Email vs Social Media Marketing – Which Method Works the Best?

Social media marketing and email marketing have a lot of things in common. Both methods allow you to reach your clients directly and establish a relationship, and both are rather cost-effective advertising methods. However, they are both very different as well and one method might work better than the other depending on your objectives. In this article, we’re going to touch on some of the pros and cons of each method to see which one would work the best for you.

The Pros of Email Marketing

One of the major pros of email marketing is that is has a far wider reach. While social media marketing uses a shotgun approach, email marketing works more like a laser.

For instance, it has been estimated that out of 2000 Facebook followers, only two to five will end up seeing your post. This means that you’ll have to work much harder to see results and will need a lot more followers to get the same amount of leads.

In comparison, about 90% of sent messages will end up in your subscriber’s boxes. And you can always tweak your campaigns to increase your open and click through rates.

Speaking of click through rates, this is another area where email marketing leaves social media in the dust. One particular marketer decided to conduct an experience to see which method worked better. He sent a link to one of his blog posts both to his email following and his Twitter followers. As a result, 1200 of his email subscribers followed the link while only 50 did through his Twitter feed.

Another big advantage of email marketing over social media is the conversion rate. Email subscribers are just more inclined to buy and have much more chance of making a purchase. Email subscribers also allow you to make sales at every stage of the sales cycle by using a transactional email for instance.

Social media followers, on the other hand, may have no real buying intentions and are simply looking for a good deal. So, if you’re looking for tangible results and your intention is to make direct sales, then email marketing is a no brainer.

Cons of Email Marketing

One of the things that deter a lot of people from email marketing is the time it takes to build a list. Yes, building an email following does take time, but so does getting a social media following. The only difference is that an email list will start getting you results much faster than your social media followers.

Email marketing is also somewhat limited when it comes to how creative your marketing can be. The best campaigns are text based, so there’s not much room to get wild there and email marketing isn’t as geared towards visual content as social media is. However, email marketing can be a great gateway to some of your other material which still gives you the chance to let your creativity flow.

Then there’s the issue of spam. Since spam is more popular than ever, the chance of emails getting caught in filters is higher than ever. However, this can easily be fixed by making sure that your email sender reputation remains intact and making sure that you formulate your messages in a way that doesn’t get them flagged.

Pros of Social Media

One of the great things about social media is that it can have a high engagement rate when used right. Sharing content through your social media platforms can help you get more traffic to your website or blog. It’s also a great way to establish yourself as an authority in your niche.

Another thing about social media is that there’s always the possibility of one of your posts going viral. However, there is no real formula to get there and going viral is usually a combination of having a large following and a little bit of luck.

And since social media is more visual in nature, it can be a great tool to establish your brand with a wide audience as well.

Cons of Social Media

However, one of the things with social media is that you need to be consistent to get any results. You have to keep your followers entertained with a steady flow of content if you want to keep their attention, and the results aren’t always as direct. Also, with all the social media channels out there, it’s very easy to get lost and spread yourself thin.

So which option should you go for? Well, it all depends on your objectives. However, the best way to get the most out of both methods is to actually use them together. Social media can be a great way to build your email list and help you with conversions while email marketing works best if your end goal is to build a loyal audience and make direct sales.