Why you need email (instead of simply social media alone)

When the subject of online marketing arises, people inevitably jump straight to the topic of social media…

“How do I get more followers?” they ask.

Or, “Which platforms are the best ones to use?”

Even people who don’t spend much time on social media and know their target-market doesn’t spend much time on social media presume that social media is their missing link. Think about the absurdity of that.

A true story that highlights the double-talk here

A few weeks ago a client scheduled a 3-hour meeting to discuss the company’s social media strategy. Though we’ve never had a meeting to discuss, in detail, our email funnels, our sales calls, and our content calendar (not for lack of me requesting them), we blocked an entire half-day to talk about social media.

I finally asked, “Do you regularly check social media?”

“No,” he said. “I don’t have time. I’m running an organization that has 30 or more people on payroll…”

“And what about your clientele?” I inquired. “Do you think they’re like you or are you different than them?”

“No. I talk to them all the time. None of them are on social media.

They have accounts, but they don’t do much with it. They just get on and browse or interact with their families and close friends.”

“Are they representative of your target market?”

“Absolutely!” the owner replied.

“So, you don’t have time to check social media, our current clients don’t have time to check it… and those clients certainly do represent our target market. In other words, things are working…”

“Yeah, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying,” I affirmed, “that we should use social media, but we should spend more time strategizing about communicating with those clients— and the people we want to be our clients— in the ways they communicate. Not in the ways that sound right because it seems to be what other people suggest.”

“I understand what you’re saying,” he said, “but I’m just wondering if I’ll miss something.”

It’s always odd, because...

The social media conversation is almost always odd. For some reason, people assume you’ve got to create a robust following on social media in order to build a profitable business. It’s simply not true.

Furthermore, choosing to lean into email marketing doesn’t mean you must say “No” to social media. For sure, you can— and should— do both. However, you need to know what they’re both good for.

That day, I showed my client an article I found that was written by Carey Nieuwhof— a lawyer turned pastor turned coach and content creator. On his blog, he penned a compelling argument for leveraging email.

Carey wrote (see Carey Nieuwhof, “3 Simple, High-Potential Things Most Churches Miss In Their Digital Strategy,” accessed 11-15-2022.),

Here’s a little surprise: email use is actually growing. By 2024, over 4.5 billion people worldwide are expected to use email. That’s up from 3.7 billion in 2017.

The average person spends over 5 hours a day on email. Most emails are read within an hour of sending.

Text messaging open rates are 98%, and texts are read on average within 15 minutes of sending. While text message marketing is still in the early stages, it’s something to start building as you build your email list. You can’t text people at the rate you email them, but still, it’s an important list to build.

One of the reasons email and texting your audience are so effective is that the people on your list want to be on your list.

Years ago, Seth Godin introduced the idea of permission marketing— the idea that someone gives you direct permission to talk to them.

Email lists are exactly that. When someone gives you their email address or their mobile phone number, they are giving you permission to have a conversation with them.

And guess what? Men access email and text messages more than they do social.

Subscribing to your YouTube channel or following you on Instagram are great starts, but they’re not nearly as effective as having someone subscribe to your email list or give you their cell number.

A few weeks later I received an email from Brendon Burchard. He shared something very similar (email broadcast received 11-11-2022):

Social media is great for personal branding, but the truth is most thought leaders and influencers do *not* earn the majority of their revenue through this channel!

Most major revenue comes through email and email communication over a period of time. I know... I have 6 million fans and email is WAY more powerful for me (and all the major creators, teachers, thought leaders, and social media superstars that I coach!).

Notice the common thread in what each of these influencers report: social media, though we become enamored with the numbers, doesn’t always translate into sales. The numbers don’t tell the entire story.

Many of the people who follow you on social media never “like” or “share” or “comment” on a post. They simply observe. Oddly enough, if you bumped into them at the supermarket, they could tell you everything you’ve been doing— everything you’ve posted on social media, anyway. At the same time, many of them have never responded to anything.

On the other hand, many of those who DO respond, don’t necessarily engage at a deeper level. They simply offer you a momentary reaction as they mindlessly swipe. It makes you wonder who really pays attention.

Social media metrics are often “vanity measures” and nothing more. They look impressive, they boost our ego, and generate a dopamine hit… but they certainly aren’t Key Performance Indicators that can accurately predict the success or demise of a business.

What does it all mean?

Quite simply, we want to use social media AND the power of email. Using one doesn't negate the other. However, we need to remember what they're both good for-- and then leverage the unique strengths of each.

In general, that means leading people FROM social media TO your website... 

... and then collecting their contact info ON your website, so you can continue communicating with them. 

Your next step = learn how to grow your online audience 

Watch the video free here and you'll learn more about the strategy outlined in this post.