How to Build an Email List Through Social Media

Maria Fintanidou
11/7/2022

This article will explore six essential strategies to build and grow an email list by leveraging your social media channels. Through this process, you can turn your social media following into email subscribers, increasing their engagement with your brand and enhancing customer loyalty.
 

Many marketing professionals think of social media as the easiest way to connect with their target audience. On the contrary, generating leads by building and managing an email list is considered time-consuming. So, why bother in the first place? The reason is that email marketing's Return On Investment (ROI) is $42, meaning that for every dollar spent, marketers receive $42 in return. 

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While companies fall into the trap of just going after followers, trust us when we say that the majority of them won’t stick around or convert into customers. Social media posts come and go, and so do likes and follows.

On top of that, we are all aware of how easy it is for a social media account to get deleted or suspended, without prior notice or justification. Yes, you got that right; all the effort you put into catching your leads' attention could go down the drain.

But if you are looking to turn the game around, all you need is to urge them to become email subscribers. When people agree to give you their email address, they let you access a far more private space. Email marketing is, by definition, about trust. Therefore, a solid email list is your most trusted ally in increasing customer loyalty - and keeping your audience close to your brand in the long term. 

Hire a digital marketing agency to assist with your different campaigns.

6 Ways to Build an Email List Through Social Media in 2022

Emails, when combined with social media, can do wonders for your overall marketing strategy. You have one big challenge to face, though, and that is competing with too many emails in your subscribers’ inboxes. That is where social media enter the picture to help you generate quality leads that are truly interested in your marketing message. 

Once you find them, your email marketing software will give you all the tools you need to target them in the most effective way. Through their advanced personalization, segmentation, and automation options, ESPs like Klaviyo and the most popular Klaviyo competitors allow you to send the right message to the right recipients at the right time. But for that to happen, you should make sure to build a solid email list by leveraging your social media accounts. 

  1. Offer incentives for signups
  2. Run a contest or giveaway
  3. Create Facebook ads
  4. Leverage gated content
  5. Take advantage of LinkedIn groups
  6. Share your webinars on social media

1. Offer Incentives for Signups

Ready to turn your hesitant social media followers into email recipients? 

First, you have to think about what’s in it for them. Your social media is where people already follow and support your brand, and that’s a great start to presenting the benefits of joining your email list. Use your bio section to share your brand story, show them you understand their pain points, and communicate how your product or service gives them the solution. 

Don’t limit yourself to that, but take it one step further by offering lead magnets to your followers in exchange for their email addresses. Lead magnets are an excellent opportunity for people to give you their contact information and may include incentives like checklists, downloadable content, tutorials, free shipping, and more.

To gain access to them, all visitors must do is fill in their email addresses, and you get to inform them about everything new. This way, you will get them excited - and have them longing for more once your emails reach their inboxes.

Additional Reading: '3 Major Forms of Digital Direct Marketing'

2. Run a Contest or Giveaway

Social media contests or giveaways are easy yet effective ways to promote your brand’s products or services. After all, everybody loves free stuff. Create a contest or giveaway that will randomly pick the winners among users that will consent to sign up for your email list. 

There are tons of great giveaway and contest ideas depending on your chosen platform. While most companies think of giveaways as an Instagram or Twitter promotion, Shopify did a great job of running its giveaway within a Facebook tab. That way, it increased its’ visibility and expanded its reach among Facebook users that may visit Shopify’s page for any reason. 

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Don’t neglect to state your contest’s terms, give detailed instructions regarding all the opt-in options, and clearly clarify how winners will be selected.  Also, set a specific time limit to create urgency and get visitors into the spirit of competition. Then, get your free product or special discount out there. 

Your social media contest should be fun and consistent with your brand’s overall message while offering a compelling prize. Include high-quality visuals of the product in question, engaging hashtags, and a link to your sign-up page. Also, encourage people to share your giveaway with their connections by offering extra entries for better chances of winning. 

Giveaways are an ideal way to expand your reach, just remember not to overdo it. Your contest should primarily concern your marketing personas and address their pain points. Quality beats quantity, and this tactic will bring you quality prospects that are truly interested in your offer. 

3. Create Facebook Ads

Creating paid ads on Facebook is one of the fastest ways to build an email list through your social media. Most companies, especially small businesses struggling with financial challenges, are reluctant to dive into this type of advertising. However, it’s an investment that costs little but pays back a lot. Numbers clearly back this up since Facebook ad revenue worldwide reached $84.2 billion in 2020. 

You already know your customers’ demographics like their location, gender, or interests. By using targeted messages in your Facebook ads, you can reach out to your marketing personas and drive conversions for your business.

It is the primary reason for marketers who leverage Facebook ads after all: 

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In order for Facebook ads investment to bear fruits, make sure your sponsored content addresses your target audience’s challenges. Then, grab their attention by offering them the solution that is your product or service. Don’t forget to include content that shows the value of your business proposition. 

