Social Media Subs to E-Newsletters
The Challenge
Many municipalities have jumped on the social media train and acquired a high volume of followers. Unfortunately, social followers do not always translate into well informed, educated and motivated residents. Curating strong awareness of programs and opportunities to get involved in with the community isn’t as easy as posting on Facebook. Social media is not intended to be a stable, reliable medium for in-depth news and program information.
Many municipalities are turning once again to e-newsletters as a method to combat audience shifts among various social media channels. We work with municipalities who are faced with converting their social media followers to e-newsletter subscribers.
The Solution
Industry numbers prove that social media followers can successfully be engaged to subscribe to e-newsletters. Those who have already opted into following on social media are likely engaged residents seeking to learn more about their community. An example of cross-pollination between platforms is using a very basic prize draw incentive and messaging for a short period of time to convert Facebook followers into city e-newsletter subscribers.
Content is a key driver to engagement. Due to the ability to provide in-depth content, e-newsletter subscription shows increased awareness and motivation to participate in current programs and activities. Gatekeeping content on social media in exchange for an email is an effective and value-driven method for converting social followers to e-news subscribers.