Earlier this year, Tyler Garns wrote a post called “Social Marketing vs. Email Marketing: Is It War?“. Apparently it touched a nerve. That post became one of the 10 most popular articles here at Small Business Trends for a few months.
It seems quite a number of you are debating when to use email marketing. Some people even conclude it’s been replaced completely by social media. I don’t buy into that — I think there’s a place for BOTH email marketing and social media. But when exactly do you use each one?
We thought we’d bring that debate to Twitter. Ramon Ray (@RamonRay) of SmallBizTechnology and I (@Smallbiztrends) will be discussing this topic on Twitter on September 8, 2011. Joe Manna (@JoeManna), Community Manager of Infusionsoft (@Infusionsoft), will be moderating.
And we’d like to invite you to weigh in. Join us on Twitter — and share your views on this topic. We’ll be covering questions such as:
(1) If you are into direct selling, can social media be used? Or is email better?
(2) What if you’re selling B2B versus B2C — is the answer different?
(3) Does age of your target audience make a difference?
And other questions….
How to Participate
This Twitter chat will be held on Twitter.com. The date and time is Thursday, September 8, from 7 to 8 pm, New York City time. (That’s 4 to 5 pm Los Angeles time.)
The hashtag we’ll be using is: #SMBchat
Participating in a Twitter chat is easy and fun. At the appointed time, just log on to Twitter.com. Then do a search for the #SMBchat hashtag. That hashtag is how you keep track of the conversation during the hour.
When you’re ready to say something, just tweet it. Be sure to include the hashtag at the end of your tweet so that others can identify you as participating in the conversation.
And that’s all there is to it. Just use and follow that hashtag!
Mark Your Calendar Now! Don’t Forget
When: Thursday, September 8, 2011, from 7 to 8 pm New York time
Where: Twitter.com
How: Just use the hashtag #SMBchat in your tweets
Tell your colleagues – click here to post the following tweet: Join in the Twitter chat, Sept 8th 7-8pm Eastern – Social Media Vs Email Marketing: Can They Co-Exist? #SMBchat
Come see what all the squawking is about!
Many thanks to Infusionsoft for sponsoring the Small Business Influencer Awards, and this Twitter chat! Join us in New York on September 13, 2011 for the Awards Gala. Rub shoulders with intriguing people. Get an autographed copy of the new book “Visual Marketing”
What a great pair of topics!
We both know that email marketing responses are pretty easy to measure. Social media marketing is a little tougher.
I’m anxious to see which one wins out…
The Franchise King®
Thanks Anita for sharing that tidbit on the twitter chat. If you ask me, I think that social media channels are great for introductions; but email marketing makes it more personal– besides, you can’t say it all in 140 characters. I’ll mark this on my calendar then!
Looking forward to it 🙂
I look forward to the chat! I think that email marketing is a part in the conversational marketing approach together with other social media channels. The question I ask is what kind of email marketing should I start with? I am planning to create my own newsletter with TinyLetter (now owned by MailChimp) after I have read book, The Constant Contact Guide to Email Marketing by Eric Groves.