Optimize your ad copy and design while incorporating an actionable and eye-catching email sign-up CTA to attract people that match your criteria. After setting up your sponsored posts and evaluating results, you can extend your reach to consumers that could be interested in your offer in the future. Intimidating as it might all sound, there are several tools that make ad management a walk in the park.

4. Leverage Gated Content

Every company can take advantage of valuable content to lure people to its message. Gated content is a lead generation tactic where users gain access to your most valuable pieces of content that remain hidden until they fill in a sign-up form.

This type of content format is considered one of the most effective ways to target prospective customers and get them to sign up for your email list.

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There are several types of premium content to leverage, such as detailed case studies, step-by-step guides, product demo videos, ebooks, or even webinars. But more on the webinar part later. 

Use social media to bring visitors to your website by displaying a sneak peek into premium content. When your followers land there, what they’ll face is content that is partially or fully hidden. Think of it as a “gate” that will only open for them if they fill in their email addresses. 

The secret for this content marketing strategy to work is that the content you choose to lock has to be helpful so that users feel they have to access it or the loss will be on them. This is not a typical lead magnet or sales pitch, so remember that gated content shouldn’t look like a sale attempt. It’s the only way for your content to create the desired impact and lead to conversions.

5. Take Advantage of LinkedIn Groups

Many marketers fall into the mistake of ignoring LinkedIn in their lead generation efforts. And here is why we call it a mistake: 

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Numbers never lie, right? LinkedIn groups are an excellent opportunity to establish yourself as an expert within your industry and market your unique selling proposition to the right people. By its nature, LinkedIn is business-focused, allowing you to contact professionals who are searching for resources that solve their pain points. They will appreciate the expertise you provide, leading to additional referrals and an expanded professional network. 

It’s important to start by optimizing your LinkedIn profile and ensuring it is aligned with your target audience. There are different LinkedIn account types that you can choose from based on your business needs and budget.

Let’s check them out:

  • Free LinkedIn Account
  • Linkedin Premium Career ($29/month)
  • Linkedin Premium Business ($59/month)
  • LinkedIn Sales Navigator Core ($99/month)
  • LinkedIn Sales Navigator Advanced ($149/month)
  • LinkedIn Sales Navigator Advanced Plus ($1600/year)
  • LinkedIn Recruiter Lite ($170/month)
  • LinkedIn Recruiter ($835/month)

Depending on the account created, the platform gives you access to various tools to target leads, such as the built-in advanced search option. You can then create your own LinkedIn group and work hard to make it active.

As with every marketing channel, content is key. So, nurture your business group by providing high-value content. Whether we are discussing repurposing your blog posts or sharing useful tips from experts, it would be better to stick to your niche expertise. 

By posting your content in LinkedIn groups and encouraging discussion among members, you increase visibility and show authority. Make sure to include a link on your Profile for members to join your email list or even offer them a lead magnet in exchange for signing up.

6. Share Your Webinars on Social Media

In case you don’t already know, webinars are an amazing way to grow your email recipient database and build brand awareness. They educate your audience and provide them with solutions. But webinars aren’t a one-and-done thing, so sharing them across social media channels is a bulletproof way to convert followers to email subscribers. Followers are of little use if they don’t convert, but once they join your webinars, they will gladly give up their email addresses to check what’s in it for them. 

Webinars are a perfect chance for your followers to find out how your product or service helps them solve problems, ask questions on industry-related topics, and learn from the best: you and your guest experts. You must use your expertise to guide them throughout your webinar and then consistently promote it on different social media platforms to further increase exposure. 

Statistics show that the vast majority of B2B marketers acknowledge that webinars are particularly effective in generating qualified leads for their brand. 

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Webinar attendees are already interested in what you have to say and they register because they expect to gain valuable tips from your business experts. This is why they can easily convert not only to high-quality leads but also brand ambassadors that could even share your webinar content themselves. From customer onboarding to asking for valuable customer feedback, hosting a webinar and sharing it on your social media accounts is key to generating loyal subscribers.

Leverage Social Media to Boost Email Signups

Your followers on social media are people that probably already know and trust your business. Growing your social media following is crucial for your overall success, but to secure it, followers must be turned into email recipients. Remember that social media keep evolving, and there’s a great chance that you will lose valuable data - or even precious leads.

Social media and email marketing share the goal of increasing customer engagement for your brand. Email marketing will give you all the necessary tools to convert your followers to email subscribers and engage them for a lifetime. Follow the simple tactics shared in this article and watch your contact database grow with a little push from your social media channels. 

Additional Reading: 

author

Maria Fintanidou

Copywriter
Maria Fintanidou works as a Copywriter for email marketing automation software Moosend, creating the Help Articles (FAQs) and overseeing the platform’s translations in Greek and Spanish. She loves exploring new cultures and ways of thinking through traveling, reading, and language learning.
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