By now you should be realizing that social media is a happening and powerful marketing tool. Regardless of what type of business you are in, there must be a social aspect to your business. Even if you personally don’t get into the Facebook or Twitter craze, I guarantee while you’re reading this post, your customers (you know, the ones that pay your salary) are tweeting their latest lunch order, posting photos from the holidays, watching home videos on YouTube and most importantly, scavenging the web for what’s new and cool. 80% of people in the U.S. use social media...it is not a fad and it is fundamentally changing the way we (you) communicate (or should communicate) with your customers.

Now, don’t be scared. We know and understand the amount of dedication (and man power) it can take to fully run and facilitate a successful social network for your business. Most small business owners I talk to are just trying to keep their heads above the water, let alone have time or man power to focus on social media. So, rather than post about how to start and maintain a social network (although extremely important), it seems prudent to take a step back just a bit and talk about what I know you are already using.. email marketing and how you can integrate social media in to your existing permission email campaigns. (p.s. want to know how to get your own social network up and running? Download “Social Media: Join the Conversation” to learn more)

Social media and email work great together, like two peas in a marketing pod.

A recent MarketingSherpa study found that 75% of daily social media users said that email is the best way for companies to communicate with them. And 49% of Twitter users said they made an online purchase because of an email.*

So even if you aren’t leveraging social media for your company today, you can still get in the game by allowing your email readers to share your email online, on THEIR social networks. It’s like having hundreds of mini PR agents working for you helping, helping to spread your message.

When someone shares your email message on a social network, it’s the ultimate viral marketing. Silverpop estimates that posted messages have an average increase in reach of more than 24.3%, based on original email messages delivered. And the study found that social media share links included in email messages were receiving clickthrough rates of 0.5%. It may not sound like much, but it is significantly higher than the clickthrough rates on the “forward this email to a friend” links that marketers have been using for years.*

So even with limited staff and money, you can still get in the social media game. Everyone needs to start somewhere, so why not start here. Adding Social Media Share Tools into your email is the easiest and most cost effective way to make your messages go viral. Mail Dog clients have the ability to insert these Social Media Share Tools and Facebook Like buttons into each and every email message. If you’re a Mail Dog clients, please start using these social media share tools (yes, in every single email you send out). If you’re not a Mail Dog client, then give us a call. I’d love to show you the ropes and help turn your email marketing into so much more than just email…it’s time join the social network and reap the fruits from your viral labors.

*Data reviewed from Jeanne S. Jennings’ blog “Making Social and Email Work Together”