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First off, if you’re still on the fence about building an email list, here are a couple of stats that’ll put your doubts to rest:
- There are over 3.9 billion daily email users and this number is set to grow to 4.48 billion users by 2024. (Source: Statista)
- For every $1 you spend on email marketing, you can expect an average return of $42 — a higher ROI than you can expect from any other form of marketing. (Source: Litmus)
Now, many brands make the mistake of trying to decide between investing in social media or email marketing. The answer is not to go all in one channel, but to use both in conjunction with each other, as they can work synergistically to drive more leads and ultimately, conversions.
You already know that it’s neither easy — nor advisable — to sell directly to your social media followers. In fact, getting too many promotional messages is one of the top reasons people unfollow a brand.
But if you get your social media audience to subscribe to your email list, you’re essentially warming them up for conversion (and retention) later down the line. After all, people subscribe to an email list because that’s where they want to receive special offers and exclusive content.
So, how do you do that? Here are five tried-and-true ways to use your social media channels to drive more email subscribers.
Promote an Incentive to Sign Up
Most people will simply scroll past your post if you ask them to sign up for your branded email list as nobody wants more emails in their inbox — unless — you offer them a little something extra to sign up.
Promoting an incentive such as an exclusive one-time discount (as H&M does above) or a limited-time free trial of your product is a great way to nudge your audience into signing up for your email list. Make sure to include a relevant high-quality image and a compelling call to action when posting an incentive on any social media platform.
Optimize Your Bio
Everyone puts links in their bio, but many brands make the mistake of linking to a homepage and just leaving it at that. Linking to your homepage is great if you wish to expose your brand to new people, but for your existing followers, it doesn’t really add any value.
So instead of a homepage link, optimize your bio space (on Instagram, Twitter, etc.) with a branded link (and an accompanying copy meant to persuade people to click through) to a custom landing page that houses a special offer for those who sign up to your email list.
Keep updating your bio with new copy and links as and when you revise what’s on offer.
Create Premium Content and Share Its Preview
Along the same lines as the incentive tactic, this one involves creating a premium piece of content (aka a lead magnet) — such as an eBook, online course, industry report, useful templates, etc. — and showing a sneak peek of it on social media with a link to a landing page containing the offer.
When people click through to the landing page, they’ll see the partially or fully hidden content, which they can access for free by opting into your email list.
You provide this premium content free of cost, but you gate it behind a quick form that requires basic contact info to turn them into leads. As you’re providing something of value, your followers would be much more likely to part with their email addresses.
Once they do, you can send them more exclusive content and offers that nurture them into paying customers.
Besides, for all the non-premium website content such as your blog posts that you promote on your social channels, you can capture your visitors’ email address once they read your awesome content by incorporating an un-intrusive scheduling widget like vcita on your site’s content pages, enabling visitors to easily book an appointment or schedule a call.
Essentially, with a good lead magnet strategy, you give your social media audience a trailer of the value to come in your email list and paid offerings. You prove your competency and establish your brand as a highly authoritative one in their minds.
Use Targeted Facebook Ads
If you have the budget, running an ad campaign on Facebook can be effective in generating some quick email subscribers. Facebook Ads allows you to expand the reach of your post to a huge chunk of your target audience who otherwise may otherwise never see your post.
Again, when boosting your post on Facebook, look to offer useful content for free in exchange for a sign-up, such as a coupon code, discount, or premium content.
You might also consider running targeted ads on other platforms such as Instagram, or Twitter and LinkedIn — especially if you’re in B2B.
Host a Contest or Giveaway
One of the simplest yet highly effective tactics to drive more email subscribers is to host a social media giveaway or a contest. Everyone loves the chance to win free stuff.
It’s simple — people have to opt-in for your email list in order to enter your contest and stand a chance to win a prize. But if you wish to host a contest that truly drives returns, make sure to:
- Qualify your sign-ups by having an exciting and relevant prize — something that your ideal buyer persona desires.
- Encourage participants to promote your contest by offering incentives like bonus entries for each share or referral.
You can also combine this tactic with the previous one (an ad campaign promoting the contest) for exponentially greater reach and response. Use a tool like Rafflecopter or VYPER to quickly set up a contest.
Next Steps: Nurture Your Leads via Email
Once you get people to subscribe to your email list, make sure to deliver whatever you promised.
Send them a warm welcome email thanking them for signing up and explaining how often they’ll receive emails from you, what kind of content they’ll receive, any exclusive benefits you offer to your subscribers, and how they can simply hit reply in case of any questions.
Now you can use email marketing to guide subscribers further in their buyer’s journey and help them make their way to the decision stage. You already have an idea about their pain points and interests, so you can send helpful content or resources to make them see why you’re a great option to buy from.
In other words, use your email list to build a value-driven relationship with them, and ultimately turn them into customers. After all, people buy from brands that they know, like, and trust.
The Takeaway
Leveraging your social media presence and engagement to drive more email subscribers is a surefire way to generate more quality leads and eventual conversions.
Use the tactics outlined above to do just that and make sure to nurture your leads with an email sequence that delivers on the original promise — be it exclusive deals, valuable content, or a blend of both.
About the Author
Hazel Raoult is a freelance marketing writer and works with PRmention. She has 6+ years of experience in writing about business, technology, entrepreneurship, social media marketing and all things SaaS. Hazel loves to split her time between writing, editing, and hanging out with her family.
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