We’ve all heard rumors that email marketing is dead and social media is the new king of the hill for customer engagement. But, we’ve seen that by integrating social media into your emails, you create a win-win and are able to effectively share your voice with millions of people in your target audience and beyond.

When we recently surveyed our customers we heard loud and clear that they were using Facebook and Twitter, but well over half cited a lack of time and knowledge of the channels as challenges.

So, if you’re crunched for time and want to get the most bang for your efforts, consider these 3 simple steps to make your emails more social:

1. Include share buttons or links in your emails. Each week, we send out our VR Buzz newsletter and we always include button links to tweet or like the main articles. We are able to get greater exposure when they are shared on Facebook and Twitter.
2. Include social media icons linked to your pages in your emails. We see our customers, like Lucky Bums do this very effectively and it’s a great way to grow your followers and likes. Ensure you also have a link to forward to a friend or to sign up for your email list so when your email gets shared, your new customers can easily sign up too.
3. Lastly, include something unique and of value for your social media audience such as Facebook or Twitter only specials. You’ll gain new followers and subscribers by providing relevant offers and content that makes you stand out from your competition. VerticalResponse customer, Fiddlesticks did this well during the holidays announcing special deals and free shipping.

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