Social Media Building vs. List Building - What works for you? | Warrior Forum - The #1 Digital Marketing Forum & Marketplace

onSubie

9 years ago

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jt47000 9 years ago

Whoops, typo.... Corrected now, thx
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Steve B

9 years ago

Originally Posted by jt47000

Social Media Building vs. List Building - What works for you?

If you think this is an "either/or" strategy you need to adjust your thinking.

Everyone, regardless of what you sell or how you sell it, would do well to have an email subscriber list . . . no exceptions. I have a friend that owns a local gas station and he is building an email subscriber list of his customers.

He sends them weekly specials, reminders when it's time to "winterize," tips on auto maintenance, service reminders, etc, etc.

Social media branding is also helpful if done efficiently but it shouldn't take the place of an email list.

Steve

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onSubie 9 years ago

Originally Posted by Steve B

If you think this is an "either/or" strategy you need to adjust your thinking.

Also, no matter how big and loyal your Social Network following, you will lose them all if Facebook/YouTube/Twitter bans your account.

The nice thing about a list is you own the list. Keep it backed up and even if your autoresponder closes your account you still have the addresses of your followers.
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Dyk Estrada 9 years ago

Why not use both? Sure, each has its pros and cons but they are equally useful in building your brand and your following. I don't think that one is more effective than the other. It will be more powerful if you use them both.
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Randall Magwood

9 years ago

My list has always made me good money. Social media traffic has never been my best source, but for some businesses it's a lifeline. At the end of the day, when it all boils down to direct marketing.... build and keep the email list.

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Tom Addams

9 years ago

If you put a gun to my head:

1. Social Media, or
2. Email Lists?

I'd tell you not to bother with the gun: the bigger money is in social media.

- Tom

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jt47000

9 years ago

Hey Tom,

You think so? Can you elaborate why?

Thx

Thanks
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Tom Addams

9 years ago

Originally Posted by jt47000

Hey Tom,

You think so? Can you elaborate why?

Thx

Sure, jt47000. Quick reply I'm afraid (I think Mrs. Addams has a chick flick in store for me, and I just can't miss that!)

Take a look around the internet - looking closely at the major players - and ask yourself which they push more heavily: their list or their social presence?

You'll find the latter.

Which is really far more helpful than anything I could say. When sites like IMDB, for example, place more marketing relevance on social media, it truly outweighs whatever lucid arguments I could make in favour of the practice.

A few highlights:

1. Email marketing has developed rather a poor reputation, resulting in less universal acceptance.

2. Alternatively, social media has greater acceptance.

3. Social media can more easily spread a marketing message.

4. SM offers better communication features.

5. SM offers better branding features.

6. SM more readily integrates into other marketing mechanisms and CMS features (like blog comments).

7. SM is more helpful in terms of building authority and trust. It often takes people to be exposed numerous times to a sales message before action is taken. Bombarding them with emails is one thing, but continued and useful SM management is more accepted and powerful.

On a forum like WF, you'll be hard pushed to find a handful of people to choose SM over EM.

Personally speaking - take away my email, take away my email management software, but whatever you do, don't take away my social networks or my aps or my video sharing sites.

Edit: Not a chick flick, after all, but Castle.

Will just say, before the TV offering tonight thrusts me into a coma, there really is no need to choose one or the other. Use both! I've gravitated away from EM mostly, but it's still hugely effective when done right, and some models even require it.

- Tom

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quadagon

9 years ago

Originally Posted by Tom Addams

Edit: Not a chick flick, after all, but Castle.

Will just say, before the TV offering tonight thrusts me into a coma, there really is no need to choose one or the other. Use both! I've gravitated away from EM mostly, but it's still hugely effective when done right, and some models even require it.

- Tom

This could well be my worst post on WF but Beckett is gorgeous.

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Tom Addams 9 years ago

Originally Posted by quadagon

This could well be my worst post on WF but Beckett is gorgeous.

Haha - the one saving grace is Stana Katic. Anyway - I'm off. Getting the look.

- Tom
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Steve B

9 years ago

Originally Posted by jt47000

To everyone in here, have you had better luck (ie. Higher conversions, higher reach, gaining more traffic) with building a social media following or building your email list?

Rather than blanket statements leaning one way or the other, maybe the best approach for you is to delve into both, test and track results, and see what works best for your business and niche.

IMO, social media shines in certain markets - consumer markets where opinions and recommendations are important - things like shopping, entertainment, travel, etc.

Email marketing is critical where the masses often don't go, where one-on-one communication is important and technical or industry requirements lessen the need for mass appeal.

I have tested both arenas but don't claim to be an expert in either. From what I have seen in my own ventures, 10,000 email subscribers are way more valuable to my business than 10,000 social media likes. But that's just my own reality - yours may be different, possibly depending upon the markets that you are in.

Experiment, test, and track results - that's the best advice I can offer.

Steve

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ChrisBa

9 years ago

Originally Posted by jt47000

Hi guys,

To everyone in here, have you had better luck (ie. Higher conversions, higher reach, gaining more traffic) with building a social media following or building your email list?

This is kind of like a survey, to help us all

1. Is the product you sell

a. Your own product

b. Affiliate product

2. Do you focus on social media marketing more or email/list marketing? explain why

3. Have you noticed a higher conversion rate on social media as opposed to your email list?

Thanks guys! I'm at a crossroads trying to revamp my site/social media/list and looking for some guidance.

Thanks!

