Ask any online marketing professional about what goes into a successful marketing campaign and they will no doubt tell you that the answer is complicated and involves many different methods. In a world where most decisions regarding online content seem black and white – “do this” and “don’t do that” – many people who are new to this segment of the web feel like there is a right and wrong decision for everything. When it comes to marketing, however, having multiple campaigns that use different approaches is vital for long-term success. A big question that is increasingly being asked is, “should I use email or social media for marketing?”. Below, we’ll address why using both of these methods simultaneously is the best route for any marketing campaign.

Email Is Effective & Personal

When comparing social media and email marketing efforts, email has been consistently proven to have greater conversion rates and is more successful in calls to action. One of the main reasons email trumps social media in this regard is due to the nature of most email marketing campaigns: pinging backlinks and valuable information via a direct email is much more likely to be read than a simple email informing users of a status update on social email. In addition to this, most email campaigns are optimized to be delivered to their recipients at optimal times – increasing the chances that users will see them, while also allowing each person to read through the contents at his or her leisure.

Email Is Universal

While social media has become a mainstay in many people’s lives, it is not as universally prominent as email. If you have a website or blog that you are promoting, then chances are that you already have an established mailing list that can be used to successfully market further content to individuals who have already demonstrated prior interest in your brand. Using this existing contact information – coupled with an aggressive effort to convince new readers to provide their email addresses – can be quite effective at expanding your marketing efforts in a way that most people find acceptable and unobtrusive.

Social Media Is Perfect for Niches

A key advantage to social media is having the ability to cultivate marketing campaigns that focus solely on particular interests – while also being able to find those who share these interests. Most social media platforms offer some form of targeted advertising that permits marketers to display relevant ads to those who have listed certain interests that match with the pre-determined criteria of the campaign. As you build an organic following through social media, you will also be recommended pages and people to like and friend who share your interests, helping you to increase your clout and continue pinging backlinks to relevant readers.

Social Media Works 24/7

While email is quite static and reliant upon others directly sharing your content in order to become viral, social media interactions take on a life of their own. Whenever someone likes your page, for instance, their friends are likely to see this action and those who share their friend’s interests may also engage with the page. In addition to this, status updates can be scheduled for deployment at any hour or day – leading to a more passive yet consistently operating form of content marketing.