Beyond the Inbox: Future-Proofing Your Brand with Email Marketing in the AI Era

At a time when TikTok faces potential bans in the U.S. and Instagram shifts toward a pay-to-play model, the importance of future-proofing your brand through robust email marketing strategies has never been more imperative.

But how do you create a cohesive and resilient future-proof email marketing strategy amidst a rapidly evolving digital landscape?

These questions took centre stage in the latest instalment of Phonexa’s Amplify webinar series, as Carlos Gil, GetResponse’s U.S. Brand Evangelist and author of “The End of Marketing,” joined Phonexa’s Director of Email Marketing, Alexander Cartigan, to explore innovative approaches marketers can use to enhance their email outreach efforts.

As the U.S. Brand Evangelist for GetResponse — an all-in-one online marketing platform that provides tools for email marketing, marketing automation, landing pages, and webinars designed to help businesses grow their email lists, engage with subscribers, and increase sales — Gil leverages his expertise in brand building, digital marketing, and growth strategies to spearhead tactical initiatives to boost brand visibility and foster partnerships in the states.

The webinar offered valuable insights into enhancing email marketing efforts, including how to integrate email marketing with social media, safeguarding your brand against potential disruptions, optimising engagement, and leveraging AI to make campaigns more efficient and impactful.

Here are some of the key takeaways and insights from this enlightening discussion.

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The Current State of the Email Marketing Ecosystem

Cartigan: Can you start by sharing your perspective on the current state of email marketing, especially with the new era of artificial intelligence?

Gil: If you’re going to talk about the state of email marketing, you need to address digital marketing as a whole…I look at the Internet as a noisy digital ocean. What I mean by that is you have noise that’s being created at a rapid rate every millisecond of every day at every hour. There’s no shortage of noise; however, there is digital overload from today’s consumers — they’re receiving tweets, emails, and Instagram messages everywhere they turn. So today’s consumers are having a hard time keeping up with all this information being fed to them.

I put up there along with social media marketing — even though it’s a different medium to reach your audience, the actual methodology by which you’re using email is really no different. I’ll break this down here; I’ll [also be] at MailCon on July 28 in New York explaining this in my talk on humanising your brand. In order for you to be able to break through the noise, you need to be more human and more relatable…what today’s consumer doesn’t want is sales rhetoric. People don’t want to be sold; they want to be engaged. I believe AI can help brands and marketers be much more effective in that [regard].

Email continues to be one channel marketers need to invest their time, money, and efforts for no other reason than social media in itself is broken right now. You’ve got algorithms that control what gets shown to whom, you have platforms like Instagram and Facebook/Meta forcing you to pay to get reach, then you have platforms like TikTok that might go away over the next year. With that being said, as a marketer, you have to take a step back and analyse in the short term where can [you] get the biggest ROI in terms of reach. But long-term, [determine if you’re going] to hedge your bets on building a following on social media, which is very much rented land, or start moving those followers over to owned media, which is email.

Strategies To Optimise Engagement and Drive Conversions

Cartigan: How should brands pivot their strategies to ensure email marketing remains essential to their digital strategy?

Gil: My recommendation is don’t eliminate TikTok or social media altogether — you still need those mediums to exist. You need to have an omnichannel strategy. Think of it like a funnel…the content that you post on social media is very much your top-of-the-funnel or brand awareness content. It’s where you provide value, whether it’s education, inspiration, motivation to your audience…the hook is to drive those followers to click on the one link in your bio and take action to opt into your email newsletter or email list. A lot of brands have found this balance where inevitably [consumers] can only interact with a brand so much on social [media], but [they] have to go back to [your] website to shop.

Whatever business that you’re in, you need to find ways to give your followers upfront value so in return they visit your website and take action. The first primary action needs to be the sign-up — whether it’s a loyalty programme or an email newsletter, you need to capture their email address.

Social networks make it really easy for you to convert your followers into email subscribers…let’s take Instagram, for example. Instagram allows you to put up to five links in your bio on your profile. The very first link you put in your bio [should] point to your website and specifically to your email newsletter opt-in. The reason you’re going to do this is when someone lands on your bio you want them to click on that link…you need to focus on getting as many email addresses as you possibly can in order to truly see the value of email marketing. [Also] engage with your audience [through] Instagram Storeys. When you’re posting your content on Storeys, let your audience know to go on [your] website and sign up for the newsletter if [they] want to see more content. Create experiences, create challenges, offer exclusive content that [they] can only get through email.

The other tactic that I’d recommend is for anyone [who’s] commenting on your post, send a private message with that link inviting your followers to sign up for your email newsletter.

Building and Nurturing Relationships

Cartigan: How do brands leverage email marketing to build long-lasting relationships?

Gil: Relationships come in all different forms and levels. For example, I am very active on the speaking circuit — I go to around a dozen conferences a year. And when I go to these conferences, I network — whether it’s a happy hour or after my keynote, I’m always talking to someone. If I go to a conference for three days, the entire time I’m there (with the exception of sleeping) I’m speaking to someone. Throughout those interactions, people will normally ask for a business card. I tell them I don’t have a business card, but I have Instagram…I’ll ask that person if they’re on Instagram, and we usually connect right there on the spot. Follow for follow…now we’re connected. Organically, that’s how I’ve grown a following on Instagram over the years.

LinkedIn is a little trickier because on LinkedIn I don’t necessarily connect with everyone. What I do is, if I’m at a conference having a conversation with someone and I see myself potentially doing business with this person or being able to facilitate an introduction in my professional network, then I’ll connect with them on LinkedIn at that point. It used to be in reverse…my connections are right at 30,000, which is the limit that LinkedIn caps your account. So, I’m constantly having to go in and unfollow individuals just to free up some space…it’s almost like you have to prequalify the person you’re talking to, but what you absolutely need to do is get their information or get them to follow you somehow.

Now, how do you expand that into email? Well, it’s simple. You let that person know, “I have a newsletter, this is what I do — a weekly newsletter sending out marketing tips. I’d love for you to opt-in.” That person I guarantee you is not going to say no, especially if you’re vibing and building rapport. Give them your website, ask them to opt-in right there and then.

Tips for Enhancing Your Email Marketing

Cartigan: What are three actionable insights you would give to brands to elevate their email marketing efforts?

Gil: Engage first, sell last. I think a lot of brands lose sight of the fact that today’s consumer doesn’t want to be sold to; they want to be engaged. As soon as you go into your email inbox and see the word ‘sale’ or ‘offer’ or ‘limited time,’ these are all cringey buzzwords that associate your content with being an ad. So, stop selling! I know that’s tough because we’re all in business to make money and sell, but you have to nurture your social media followers and email subscribers no different than you nurture any other relationship. People are already conditioned to tune out whenever they see content that’s salesy.

The second [tip] as a follow up is to use AI as a tool to bounce ideas off of a platform like ChatGPT. For example, if you have a sale coming up, use ChatGPT and ask, “How do I make this content more personable? How do I make this content less salesy?” That’s where you’re going to get value from AI and you’re going to be able to move a lot faster.

The third actionable tip for email is to create segmented audiences. Don’t just email the same list all the time. Use a tool like GetResponse to create segments of your most engaged subscribers, the people who are consistently opening up your emails…if you want to go one step further, create a segment for those who actually click within your emails and then create customised content or emails specifically for them.

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