Social media networks are an indispensable part of communication and question a bit the usefulness of emails. Social media postings take place in real-time, are easy to create and animate to interact, therefore have a clear advantage regarding branding. Usually, people who see that friends like a contribution, company or product news, most likely develop a positive opinion for them, too.

In email marketing, on the other hand, the recipients do not have a direct view on which newsletter, friend, colleagues or other networked friends subscribed to and what content they read. However, emails are more targeted and individual in addressing an audience. In addition, they usually remain in the inbox for a longer time and are not immediately replaced by the next post or suggested contribution.

The diversity of the two communication channels should be therefore combined for receiving the best results, as only then their respective potential can be fully exploited. Anyone who does not understand social media as a competition, but as an addition to email and newsletter marketing, can benefit from both channels.

The following tips show how synergies of social media and email marketing can be created and used for B2B marketing, and how you can push the new customer business and strengthen your own brand:

Promote your social media accounts in the newsletter

Make regular announcements in your newsletter that you can be found on social networks. This does not always have to be done in text form: simply place the icon of the platform on which you are registered well visibly in your newsletter and invite your readers to "like" your company on Facebook or to follow you on Twitter or LinkedIn. Ideally, you give your followers and fans at that point already an idea of the added value they get from you on social media, such as the announcement of events or exclusive discount deals, and of course extracts of the current newsletter to get more subscribers.

Ask your audience what to write about in the next newsletter

Find out in which social networks your target groups are active and then observe which topics they are interested in, what they are currently liking, sharing and commenting on. On Twitter, for example, the content under the "trending topics" provides information about current discussions of your target group or industry. Alternatively, you can also ask your current followers. In any case, it is important to listen attentively to your prospective customers, fans or potential customers. This is the only way to fill your newsletter with content that really affects them and is perceived as relevant.

Learn and adopt from social media’s success

What works in social media can also be successful outside these networks. Get inspired, for instance, by eye-catching images, entertaining videos and concise texts, that do not only work in the social web. When it comes to arouse interest and prepare information tantalizing, there are many examples that can serve as a stimulus. Just test new topics or offers on social media platforms, for example through target group-specific Facebook ads, to find out what exactly particular customers are most likely to be drawn to.

In addition, your newsletter should be optimally displayed on mobile devices, as readers of social media websites are accustomed to it. Also, use hashtags in your email texts and remind your reader to tweet the contribution. Furthermore, you can use hashtags to determine the keywords you want to get found in the respective network. Instead of spreading your content in the various social media channels, let your subscribers do it. The prerequisite is, of course, that your followers think your content is simply too good to be kept for themselves. After all, emails can be viral, too. Add the appropriate share buttons to each newsletter post, so that a newsletter subscriber can share your content easily with their contacts, or can follow your company on Facebook, Twitter, or others.

Harmonize social media with email marketing

Before you start your preparations, decide which social media form you want to use, in addition to email or newsletter marketing, and what you want to achieve with it. Keep in mind that the content does not have to be necessarily the same, but a good strategy is useful for all activities to contribute to your overarching communication goal, both via social media and email marketing. In general, you should place each of your messages for your target group in a suitable form at the relevant touchpoints.

While emails and newsletters can convey a greater amount and depth of information, social media manages to spread content faster and broader. Since both channels refer to each other and encourage interactions, you can not only generate more subscribers and fans or followers, but you can also significantly increase the reach of your messages. Through the intelligent linking of email marketing and social media activities, supported by an integrating software solution, B2B companies are stimulating new customer acquisition and strengthening customer loyalty.

By Daniela La Marca