In Part 2 of this email marketing series, marketing experts from across the industry share why email marketing is most effective when executed alongside campaigns on other platforms.
Saturation is the key to any marketing strategy — you dominate or evaporate, after all — and email marketing is an important component of that saturation. However, it should not be the only component.
“Email marketing is not a great tool for building awareness — do you open emails from people you don’t know?” said Ali Stauffer, the vice president of marketing of City Fitness. “So it’s best used in conjunction with other marketing methods as a way to bridge the gap between awareness and purchase, and the gap between purchase and loyalty.”
Since no two people consume content the same way, the best way to increase the reach of your message is to have marketing campaigns on multiple media platforms. “All marketing for health clubs should be multi-channel,” advised Tiffany Hock, the marketing director of Elite Sports Clubs.
Furthermore, the effectiveness of your overall marketing can be maximized by having separate platforms intertwined with each other to deliver your message or offer to prospective members.
“A basic framework is that you might run ads on social media, linked to a landing page, which triggers an email that delivers something of value to a person’s inbox,” explained Stauffer. “Obviously the messaging and imagery should be consistent throughout that journey, but the content should be varied enough that it pulls people through.”
You can also use your web-based marketing platforms to encourage prospects to share an email address with you, such as offering a free class or T-shirt upon signup.
“If your focus is direct marketing, or lead generation, then initially acquiring the email addresses is crucial, with methods like display, programmatic, social media, or inbound marketing,” said Merikay Marzoni, the director of marketing and public relations at Fitness Formula Clubs. “You have to continually fill the database with emails through other methods to keep your pipeline full,” said Marzoni.
According to Hock, your email marketing can also aid the effectiveness of your social media marketing. “The great thing about today’s technology is that you can specifically target your email contacts via other marketing methods,” she said. “Facebook, in particular, allows you to upload an email list and target those people specifically with your paid campaigns.”
If you haven’t already implemented a marketing automation tool, they are immensely helpful for email marketing. Hock and her team use their automation system to monitor who does not open emails, and either resends the email after a certain time period or waits until a prospect exhibits “a certain behavior — for example, opening an email or clicking a specific link.”
Most importantly, automated emails allow you to keep members engaged without annoying them. “This way, you aren’t bombarding them with emails too often, and the frequency is based on each individual’s unique way of interacting with your content, but also doesn’t let anyone slip through the cracks if they don’t open one of your emails right away,” said Hock.
Automation will also benefit you, as the operator or marketing specialist, by allowing you to set up campaigns far in advance and requiring far less hands-on management during the launch itself.
“While automated campaigns take time to set up on the front end, once they are launched, your time can be spent working smarter, not harder,” said Marzoni.
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Bobby is the former assistant editor of Club Solutions Magazine.
