The labels "outbound marketing" and "inbound marketing" suggest that the two are polar opposites, where you make the decision to go with either the established or innovative toolset. Obviously that's not the case; marketing works best with a blend of old and new school tactics. For example, email to communicate and pull prospects down the funnel (also known as middle-of-funnel nurture tactics), while also using social media and SEO tactics as a superior top-of-funnel tactic for attracting visitors in the first place. Why email? Because according to MarketingSherpa, 75% of social media users say email is the best way for brands to communicate with them! Last year, Hubspot posted a helpful article on how to convert your social media fans into email subscribers. They recommend segmenting fans by social network, like so:
Facebook fans
- Use an email opt-in widget. According to Silverpop, only 10% of companies do it, so you would be ahead of the remaining 90%. Widgets are easy to put in. In fact, your email service provider may already have a technique in place.
- Wilton (a banking accessory company) had a follow-up survey and opt-in form on their Facebook page. They made a wall post encouraging subscribers and saw their newsletter subscription jump a whopping 225%!
Twitter followers
- Directly tweet the occasional request to join your email list, remembering to describe the benefits. Will they get valuable content? Or keep up with the latest industry news? Tell them why they should subscribe.
- Put an email opt-in box in as many places as you can that link from your tweets. No one will go hunting for it, so make sure it's easy for visitors to subscribe.
- Link to registration-required content, such as whitepapers, ebooks, webinars, etc. Remember to have focused landing pages to increase the likelihood of conversion.
Linkedin connections
- Linkedin is the best for quality B2B lead generation because of its nature as a social network for professionals. Take care to optimise your profile by linking to your blog in one of your profile URLs. Remember to use searchable keywords so you are found by prospects.
- If you're on Linkedin at all, you've probably joined a group. Studies show 81% of users are members of at least one group, so create your own group (make it about your industry) or join an existing group. Once you're in, look for ways to share content that encourages members to sign up. Use educational content or previous articles.
Why bother trying to grow your email subscribers? At the very least, you'll become an authority in your industry whose awesome content helps all who subscribe. At most, you'll get your subscribers to convert to leads. To learn more on the inbound marketing revolution, please download our free eBook on the subject:
Do you have any other tips for using social media to grow your email subscribers? Let us know by leaving a comment below.