Summer is around the corner and it’s a good time to review how brands should be targeting consumers and driving sales through digital mediums. Below are 10 reasons why email should be a key digital marketing strategy for brands and businesses to increase their summer sales. Read time: 4 mins.

Email’s massive reach:

More people use email than Facebook and Twitter combined. An estimated 3.8 billion people are using email in 2018. Facebook has 2.23 billion active users and Twitter has just 336 million active users in 2018. Social media may be viewed as sexier, but email wins the size battle. And with marketing, bigger is better.

Delivery:

Facebook and Twitter posts are transient. One minute, they’re all the rage. The next –  forgotten. And you never know whether they’ll actually reach their targets. Emails are far more likely to reach their destination. An estimated 22 percent of emails get blocked or sent to spam folders, according to research by email analyst Return Path. Still, 78 percent is a fantastic delivery rate which other forms of marketing can’t match.

Longevity:

An email message doesn’t just disappear. Unlike social media posts or PPC ads, an email message stays in your account until you actively delete it. This is significant because, according to BlueHornet, 33.8 percent of consumers check their emails throughout the day and 39 percent check emails one to three times per day. Most of the remaining respondents said they checked emails more than four times per day. 4.2 percent said more than 10 times per day. All that adds up to a ton of exposure for email marketing messages.

Highest ROI:

A report by Campaign Monitor found that for every $1 spent on email marketing, $44 is made in return. Where else can you turn $1 into $44? That is an incredible return on investment (ROI)!

Effectiveness –  easy to read:

It’s easy to see whether your email campaigns are successful metrics like Opens, Click trough’s and pass-on’s are clear to understand. When you combine Google Analytics and tracking links, then it’s possible to measure leads and sales generated from your email campaigns.

Human engagement:

Email marketing creates opportunities for you to communicate directly with your customers. Yes, customers can get personal on Facebook by sending private messages, but the culture of Facebook is being open and public. Customers are much more likely to leave comments or tag your business in their posts. If someone responds to one of your email messages, they’ll most likely do so by hitting the reply button. This chance at private, one-on-one communication is invaluable. A person who is interested enough to join your email list and engage you in conversation is highly likely to become a customer.

Email combines well:

Email marketing can and should be combined with other digital marketing tactics.

For example, not only should you be using email marketing alongside of Facebook, but your email and Facebook marketing efforts should work hand-in-hand. Including email sign-ups on your Facebook page is a great way to build your email subscribers, allowing you to lock in on people who are interested in your business. Conversely, you should include social media buttons on your email campaigns to build your audiences on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. Beyond that, you can launch email campaigns to promote your Facebook page, or hold a Facebook contest to drive email signups. You can even run marketing campaigns that leverage both your email and social media audiences.

Ownership. Your own following:

With email marketing, you are in complete control.  You determine when to contact your audience, exactly who in your audience to contact, and what message to send. With other marketing channels, you simply do not have that kind of control. Plus, your email list can be divided up however you’d like. You can launch email marketing campaigns aimed at either returning customers or potential buyers. The possibilities are endless depending on the information collected when people sign up for your emails.

Increasing Website Traffic for Summer Sales:

Want to bring customers back to your website? Dedicate an email campaign for that very purpose. For example, you can do this when you want your customers to check out a big sale. You can also use email marketing to advertise blog posts, do-it-yourself guides and other interesting content on your website. People who click through might share your content and provide backlinks, bringing even more value to email campaigns.

Lead generation:

Not everyone who signs up for your emails will be ready to make purchases, and that’s fine. Email marketing can help you build a relationship with your leads that convert into sales down the road. Sometimes, weeks or months may pass before someone responds to an email with an online purchase or a phone call. In the meantime, you can continue to build your relationship with your audience by presenting them with compelling and helpful email content.

Conclusion:

Email marketing may not be the first medium on a planner’s mind but these stats show IT SHOULD BE! Don’t just use what’s in vogue, use what works. Email is proven time and time again to be top digital marketing medium. Email offers a direct link between you and your customers through which you can boost your brand and your sales. It has an immense reach, impact and ROI.

Do you need help with your Email Marketing?

Digital Fire is an email marketing specialist and can help you turn consumers into customers. Call us today or email Thomas Boyd the MD on thomas@digitalfire.co.za

(With thanks for some stats to those dudes at ML ROI.)