The Ultimate Battle: Email Marketing vs. Social Media

In the age of digitalization, the concept of newsletters seems quite old-school. I mean, who reads newsletters at the breakfast table today?

Well, you’ll be surprised how good it works!

Nowadays, people prefer subscribing to email newsletter services that let them stay up to date while they are on-the-go.

With advancements in pretty much everything, the way people think and the approach they take towards things has also evolved.

In the earlier days, marketing through print media was thought to be the most effective form of advertising. However, things are different today.

On the other hand, the widespread popularity of the internet and the accessibility to resources from around the world from a simple device that you carry in your hand has brought about a revolution in the way marketing is done.

Email marketing and social media are two of the most powerful tools that marketers are using at present.

They take advantage of the fact that a massive majority of the population owns smartphones today, have access to the internet, and are online throughout most of the day.

Marketers can get their message through to their consumers in an instant, regardless of which part of the world they’re located in.

While both tools are quite popular, the email marketing vs. social media battle rages on, with no end in sight.

The Common Objective

Both email marketing and social media marketing are forms of online marketing.

Even though they share common objectives, their course of action is entirely different.

You may think they are two separate entities, but they do intersect when it comes to what marketers aim to achieve through them. 

Online marketing aims to build the reputation of a brand, reach a wider audience, and, most importantly, generate revenue. 

When the objectives are common, what makes email marketing and social media marketing different?

What is it that gives one of them an edge over the other?

Don’t worry. We won’t leave you with a cliffhanger.

Step into the battlefield with us and see for yourself who wins the email marketing vs. social media battle.

Understanding Email Marketing and Social Media Marketing

Email Marketing

I have made it a habit to subscribe to the email newsletter service of the businesses I am most interested in.

Of course, I would like to know when a new product line is launched so that I can go check it out.

Besides, I would also love to be notified when companies I closely follow put out a new press release. 

This is what email marketing is all about – targeting specific customers who ‘want’ to stay connected to your brand. It’s a great way to build strong relationships with potential customers.

Equally important, it’s a segment of online marketing that involves rolling out emails to personal email inboxes of potential customers.

Most of the time, emails are personalized so that the recipient can feel more connected to the brand. 

Pros of Email Marketing 

Who doesn’t want to take their business to a whole new level? I am sure you do, too. With email marketing, you can reach out to your potential and loyal customers alike. It is associated with numerous benefits, which I have listed down for you:

Personalized Targeted Content 

Email is the perfect channel for driving engagement through personalized, targeted content. With email marketing, you can create different segments and arrange your customers based on their preferences. 

It allows you to craft the perfect subject title along with the most relevant and highly attractive images and include valuable content that resonates with the customers’ interests. 

It also enables you to send different emails to each segment so that the content of the email aligns well with the recipients. The more connected a person feels to the brand, the higher are the chances that they will engage with your brand. 

Builds Credibility 

Don’t you feel super annoyed when you receive hundreds and thousands of spam emails every month? Don’t you just hate it when you empty your inbox one day only to find it spammed the very next day? Well, we despise it too. They are an example of email marketing at its worst, so don’t let those spam emails keep you away from email marketing. 

Moreover, if you want to build credibility, include a checkbox on your website, which the visitors will only check if they are willing to receive updates from you. Sending out targeted emails to your customers will help you build credibility, which builds the foundation of loyalty and trust. 

Better Recognition of Your Brand 

Wouldn’t you like it if your customers recommend your brand to their friends and colleagues? It would feel amazing, right?

If done the right way, email marketing can give you an incredible customer turn-over. Creating valuable content is the key. Once you learn the art of creating the ‘right content,’ you will automatically gain an edge over your competitors. Customers will look up to your brand as a promising and valuable contributor to their interests.

Boosts Sales 

Email marketing can boost your sales significantly. You can do one (or all) of the following:

• Email your customers about products similar to those that they recently purchased from your store;
• Email your customers about the latest product launches;
• Create discount offers and exciting deals for your customers that intrigue them to make a purchase of these discounted products from your website.

Increased Traffic

Email marketing campaigns can increase the traffic to your website. Including relevant links with the right content in an email will make the recipient visit your website. Furthermore, you can use this form of online marketing to engage your customers in other pieces of content that are available on your site. 

