Guest comment: Social media integration: let’s stop talking about it and actually do it

Reports and strategies continue to appear regarding the integration of social media and email. The ideas and trends are seemingly endless. However, I would like to suggest that we all please stop throwing the term "integration" around so lightly.

Many functionality or "integration" points considered as best practise are a far cry from truly leveraging the power of email and social media. "Tweeting" a link to a newsletter or inserting a "share" button on an email is similar to what direct-mail marketers did in the early days of email: Take a direct mail piece, create an HTML version of the mail piece and send it to an email inbox rather than a postal mailbox. True integration should allow marketers to create new workflows that drive customer retention and acquisition.

Consider this scenario:

I visit my favourite online electronics store and purchase a product. Within minutes, I receive an email confirmation of purchase. The confirmation email is dynamic in nature and the template "knows" that I am a preferred customer. Thanks ecommerce, CRM and email team for creating a relevant and personalised transactional email.

As a preferred customer, I am presented with a referral offer: "Thanks for purchasing Ryan. We are offering our best customers a free gift card if you refer your friends to our store. Click here to participate." Thanks, social strategist, for understanding that social advocacy starts with a brand's best customers and that rewarding them for their loyalty is key.

When I click the link, I am told that in addition to my gift card for referring friends, I can earn an iTunes voucher if I refer three friends or more. I click a link and am presented with an embedded sharing experience that allows me to easily share my brand experience with my friends. Thanks to the social strategist and CRM team for realising that I am more likely to refer if my reward is relevant. The store knows I own an iPod, and I am into music as I have purchased a number of albums in the past year. They use this data to introduce a referral incentive that is personalised to me.

As my friends click the links I share via email, Facebook, Twitter and other channels, they are taken to a landing page that states: "Ryan thought you would appreciate this." Thanks to the social strategist and web teams for tying my friend's website visit back to me, making it relevant to them.

As my friends actually purchase based on my referral, the store sends me an email that updates me on my reward status. Thanks to the email and social teams for understanding that I want to know how close I am to earning my reward.

Finally, the brand is tracking all of this activity back to me, the influencer. They know how many invitations I have sent, how may transactions I am responsible for, and how much revenue my referrals drive. This is all sent back to the CRM systems to be used for future segmentation and programme development. Thanks ecommerce, CRM and email teams for identifying influencers and planning to treat them differently.

The point is that creating an integrated experience between these channels takes just that – integration (of communication channels, data, site experiences, etc). Let’s not confuse integration with tweaks to template design; they are two very different things.

Integration is a fantastic way to expand your reach, get users engaged with your product or services, and show that your products are validated by potential customers’ social circles. If you are ready for truly integrating, experts are available to help you put a plan in place. As I say to most organisations – get on the social media train before it leaves without you.

By Ryan Deutsch

VP Emerging Media

StrongMail

www.StrongMail.com

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