In November 2020, the Trump administration announced that it would be banning TikTok from the United States. The ban was put on hold by a federal judge, but those trials began again in March of 2023.
For creators all over the country, this has raised concerns about the future of social media marketing and the importance of building an email list that you own. In this blog post, we will discuss what the TikTok ban trial teaches us about digital marketing and building an email list that you own. We will also provide tips on how to build and nurture your email list so that you are not reliant on any one platform.
Why Is An Email List Important?
There are many reasons why an email list is important for digital marketing. First, email is one of the most effective ways to reach your audience. According to a study by Campaign Monitor, the average open rate for email is 20.8%, while the average engagement rate for social media posts is just 0.7%.
Why Is This?
Emails are typically a more personal and direct form of communication than social media posts. When you send an email, you are directly communicating with your customer. This allows you to build a stronger relationship with your customers and create a more personal connection.
Social media algorithms are constantly changing, and your posts may not be seen by your followers if they don’t fall within the algorithm’s parameters. Emails, on the other hand, are delivered directly to your customers’ inboxes, so they are more likely to be seen.
What Does The TikTok Ban Trial Teach Us About Digital Marketing?
The TikTok ban trial teaches us that we cannot rely on any one platform for our digital marketing efforts. Whether you are an independent musician or a small business, you’ve likely heard about the importance of being on the platform.
DISCLAIMER: This is NOT us advocating for you to pull your social media presence. Social media should be a tool to reach your target audience and meet your goals using smart digital media strategies. By using this in tandem with building an email list, you make it easier for your business to transition in the event the worst case scenario happens (for example: a TikTok ban going through and losing thousands of followers that had the potential for being an owned contact by your business)
If TikTok had been banned, businesses that relied on the platform would have been in a difficult position. This is why it is important to build an email list that you own. When you own your email list, you have complete control over it. You can use it to communicate with your audience whenever you want, and you are not reliant on any one platform to deliver your business’s message.
How To Build An Email List
There are many ways to build an email list. Here are a few tips:
Offer a lead magnet: A lead magnet is a free gift that you offer in exchange for someone’s email address. This could be a ebook, a whitepaper, or even just a discount code.
Add a signup form to your website: Make it easy for people to sign up for your email list by adding a signup form to your website.
Promote your email list on social media: Share your email list signup form on social media and encourage your followers to sign up.
Use social media ads: You can also use social media ads to promote your email list.
How To Nurture Your Email List
Once you have built your email list, you need to nurture it. This means sending regular emails that are relevant and interesting to your audience. You can also use email to promote your products or services, but it is important to make sure that your emails are valuable and informative.
One of the best parts of communicating through an email list versus social media is the power of a more trackable form of communication than social media posts. With email, you can see who has opened your emails, who has clicked on your links, and who has made a purchase. You can even build these campaigns out further with the power of UTMs. This information can help you to improve your email campaigns and get better results.
Overall, while it doesn’t appear that TikTok will be going away any time soon, it never hurts to take this mindset into how you strategize your digital media presence. The TikTok ban trial teaches us that we cannot rely on any one platform for our digital marketing efforts. If you want to be successful in digital marketing, you need to find multiple ways to nurture your audience. Building an email list that you own is a great start.
Comments