From the Trenches - E-mail to Twitter Magic

I have to admit, I used to be skeptical of Twitter. I also didn't see the integration between Twitter and Facebook with e-mail. But then I started to realize these channels could be very useful to extend the reach of my e-mail programs: We placed links to our e-mails on the social networking sites. And guess what? We saw a great lift in response.

This month we took our social efforts one step further. We started including “add me” Facebook and Twitter buttons to our e-mails. We also enabled people who were reading digital magazines in their Zinio readers to post their favorite pages to their social networks in one click.

With just these two areas of focus, we saw a huge spike in Web site traffic, response rates and sales for our e-mails, not to mention the public relations boost to our brand. Suddenly, our brand fans were introducing us to their brand fans by simply clicking a button. Our e-mail response rates more than doubled, as did the size of our Twitter fan base.

Now I’m not just a fan of the integration between social networks and e-mail, I’m a fanatic. Simply put: If you’re not leveraging these mediums, you’re missing out.

Here are four things you must test in your e-mail and social efforts in the next 30 days:

1. Add “follow me” buttons to the bottom of your e-mails.
2. If you have a digital publication, make it simple and fast to post content you’re reading to your social networks.
3. Run specific “social-only” giveaways tied to your e-mail and Web site opt-ins.
4. Use Twitter Search to find out what people are saying about your brand. And don’t forget to reply to their messages, whether they’re positive or negative.

Taking these steps won't add much time to your day, nor will it add costs. But it will increase traffic and revenue within minutes of your effort. Have fun with it, and be resourceful. The payback is great.

Jeanniey Mullen is the chief marketing officer for New York-based digital publisher Zinio and its sister company, VIVmag, a digital luxury lifestyle magazine for women. She's also the executive director of the Email Experience Council, an e-mail marketing trade organization. Reach Jeanniey at jmullen@zinio.com.

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