It appears that with all the hoopla regarding social media and blogging that many companies have forgotten their first method of building an enhanced online visibility – email. While it’s not as glamorous as Facebook or Twitter it has the ability to make a substantial impact on a business’s enhanced online visibility if used correctly. Typically email address lists are voluntarily provided by customers making the chances of emails being read much higher than other forms of online marketing. Also, much more can be said in a newsletter sent out en masse via email than with a tweet or post.
Enhanced Online Visibility through Email Address Lists
Most businesses have been collecting email addresses of their clientele for years, if not decades. Email is much better than physical mailings for newsletters and updates because people tend not to change their email address as often as physical addresses. Also, there is no cost to distribute email newsletters. This fact alone makes email distribution a good investment. Although these reasons are compelling enough for companies to focus on email address lists there is an even better reason – email addresses are given voluntarily, almost assuring the recipient’s interest in one’s business which will ultimately help build enhanced online visibility.
Enhanced Online Visibility through Email Content
Many people think newsletters are a thing of the past. With instant information at everyone’s fingertips why would anyone take the time to read old information in a newsletter? People still read newsletters because they do not think about the business or industry until the newsletter pops up in their inbox. While those deeply involved in an industry or company may have run across the information distributed in the company newsletter it is safe to say the average customer has not. Weekly, bi-weekly, or even monthly newsletters give a nice synopsis of a company’s activities and industry news without overwhelming customers.
Enhanced Online Visibility through Email Updates
Yes, it is true that updates can be given on Facebook and Twitter but for many customers an email account is checked more often than a social media account. Or even if the social media page is seen by the customer they may accidentally overlook a company’s update. If a customer cares enough to keep a company’s email notifications and newsletters in their inbox and not spam box they are much more likely to read the updates than in any other venue on the internet.
There are many other reasons not mentioned in the post regarding the benefit of email in building an enhanced online visibility. Although there is not enough time to give a real discussion to the tried and true email method of distributing information and, in turn, building an enhanced online presence, it is safe to say it is worth considering. There is nothing wrong with an aggressive social media marketing campaign but companies would be wise to not forget about the power of the company email when an enhanced online visibility is the goal.
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