Five golden rules for a successful social sharing strategy
Incorporating social sharing into your email campaigns is a powerful way to extend your reach, increase engagement, and build brand loyalty. Our recent consumer insights report, the loyalty divide, found that 72% of your most loyal customers (or as we like to call them, brand loyalists) actively browse social media.
This statistic shows that when you create relevant marketing that genuinely resonates with your audience, they become more engaged and are also more likely to share your content on social media.
By nurturing these connections and consistently providing value, you not only transform loyal customers into enthusiastic brand advocates but also significantly increase the likelihood that they will choose you for their next purchase.
When done right, social sharing transforms your email content from a one-way message into a dynamic conversation that spreads across social networks. Here are five golden rules to help you master social sharing within your email campaigns.
1. Make sharing effortless
The key to successful social sharing in email campaigns is ease of use. If your subscribers find it difficult or confusing to share your content, they are unlikely to take that extra step. To prevent this, include clear and accessible social sharing buttons within your email templates. These buttons should allow readers to share the entire newsletter or specific content blocks with just one click.
With Dotdigital, you can use an add to social networks link to easily choose which social platforms to feature. Thoughtful placement is essential: position your sharing options in highly visible areas, such as at the top or bottom of your email, while ensuring they don’t compete with your main call to action. This balanced approach helps you maintain focus on your primary goals while making sharing effortless.
Optimizing for mobile devices is essential, as many users check emails on their phones. By making sharing seamless and intuitive, you encourage more subscribers to spread your message across their networks.
2. Create share-worthy content
No matter how many social sharing buttons you feature, they won’t magically transform content that falls flat. To truly inspire your subscribers to share, your email content must hit the sweet spot of being valuable and emotionally resonant. It also needs to be both relevant and personalized.
Our loyalty divide report, shows that while about 73% of consumers feel the level of personalization is “just right,” only 23% consider marketing to be “very relevant.” This shows that personalization and relevance go hand in hand. Relevance means meeting the specific needs of your customer at the right time.
So, you should aim to create interesting and personalized content that speaks directly to what customers need at that moment. This increases the chances that people will want to share it. For more ideas and inspiration, check out our full customer loyalty report.
3. Encourage active participation and social proof
Social sharing thrives when your audience feels involved and recognized. Encourage your subscribers to engage by inviting them to tag your brand on social media or to participate in contests and giveaways promoted through your emails.
Featuring user-generated content or highlighting social proof—such as follower counts and testimonials—can motivate others to get involved. For instance, you might ask readers to share their favorite part of your newsletter on Instagram Stories or to use a branded hashtag to foster a sense of community.
This active participation not only boosts sharing but also builds trust and credibility around your brand. When subscribers feel like they are part of a larger conversation, they become enthusiastic advocates who are more likely to share your content.
4. Customize your social sharing strategy for each platform
Each social media platform has its own unique audience, culture, and technical requirements. To maximize the effectiveness of your email’s social sharing, tailor your messaging and visuals for the specific platforms you are targeting.
For example, while Instagram users are often more responsive to visually appealing and casual posts, LinkedIn audiences tend to prefer work-orientated and informative content. When sharing email content to Instagram, prioritize high-quality images or short, engaging videos taken from your email.
Craft concise and captivating captions that encourage interaction, and make use of platform-specific features such as relevant hashtags to further amplify your message.
To maximize your social media impact, it’s important to think strategically about timing. Instead of just posting randomly, investigate when your specific audience is most active on each platform.
To determine the best times to post, explore the analytics dashboards provided by each social media platform. These insights offer valuable data on when your followers are online and most likely to engage with your content.
Look for trends and peak activity periods for your unique audience. By scheduling your posts during these high-traffic times, you can significantly increase the visibility of your content, resulting in a greater likelihood of likes, comments, and shares. This increased engagement signals to social media algorithms that your content is valuable, which can further enhance its organic reach and overall visibility.
5. Track, analyze, and optimize
To sustain and improve your social sharing results, it’s essential to track how your email campaigns perform across social platforms. Use email analytics to measure key metrics such as shares, click-through rates, and overall engagement.
Look for patterns in what types of content and sharing prompts generate the most activity. Testing different approaches, such as varying the placement of sharing buttons, experimenting with different calls to action, or trying new content formats can help you identify what resonates best with your audience. Additionally, stay informed about social media trends and platform algorithm changes to keep your strategy relevant.
Improve your social sharing today
Social sharing is not just a tactic; it’s a transformative strategy for your email campaigns. By following these tactics, you can turn your emails into viral hits that reach an audience far beyond the inbox. These five essential principles serve as your guide to developing a strategy that not only increases engagement but also cultivates a loyal community around your brand.
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