Not very long ago, before the advent of social media tools, email marketing used to rule the roost. Then social media entered and completely changed the rules of the game. Businesses started using the new platform for advertising their products and services.
Email marketing took the back seat but refused to disappear from the scene. The utility of social media marketing has become a hot debate amongst digital marketers.
Some of them think that email marketing has become obsolete, and it has no part to play in future advertising campaigns. Whereas a group of marketers believes that email marketing still has potential and it will definitely play a very important role in the future. Statistics, however, show that email marketing is very much alive today. In fact, it is gaining more and more traction. There is every possibility that email marketing will not only survive, it will also outlast several other internet marketing platforms that are considered hot today.
A recent study, carried out among small business owners, revealed that the majority of them believe social media as the best tool for marketing and, establishing and maintaining brand awareness. E-mail marketing was second on their list. What’s more, most of them thought that social media will lose its utility with the passage of time but e-mail marketing won’t.
Why email marketing is important?
One of the main reasons why email marketing is not going to lose its luster is that the majority of people habitually check their emails every morning, and then several times during the day.
The inbox pertaining to an average guy is full of messages from friends and family, loved ones, colleagues, office, and marketers.
A study recently revealed that around 280 billion emails were exchanged all around the world in the year 2018. This is a huge number which is expected to cross the 295 billion mark during the current year. By the next five years, this figure will go beyond 350 billion.
Another reason why email marketing has a bright future is that the total number of active email users around the globe is 3.9 billion while the total number of social media users is 3.5 billion.
Email marketing trends for the future
We are sure that email marketing is not going anywhere, neither in the near future nor in the distant one. However, this does not mean that the shape and mechanic of email marketing will remain the same.
Email marketing phenomenon will go through an evolutionary process, rendering it mandatory for marketers to update and upgrade their own game in order to reap maximum rewards. Marketing teams must be aware of the present and coming trends in this genre.
Quality Will Rule
quality over quantity is a useful notion for almost every business effort. For email marketing, it becomes all so more important.
A marketer can draft a general email and send it out to millions of users. Despite having being received by numerous people, the end result of this exercise will be zilch.
This is because anyone who even bothers to open such an email will understand at first glance it is a poor effort to grab the attention of prospective customers. It will be a miracle even if he manages to read the first two lines of such an email.
People only open and read those emails that they think will benefit them one way or the other. They are seeking information. The main objective of an email marketer is to deliver value to their inboxes rather than junk.
In the future, subscribers will become more cautious with their emails. Consequently, the email marketers of the future will have to remain focused on the content which should be developed keeping in mind the needs and preferences of the niche market. The USA PPC Company is one of those entities that assist marketers in creating and distributing such highly focused emails.
Email Marketing through Interactive Content
We have been witnessing and reading so many plain-text emails that we find it very difficult to imagine emails with interactive content. Yet, this is what a lot of brands have been doing lately: integrating interactive content within their emails.
Interactive content is exciting and fun. That is why many people would open such an e-mail, even leaving hundreds of others waiting in the inbox unread. The recipient can engage with the content within the email. There are surprises for the users when they click on a link or successfully connect a few dots.
Luring New Customers through Loyalty Programs
It is a new trend to integrate a loyalty program within an email marketing strategy. The purpose of these programs is to retain the existing customer base and also lure new customers. Another use of such programs is the collection of consumer-based data for research and analysis.
With the help of this data, a marketer is able to analyze and predict customer behavior, and also create personalized content for future email marketing endeavors. A loyalty program helps you retain your customers. It also shows you the kind of content that keeps your audience engaged. Marketing teams can build upon this data, and implement winning strategies.
Email Marketing and Machine Learning
Most technological experts believe that machine learning will be the most important marketing trend in the coming days. Most people fail to understand what machine learning actually means, and what it entails. And whether it can be applied to email marketing.
Machine learning applies mathematical algorithms over a set of data and makes decisions based on the results. It becomes extremely useful in optimization and automation.
When applied to email marketing, machine learning can work wonders. It can select which email should be sent to which user after what interval. This can work perfectly well even when the data pertaining to customers and prospective customers are in millions.
Email Marketing and Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is one of the hottest topics in today’s world. While some marketers are using the phrase synonymously with machine learning, the idea is fundamentally different altogether.
Artificial Intelligence is also used for simplification of data and recognize intended recipients of emails. However, Artificial Intelligence takes the idea one step further: it can segregate recipients, and also select which content should be sent to whom. In short, Artificial Intelligence can establish email personalization without human interference.
Machine learning and Artificial Intelligence are two different ideas, but they can be used in conjunction with each other in order to devise, develop, and execute a cutting edge marketing campaign that will automatically deliver a personized email to every subscriber.
The Final Word
The future of email marketing is not bleak in any sense of the word. Rather, it is much brighter than most of its other peers.
If your business hasn’t yet tried email marketing for generating leads and increasing your customer base, this is the right time to start.
Research has indicated that with the evolution of the idea, and integration of new techniques, email marketing will become one of the most potent marketing tools.
