Email and social media are often treated as separate channels with separate strategies. This is a mistake.
The most effective marketing programs integrate email and social into a unified system where each channel strengthens the other.
Why Integration Matters
The channels are complementary:
Social media excels at discovery, engagement, and brand awareness.
Email excels at nurturing, conversion, and retention.
Together they create a full-funnel system that neither achieves alone.
Social to Email: Building Your List
Use social to grow email subscribers:
Lead magnets. Offer valuable resources (guides, templates, courses) in exchange for email sign-up.
Social-exclusive signups. "Join my email list for [value not available on social]."
Link in bio optimization. Make email signup prominent and compelling.
Story and post CTAs. Regular (not constant) reminders to join email list.
Live events. Webinars and live sessions require email registration.
Email to Social: Driving Engagement
Use email to boost social presence:
Social content in emails. Feature best-performing social posts in newsletters.
Follow CTAs. Regular reminders to connect on social platforms.
Exclusive social content. "We shared something on Instagram we think you'll love."
Community invitations. Drive email subscribers to Facebook groups or Discord communities.
Cross-Channel Content Strategy
Align content across channels:
Content themes. Same topics explored through email and social simultaneously.
Sequential storytelling. Start a story on social, complete it in email (or vice versa).
Repurposing. Email content becomes social posts; social content inspires email topics.
Consistent voice. Brand voice should be recognizable across both channels.
Segmentation Using Social Data
Social engagement informs email segmentation:
Engaged followers. Segment email subscribers who also engage on social.
Topic interests. Social engagement reveals content preferences for email personalization.
Platform preferences. Know which platforms each subscriber prefers.
Custom audiences. Email lists become custom audiences for social advertising.
Social Proof in Email
Bring social elements into email:
Testimonials from social. Feature positive social mentions in emails.
Follower counts and growth. "Join 50,000 followers" as social proof.
UGC in emails. Customer social content featured in email campaigns.
Social share buttons. Make email content shareable to social.
Automation Integration
Build automated cross-channel workflows:
Welcome sequences that encourage social follows.
Re-engagement campaigns that use social retargeting in parallel.
Purchase follow-ups that request social shares and reviews.
Event campaigns that coordinate social promotion with email invitations.
Advertising Integration
Combine email and social advertising:
Email list custom audiences. Upload email lists to social platforms for targeting.
Lookalike audiences. Find new prospects similar to your email subscribers.
Retargeting coordination. Coordinate ad retargeting with email sequences.
Suppression lists. Exclude converters from both email and ad targeting.
Measurement Across Channels
Track integrated performance:
Cross-channel attribution. Understand how channels work together toward conversions.
Assisted conversions. Recognize when social assists email conversions (or vice versa).
Lifetime value by source. Compare LTV of customers acquired through different channel combinations.
Engagement overlap. Identify your most valuable subscribers who engage across channels.
Brands that treat email and social as an integrated system outperform those that treat them as separate silos. The coordination effort pays off in efficiency, effectiveness, and customer experience.