How email and social can benefit from cross-marketing

Cross-channel marketing has gained popularity since the economy went south as brands try to get more bang for each marketing buck. Two marketing platforms you may not have considered 'crossing' are email and social but according to new data from MarketingSherpa email and social are primed for cross-marketing.

by Kristina Knight

Called 'social sharing', researchers found that sharing email content on social networks extended the reach of email campaigns, increased brand awareness, increased campaign ROI and helped grow email lists.

Marketers crossing email and social say:

• 81% say social sharing extended campaign reach
• 78% say it increased brand reputation and awareness
• 53% report increased campaign ROI
• 31% say crossing email and social generated more qualified leads

So, what type of email content should be shared to maximize the benefits of cross-channel marketing?

First and foremost, the content should be promotional but not salesy - in other words share the deal. And by 'deal' we don't mean free shipping, buy one get one free or other deals. We mean the deal of the product. Why is the product beneficial? What problems can it solve? Why should social consumers care?

Second, remember that most social consumers want short snippets of information. Rather than including a laundry list of benefits to a product, pick one or two benefits to promote in the short, social space. From there, point the consumer to an article or content source explaining the benefit in more detail. From that secondary local, marketers can give the consumer the promotional offer.

Tags: content, cross-channel campaign, cross-marketing, email content, email marketing, MarketingSherpa, social marketing, social networks, social sharing