Why Should You Grow Your Email List?
Increasing your email list is the best way to build your loyal customer base. While Facebook, Twitter and all the other social media networks are great ways to communicate your brand and engage with your audience, they are all on rented space.
If Facebook decides to do a clean sweep and wipe out business pages because they believe it should be a more pure, personal platform, what would happen to your customers you were only connected with via Facebook?
What if a new Twitter policy update makes it too difficult for app developers to connect with their network and half of the active users drop off because their app stops working?
For this project, we were brought on to work with a musician who’s Facebook page recently got shut down due to breaking spam policies. We argued and won to get the page back up after a few days, but it put the scare in the team that Facebook doesn’t owe you anything and has the power to flip a switch and disconnect you from your hard-earned audience.
That’s why you need to own your web presence, not rent it from a social media network. And you do this by building your email list and having a high quality website as the central hub of your online presence.
Decide On A Prize Related To Your Business That Your Fans Will Want
The offer that you make for your audience has to be of value to them, but also related to the products or services that your business offers. If you are running an auto parts store and want to grow your fan base, offering a free iPad would be great incentive to sign up for your contest, but that doesn’t mean those people are going to be quality customers. They will more than likely sign up for your sweepstakes and then unsubscribe after the contest is over.
In this particular case study, we were building a list for a musician, so our prizes of choice were iTunes and Amazon gift cards. Someone interested in winning an iTunes gift card is obviously interested in new music. So that’s the perfect target demographic.
Let Your Existing Email List Know
When you launch your contest, give the privilege of being the first to know to your existing email list. They are your fans and signed up for exactly this reason. They want to be kept up to date on all your news and activity, especially when they have a chance to win something!
How To Use Facebook Ads Effectively To Grow Your Email List
We used WildFireApp to run our sweepstakes. This allows us to easily collect email addresses from the entrants as well as encourage Facebook Likes.
The whole goal of running your Facebook contest is to grow your email list, so you’ll want to promote it outside of your existing fan base. This is the perfect opportunity to leverage Facebook ads with a clear, simple call to action that can return your investment into a larger email list and directly impact your business.
The “Viral” Spread Of Your Contest On Facebook
Another benefit of using Facebook as the platform for your contest to grow your email list is that when people enter, it will show up on their timeline and appear in their friends’ news feeds. Leading to more eyeballs on your contest. If those people are friends with someone who entered your contest, don’t you think there’s a good chance that they fit a similar demographic that you are targeting?
Who To Target With Your Facebook Ads?
Facebook pretty much knows everything about everyone. That’s a little scary from a personal level, but from a marketing point of view, it is priceless.
Of course the basic targeting for your Facebook ads should include age, gender, location and all that good stuff. But the real benefit of running Facebook ads to grow your email list, is being able to target people who have told Facebook already that they Like your industry or other companies in your field.
So do some research on your competitors to find out who has the strongest Facebook presence. Not just Likes, but engagement and fan activity. Then when you set up your Facebook ads, you can target people who are fans of that company’s page. This is great for you because if that person is a fan of a similar company on Facebook and active with them, they are going to be more likely to connect with your company, especially when there is a prize incentive.
Collecting Email Addresses Through Your Facebook Contest
When using WildFireApp, people must submit their email address to enter the contest. Make sure you have a note that tells the applicants that by entering the contest, they are giving you permission to send them news and updates about your company. I believe that this language is in WildFire by default, but certainly make sure so that you aren’t flagged as spam when you start emailing your list.
How Do You Grow Your Email List With Social Media?
Have you run social media contests or Facebook ads around building your email list? Let us know your experiences and thoughts in the comments below!
Need Help Growing Your Email List?
We love working with businesses who believe in the power of building real relationships with their customers. Our mission is to help your business do that through the web. If you need help building your email list, social media communities and online presence as a whole, contact us now to schedule a free phone consultation.