J$

List building for me, but I often also combine them and cross promote as much as possible

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jt47000

9 years ago

Wow, great stuff! A big thanks to Tom and Steve. I think you're both right. I gotta say that I have messed with my list more than social media but the list comes natural to me, the social media doesn't. It seems easier to me to get opt ins from email subscriptions than from social media. However, the big difference is that I give out something with great value free to the email opt in.

Do you possibly know of a way to give away something free for opting (following or liking) on twitter or facebook? Just curious.

Thanks guys! You've challenged me to think differently about both and I think you got me in a better direction

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magic

9 years ago

Don't put all your eggs in one basket... use both and cross promote them.
SM is more viral while EM is more personal if used right.

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LisaGrocke

9 years ago

I personally pefer social media building more as compared to email marketing because I am into something that is linked to it. Besides, it brings exposure to your company and increases customer interaction.
Email marketing is preferable when you need to send text messages to a large group of people.

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jt47000

9 years ago

In terms of conversions, I've personally had better luck with email marketing. I seem to have more valuable customers (ie. paying customers) on my list as opposed to fb. Could be my demographic though, they are older.

Thanks
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Tom Addams

9 years ago

Originally Posted by jt47000

In terms of conversions, I've personally had better luck with email marketing. I seem to have more valuable customers (ie. paying customers) on my list as opposed to fb. Could be my demographic though, they are older.

Hoops.

The more hoops a prospect jumps through and doggedly sticks around to jump through yet further hoops, usually the stronger the lead. Typically, if we compare a follower who reads a status update on FB to a subscriber who reads an email you send, the subscriber represents the better quality prospect. He's found you, he's read whatever was necessary before subscribing, then he's subscribed, double-opted-in, seen a thank you page, received a follow-up series on auto, received broadcasts, read emails and blog posts and watched videos and - you get the picture. Strong lead.

I tend to recommend most newbies consider EM, for those reasons and others. Now, where I'm coming from though is a bit different. In the markets and niches where I mostly operate (outside of MMO), I'm able to enhance the quality of prospects on socials (not quite as high as an EM prospect though), but more importantly, I make up for the lack of "per person quality" by generating significantly more eyeballs on whatever it is I present to those eyeballs. What happens therefore is a cancelling out effect: the added eyeballs mean I do better. In a nutshell: I'm fairly good at generating SM traffic.

Now, all of that changes when you consider certain areas. I mentioned apps, could have mentioned tons of other pertinent doodads, but I'll use video marketing as an example. You can use videos to laser-target (lord, I hate that phrase). Much like you can with article syndication. It's just that videos are quick and easy. Think of all those millions of typed in phrases that are just crying out for a page 1, position 1 video. Buying phrases. Desperate Buyer phrases. Evergreen market phrases. You rank for those, you stay ranked, and that's it - job done, go play freaking GTA 5 or, better, read a book.

So, like I say, EM (for me) has it's place. It's just not remotely up there.

- Tom

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Brent Stangel

9 years ago

The nice thing about a list is you own the list. Keep it backed up and even if your autoresponder closes your account you still have the addresses of your followers.

I've gone self-hosted. Loving it!

Social Media Building vs. List Building - What works for you?

The two are not mutually exclusive.

If you are a good bullshitter (like many here) then social media is a good place to find victims. In my own considerable experience it is some of the lowest quality traffic on the web.

You should be building a list regardless of where you are promoting.

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enjamulreloadedfitness

Banned 9 years ago

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discrat 9 years ago

Very interesting Thread here. I like it

There is no question that you can optimize your Success ( in some niches not all) by utilizing a combo of both.

Tom really makes some strong valid arguments. And in some ways goes against the grain here with the typical Warrior Marketer.

But I think he goes on to explain that both are still relevant and that it should not be a 'either' 'or' scenario

I do think Social media continues to gain more and more traction each and every year. I do not think it will slow down in the foreseeable future

- Robert Andrew
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- JohnMcCabe 9 years ago
  
  In some ways, this thread parallels a large number of similar discussions when "article marketing" was the hot topic. One of the big points of discussion was whether it was better to keep your content on your own site or guest post/syndicate on other sites.
  
  My opinion was that I wanted eyeballs, attentive eyeballs. If I could get them on my own site, great. If I had to "borrow" someone else's audience, fine. Either way, I get what I want. Attention.
  
  I'll freely admit that I had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to social media. I have a personal Facebook page, but my wife regards it as hers, used to enter assorted online sweeps and contests. She enters using her own, and regards mine as a way to double her chances of winning.
  
  I'm changing my tune. Much as I prefer my content to be seen on someone else's platform over not being seen at all on mine, I'll take my attention where I can get it. Especially when the tools now available make it so much easier to pinpoint the people whose attention I really want.
  
  Like Tom said above, the person who has jumped through the hoops to get on an email list, and who opens and reads those emails (and acts on some of them) is a more valuable prospect. So my intention is to use social media to a) gain the attention of the more casual prospect and b) move the ones who resonate with me to an email list.
  
  I've got a long way to go, but I like the looks of the road. I read a demographic study the other day that said that almost 90% of the demo I choose to serve has a Facebook account. I can't ignore that anymore.
  
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allegandro

9 years ago

For me it is 100% social list building.

I did email list building in the past, but having a great group off followers on FB gives you not only great response/money, but you connect with your followers much better.

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DonaldHealthOnline

9 years ago

List building!!!

The popular social media sites chop and change all the time. Use list building to keep your potential customers at arms length making it easy to promote to them whenever you want.

I prefer using social media to build brands and advertise squeeze pages with to build my list.

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Social Media Building vs. List Building - What works for you?

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