Have you ever thought that email is so old news in the midst of all the new social media comms out there? Every single social media platform we’ve come across has one form of chat or the other with great emoji’s and gifs! People just tend to use the one which suits their perceived needs or more so, the one that’s more comfortable/convenient for them.
So many ministries have made the mistake of assuming that email is either dead or dying! I mean consider your email activity; do you, your church or your ministry have an email list? If the answer is yes then that’s great but are you actively growing that list? Only a few of those we’ve spoken to can say yes.
The truth is that emails are here to stay. Till now they have withstood the pressures of time and technological change, and in our humble opinion, email is the number one form of communication that ALL ministers and ministries that are interested in having a voice, must have.
Here are a few reasons why. Well here are a few reasons:
- It’s formal. Yes that’s right. It’s more formal and it commands more authority than other social media. This is down to its private and professional nature (when managed correctly, i.e. no spam).
- It’s good for sharing newsletters, links and other highlights which can be filed away and easily found at a later date thanks to the powerful search software that’s built into most email readers and management tools.
- Not everyone has social media, or perhaps they don’t have the social media that you are using, but almost everyone has an email (3x more than social media accounts) – it’s fast becoming one of life’s necessity. Besides the traffic on social media is relatively fast and depending on the user’s timeline and when you post on social media, your message may be missed. People tend to check their emails at least once a day and the chances of your message being lost in the noise of social media is non-existent.
- It’s unlikely to get deleted or suddenly go missing. Messages on your social media wall can be pulled by the owners of the social media platform, especially if they have enough people complaining about it. Note that this serves true if you host your own emails instead of using the free platforms.
- It’s a cheap and cost effective form of marketing and cheaper than printing brochures and leaflets. In fact many successful businesses have outsourced their email marketing campaigns and even though they have to pay for the service, they found that they made lots of savings on their marketing budgets.
- Emails are a good way to showcase and drive traffic to your other online activities (& presence); whether that’s video for example the likes of YouTube or Periscope; music on SoundCloud, iTunes or Spotify; a message on your website noticeboard; a list of events coming up, the list goes on.
- Emails are measureable, trackable and can be targeted to specific audiences. This highlights the interpersonal abilities and features of email which can be personalised, not just to refer to people by their names but can also be customised to reference particular areas of interest for the reader.
- Automation is possible and is a great advantage. Imagine having personalised emails sent when you have an event, or when its Miss Y’s birthday, or Mr & Mrs G’s anniversary. How about sending personalised emails prior to an event and thank you messages thereafter will follow up emails containing the resources from the program? The possibilities are endless and this is a great way to engage with the people and build rapport and trust.
- Finally, it’s a great way to establish your authority in ministry by sharing applicable and life transforming messages. Emails will always get more attention than posts on social media because (going back to an earlier point) they are personal and targeted.
To conclude, we believe that social media is good for getting and engaging new traffic, but email communication is best for keep that traffic.
