Social media offers a cost effective way to tap into a massive audience and garner more exposure for your brand. Using this channel as a branding mechanism gives you the opportunity to build new relationships, strengthen existing ones, create loyalty and much more if you’re lucky. While breaking in can be a bit challenging, the energy you devote to the process is well worth it when factoring in the payoffs. Once you have leveraged the social networks to raise awareness for your brand, the proper use of email marketing can be extremely effective at helping you build onto those efforts.

Using Facebook as an example, getting prospects to “like” your page or “friend” you is what you strive for as a marketer. It is similar to having them opt-in to your communications when considering that it confirms their interest and allows you to make contact. However, if you want to romance your ideal customer through email marketing, you must get them on a real list to do it. Most of the popular social networks support functionality that enables you to incorporate a signup form on your profile or page, but as always, you must give people a reason to give you their time. Focus on building relationships and illustrate the value in being both a fan and email subscriber.

We hear it all the time: “social media is where the conversation is.” This may be true, but there is dialogue taking place in several more relevant channels, and email is one of the busiest of them all. Capitalizing on this proven tool to keep the conversation going is a powerful example of how the integration of these two platforms can be optimized. It may be difficult for some of your fans to get a word in edge wise on the social networks depending on the activity associated with your brand’s presence, but in the email channel, there is plenty of room for personalized, one-to-one, two-way conversations. Give your subscribers a platform where their voices can be heard and they’ll surely keep that act in their memory.

With one site being a handful as it is, juggling two or more social networks to promote your brand can definitely be a daunting task. It’s not impossible, however, and if you can do it, then email is the perfect tool for bringing your social audiences together. Have an active LinkedIn group your Facebook fans should know about? Craft together a message containing the link to the group and everything they need to know to participate. If your fans are already selling your brand to others on Facebook, who says they won’t do the same on LinkedIn?

Social media can help you build a strong presence and following for your brand. Email can help you further those efforts and seal the deal. Play your cards right and you will come to understand why many in the online marketing community are considering this the ultimate power couple.