketing. In this post I thought it would be useful to look at how social media can help your email marketing.
With the increase of e-mail marketing and social media things are a lot easier when it comes to publicising your charity, campaigns and fundraisers.
The use of social media and email marketing help spread the word about your cause and create communities around your charity’s website which in return encourages a loyal followership and donations.
The reasons these two tools are quite popular are that:
- They go together hand in hand
- They are convenient
- They can be low cost
- They are great for an immediate response
- They are SPAM free
- There are lots of great Email marketing software solutions to use
Email marketing is very popular and a great way of getting detailed information out there. One form of e-mail marketing is sending out a regular e-newsletter. Why not read our post on the advantages of having a newsletter.
Your E-Newsletter
An e-newsletter is quite focussed. By this I mean that you are communicating to a targeted group. In order to send out an e-newsletter to someone, you must gather your audience hence you need to collate a mailing list.
If someone signs up to your charity’s mailing list then they already know about you, they already have some idea of the work you do and they want to hear more from you.
The e-newsletter is about keeping your existing audience interested and keeping them loyal to your organisation.
The e-newsletter is content specific. To hold onto your registered audience you must make sure that there is interesting and compelling content. Something that will grab your audience’s attention and make them keep alive the belief in your charity. If someone believes in your cause then they are likely to keep the donations and support coming your way.
E-newsletters are sent out at regular periods but not necessarily as frequently as social media updates.
Social Media, how it can help
Your Reach
Social media can reach thousands of people; you are not just restricted to your mailing list. The use of social media helps your mailing list grow. Tools like Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, aid in telling people about your e-newsletters, how and where to sign up to your mailing list, promote your offers, fundraisers and similar.
Get to the point
Social media lets you be brief. You don’t have to go into as much detail. Newsletters main ethos is editorial content; they need good articles and information to be received well. With social media, it’s about getting the information across quickly but clearly. For example Twitter lets you post a tweet in a 140 characters – which is a short and sweet way to promote a key article or promote your mailing list.
Sharing
The use of social media helps share your e-newsletter’s contents. You are not just restricted to forwarding e-newsletters to friends anymore. You can include share this links or add Facebook like buttons to each individual article and they can be shared via social media, which means people can cut to the chase and share what interests them.
Go Viral
Social media can help your news go viral. If people like what they read, it doesn’t take much to spread the word or for interesting information to become popular. If you include a video clip in your e-newsletter, put it on YouTube so more people can find it and share it.
Social media tools are user controlled so the people decide what they choose to like, share and make popular.
No Delay
Social media is immediate and encourages a fast response. It is not restricted to set intervals as an e-newsletter could be. With social media you can update your audience more regularly or they can feed back/comment immediately.
Some helpful tips:
Here is a helpful article that provides tips on integrating social media into your e-newsletter
Conclusion
The bottom line is that the use of social media with email marketing will help raise your charity’s brand awareness. Although both can differ in their approach and reach, both complement each other in building a community around your charity website, engaging with your audience and communicating your key messages about the work you do. Creating a loyal group of followers, should help regular donations, participants and volunteers to support your cause.
