Email is to direct mail as social networking is to...?

We often associate, compare and group email with direct mail marketing, however, if you look closely at email best practices, following the direct mail marketing rules amounts to a whole lot of no-no's. The past year I've been getting more interested and involved in social media marketing, only to realize its best practices are more closely related to email marketing than direct mail every was, let me give you some examples:

• Buying lists=bad, building lists=good - By now we should all know buying email lists is a big no-no that will could get you poor results, perceived as a spammer and even blacklisted. While this practice is perfectly acceptable, and even standard, for direct mail it doesn't work for email because it's missing the most important factor in email: permission. Like social media marketing, where you have to 'earn' your audience (I assure you, no one is going around buying Facebook friends!), same thing with email. An email address is a valued possession and many don't want to give it up to just anyone. Promise (and deliver) value as well as a sound privacy policy to build a killer list.
• Don't just push your message, seek feedback and suggestions - "Do not reply to this unmonitored email address" is my biggest email pet peeve! I'm sure you have someone around willing to sort through and react to the emails that need it. Most people understand when you are mailing to a list, it may take a few days to reply, so don't sweat it too much. Not only should you allow recipients to reply, but pay close attention--just like you should in the social media world--to what folks are saying to (and about) you, and even encourage feedback to make your emails more relevant. There's nothing worse than a "corporate" Twitter account that doesn't follow and respond to others, and the same should go for email.
• Realize the consumer is in control - In the social media world, if you say or do the wrong thing, you're likely to get flamed by users, as many brands have learned the hard way. With email the results may not be as immediate, but your email could be trashed in a blog or message board. This point is also important to remember when offering exclusive discounts. If you provide your recipients with a  coupon code, it may find it's way around the net, and you might have trouble honoring your discount. Again it's about giving your subscribers what they want and keeping them happy, in turn, they'll reward you with loyalty and sales.

When the new hot marketing trends come around, it's easy to forget the old favorites, however when you can apply new emerging strategies to tried and true marketing tactics, you're on your way to surefire success.

Comments

[Kelly]

Hi laurent,

You are absolutely right--social networks are a great way to build an email list, especially one that's full of loyal customers and big brand fans. Thanks for commenting!

[laurent]

A big yes on 'building list' vs buying. Don't you have to actually go to social media (blogs, social networks) to build such a list? By finding relevant people/blogs, listening to them and starting a relationship, then put them on your list...