Businesses need to connect with clients in order to have a strong customer base and repeat business. What is the best option, though? Email subscriptions or social media?
There are pros and cons of both. Let’s look at them more in detail.
Email Subscriptions
Email subscriptions are a guaranteed way to reach your clients. They sign up for your list, and each email goes straight to their email inbox. Simple, right? You can expand on content, include calls to action, and set up a visually pleasing layout. You can include information as well as advertising, which is definitely appealing.
The cons of email subscriptions is that people rarely ever read the emails of the brands or businesses for which they sign up. They see it in their inbox and often select it (along with the others to which they’re subscribed) and hit delete before they even open the emails. On the chance that they open it, click through rates are lower than they were a few years ago. If the email looks too long, they may skim over it quickly and hit delete or not even read it at all.
Another con of email is it is usually a “one way street.” Clients and leads can read the information but don’t have the opportunity to leave feedback. They may respond to the email if there is urgent feedback or questions, but it isn’t likely.
Social Media
Social media is more popular than ever. It provides a two-way communication tool for instant feedback. Plus it provides a greater reach because there is the potential for your connections to share what you have posted with their connections as well. What may have originally reached hundreds of people could potentially reach thousands.
Social media feels more, well, social! People feel comfortable on social media which is why feedback is more likely. They want to connect to the businesses and brands they follow. It’s more personal than email.
Cons of social media is, ironically, that everybody is on it. This means that people may have so many connections they have a hard time keeping up with all of them. Not to mention posts now reach less people as Facebook constantly changes their algorithm. With thousands of followers, you may only reach a couple of hundred. Promoting posts or running Facebook ads may not always get you the results you expect as many of the fans you gain may be “fake followers” and don’t help your overall goal of reaching people.
What about Twitter? Twitter is another popular social media outlet. Your posts are limited to just 140 characters and with many followers and tweets constantly flowing it’s easy to miss many posts. There are many spam bots on Twitter and accounts are often easily compromised which results in many spam DMs. This means important DMs may not be read as people get used to ignoring DMs.
So What is the Ideal Option?
Maximizing social media is usually a more effective option. Hiring a virtual assistant or advertising expert may be ideal if you have a budget for it. This way you can focus on more pressing matters and can be sure your social media accounts are always active. This doesn’t mean you should ignore your social media accounts because remember your clients want to connect with you. You are probably the best person to answer questions and respond to concerns.
Does it mean email subscriptions are totally dead? No. They aren’t as popular, and many people don’t read them, but there will always be some that do. Plus, not everybody is on social media as hard as that is to believe! Make the most of your email lists by automating them. Be sure to add content (such as a blog) to your website each week and make sure it is sent out automatically to your clients. Plus you can make sure to also maximize the layout of your emails to include eye-catching advertising as well.
So the best answer is ultimately both. The best part is that even though they are often compared to one another, you don’t have to choose just one or the other!