Social Media Marketing 

In this era, it’s highly unlikely that you will come across someone who has no presence on social media.

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and Instagram are very popular, where people from all over the world are connected to each other.

The number of people who actively use social media is massive, which makes marketing through these platforms one of the most effective forms of advertising. 

Social media provides your business with immense exposure, considering the possible reach you can achieve through this channel.

No matter how busy a person is during the day, they do scroll through their Facebook or Twitter newsfeed every now and then. I know you do too!

Pros of Social Media Marketing 

Using social media marketing for your business is one of the smartest decisions that you can make.

It is associated with numerous benefits, which is why it has become a very popular marketing tool:

Increased Awareness About Your Brand 

Social media marketing helps you establish an online presence. It will increase the visibility of your business as it enables you to interact and engage with a broad audience. 

Broader Audience 

Social media has users from all age groups and locations, which broadens your audience immensely. Social media is where your customers are. And no matter what your niche is, you will get the audience you wish to target.

Helps You Gain Feedback

Social media allows you to engage with your audience and get their feedback in a fun and interactive way. You can run polls or ask your audience to fill in questionnaires for you – the possibilities are endless! 

Low Cost

Social media marketing is not very expensive. It is a powerful marketing tool that is not just super-efficient but extremely affordable too.

Cons of Social Media Marketing

As much as social media is beneficial for building the brand value of your business, it comes with some cons, too:

Time-Consuming 

Social media marketing is very time-consuming. You can’t expect to step into the world of social media today and expect a massive traffic inflow to your website overnight.

That’s not how it works. To build an effective social media marketing campaign, you’ll need a lot of time, research, and effort. 

Slow Return on Investment (ROI)

As mentioned earlier, you can’t expect overnight returns from a social media marketing campaign. It takes a considerable amount of time for your campaign to make a place on social media and start getting monetary returns. 

Risk of Negative Publicity 

Social media is an entire universe in itself where you will come across all types of people.

As much as it helps in building brand value, it also puts your business at risk of negative publicity.

Therefore, any mistake from your end can go viral on social media in no time, rupturing the reputation you have built with so much hard work. 

Benefits of Email Marketing Over Social Media Marketing 

Email marketing is an older marketing tool as compared to social media marketing, which is why it has an edge over social media marketing.

Although both channels are incredibly beneficial for any business, email marketing has some benefits over social media marketing that places it ahead in the race.

People who are active on a particular social media platform are there for networking purposes or are simply killing their time there. It’s unlikely that they’re there to buy a product or service.

However, the chances that they will overlook your advertisement while scrolling through their newsfeeds are high.

Email marketing, on the other hand, targets customers who have already signed up for your email newsletter service or have a history of buying your products. 

Email marketing has been in the market for much longer as compared to social media marketing, which means that it’s a more familiar marketing technique that can be incorporated into your online marketing strategy. 

The key to outshining your competitors is to pull customers from their pool into yours. This is only possible when you’re able to target the customers individually, rather than generally, as on social media.

Email marketing allows one-on-one interaction with potential customers to increase the chances of converting them into new customers.

The number of people using email is greater than that of social media users (that makes sense since you need an email address to sign up for any social media platform).

Studies show that the conversion rates and click rates are higher in email marketing.

Email marketing is one of the least expensive channels of marketing. 

You can monetize your email newsletters to get a steady stream of revenue. 

Who Wins?

Email marketing is not the newest channel but is undoubtedly the king when it comes to monetization and audience engagement.

However, smart marketers will use both email marketing and social media together because there is no denying the fact that the duo can create magic together!

The two channels can work together and generate incredibly massive leads and build trust and loyalty in your brand.

Anyway, in the email marketing vs. social media marketing battle, email marketing might have been the winner if you asked me a few years back.

But looking at the trends, market, and competition today, I have to tell you – if you want the maximum benefits, use the two tools together!

What to do next

Weighing the benefits of the two channels individually, email marketing surely weighs heavier.

If you’re stepping into the world of online marketing for the first time, we suggest that you start with email marketing.

Even though setting up smart and efficient email marketing campaigns can sound overwhelming, with assistance from tools like inboxAds, you not only stay connected with your audience but also get a chance to drive revenue from monetizing your email campaigns.