Dear Brands: More email subscribers means more sales. P.S. Engaging with shoppers through social media helps too.

Have you ever been checking out of a shop when the cashier innocently asks whether you would like 15% off your next purchase? Of course you answer yes, after all who doesn’t want a deal? But then she asks you to jot down your email address … oh no, you know where this is leading … to a lifetime of junk mail. You pause, pen at your lip, wondering what to do, whether 15% off is worth it. Finally you write it down. It is.

 Studies indicate that email is still the most effective promotional channel with 90% of adult internet users subscribing to emails from brands. Where they are driven by promotions, people following brands via social media are more often just showing their support.

Of course, it depends what you’re in the market for. Fashion forward shoppers might be more influenced by email marketing but buyers of electronic goods value the opinions of other users, which are often communicated via blogs and other social media channels.

Unlike traditional TV and radio ads that simply get the customer to the store, and in-store contacts that only spark customer action at the end, social media marketing is present throughout the entire shopping experience. Brands interested in engaging customers even further should be monitoring social media chatter regularly and listening to real time consumer comments. Then they can incorporate that feedback into their marketing strategies.

“Don’t think of social media as a campaign. Social media lives and breathes. Engaging advocates to drive word-of-mouth to increase brand loyalty requires constant fuel, participation and management.” (Mark Renshaw, EVP Digital Practice Lead at Arc Worldwide and Leo Burnett)