The difference between broadcasting and connecting
Have you ever posted something on Instagram that you were genuinely proud of — and got bugger all traction? No enquiries, no new faces, no discernible bump in business. Just a handful of likes from people who already know you.
It's not that social media doesn't work. It's that it works very differently to personalised communications — and it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that if you're showing up on social, you've got your marketing covered.
Social media, Google Ads, radio, print — these are all examples of broadcast marketing. The targeted Facebook Ad on cat food appealed to the animal lover in you, but you have a dog. The Google Ad for car insurance for drivers over 25 years looks interesting, but your broker has just been in touch confirming your updated policy. Targeted but not personalised.
They cast a wide net, and there's genuine value in that, particularly for building awareness. But they share one important limitation: they talk at everyone (or everyone in the target audience) which means they're really talking to no one in particular.
Personalised communications are something different altogether. At its simplest, this just means any message that's been tailored — even slightly — to the person receiving it. An email that uses someone's first name. A follow-up text to make sure the package arrived. A hand written thank you note on the payment receipt.
The psychology behind this is well-established. When we see or hear our own name, our brain pays attention in a way it simply doesn't for generic messaging. It's a signal that says: this was meant for you so you need to read it.
What's also worth knowing is that personalised communications pull double duty. They're just as effective at keeping existing clients engaged and coming back as they are at warming up potential new ones. An email invite that is personally addressed to the insurer you met at a networking event. An e-newsletter that is personally addressed to the all the local plumbers in your area.
Email marketing generates an average return of $36 for every $1 spent
compared to around $2.80 for every $1 spent on social media.
Take control of your marketing content
Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Google decide who sees your content, when, and for how long. In a sense, you're a guest in someone else's house — and the house rules can change overnight.
Data-driven email communications put the power in your hands. You decide who to talk to, when to talk to them and how to talk to them. Plus you can see how each individual responds - opens, links clicked, conversion. There's no wasted media spend and no guessing about the impact that the media had. Gold!
Where to start
I'm often asked what tech I use for email marketing - and fair enough - there's A LOT out there. If you want simple, simple, simple, start with Intuit Mailchimp - create a basic database, create basic segments and send basic HTML emails. If you want the next step up (and I use this myself), Hubspot provides more features around database structure and email design. You can also bolt on functionality like landing pages, sales management, email automation and some groovy CRM stuff.
Before you hit send, check out this useful guide to make sure your emails don’t end up being spam - or worse.
As a self-confessed data nerd, I'm always happy to have a chat about how to use email marketing in your business so you get more leads, more engagement and a better ROI. Just hit me up.
