Email marketing is one of the most popular digital marketing channels, and with good reason. Studies show that consumers learn more effectively from video content in emails than text-based content, and that multimedia content in emails leads to enhanced conversion rates. In addition, several studies have shown that the use of email marketing can increase brand awareness, trust, and loyalty.
Despite these advantages, not all businesses can or should utilize email marketing to promote their brand. As a marketing medium, email has its drawbacks. With the recent advancements in technology, it can be difficult to keep abreast of the ever-changing platforms for email marketing.
This is why it’s important to be familiar with the major platforms currently available for email marketing. With so much competition in this space, businesses must ensure that they are investing in a strategy that will allow them to effectively communicate with their customers.
Which Email Marketing Platform Should You Invest In?
There are 4 major platforms that you can use to send email marketing campaigns:
- Gmail
- Hootsuite
- ActiveCampaign
- ConvertKit
Each of these platforms has significant advantages and disadvantages, and it’s critical to consider what your needs are before choosing which one to invest in.
Gmail
You can use the widely-accessible, widely-used Gmail to send and receive emails through your business. It is one of the most popular mail platforms in the world, with over 2 billion monthly active users as of January 2021. You’ll find several advantages to using Gmail for email marketing.
Firstly, it is very easy to set up a Gmail account. All you need is a phone number and an email address, and you’re good to go. There’s no password required. If you already have a Google account, then transferring that account to Gmail is very easy. You can simply go to Settings and click Sign In to get connected.
Another advantage of Gmail is that it is mobile-first, which means that it displays beautifully on any device, no matter how big or small. If you’re trying to grow your business and need to reach as many people as possible, then Gmail is a great choice due to its global audience.
Gmail offers businesses two-step verification, so you can prevent unauthorized users from accessing your account. In addition, you can recover your account quickly if lost, as long as you use the same email address.
Hootsuite
Another option for businesses looking for an email marketing platform is Hootsuite. This social media management tool allows you to create multiple accounts, set up automated notifications, and engage with your audience through multiple platforms (including email).
Hootsuite offers several advantages to businesses. For example, it is quite easy to use. Simply click Campaigns on the main menu, and you’ll be brought to a page where you can easily create a new campaign. You’ll find several options to choose from, including Traditional, Video, and Content Auto-Replacement.
Hootsuite’s Traditional campaign type allows you to run text-based marketing campaigns. These can be useful for gathering leads, or just keeping customers up-to-date on important news and events. You can use the platform’s Video campaign type to create short videos to promote your business, product, or service. These can be highly effective for marketing purposes, as video content gains 98% of its value from people viewing it on a mobile device. In 2020, video content will reach 94% of all consumers worldwide.
The Content Auto-Replacement function within Hootsuite allows you to seamlessly insert your company’s content into the body of an email, promoting your business or offering while not compromising the integrity of the email’s contents.
One significant disadvantage of Hootsuite is that it is not as globally-accessible as Gmail. If you’re looking to promote your business globally, then Hootsuite might not be the best option. However, if your objective is to reach a local audience, or if you already have a strong presence on social media, then Hootsuite would be an effective choice.
ActiveCampaign
Another option for businesses seeking email marketing platforms is ActiveCampaign. This company provides robust email marketing software, as well as a community of support that is available 24/7 through live chat and email.
ActiveCampaign allows you to create automated emails with content curated from your social feeds, website, or email list. You can also use the platform to develop and test email campaigns, and to integrate webhooks with other platforms, like Salesforce.
The software offers several advantages to businesses. For example, you can integrate webhooks (the technical term for events that happen on your website that you want to automate into an email). This can enable you to automatically send out a specific email when a customer makes a purchase, subscribes to your newsletter, or signs up for your email list.
One significant disadvantage of ActiveCampaign is that, like many other platforms discussed on this page, it is not mobile-friendly. This means that if you’re trying to reach potential customers on the go, then you might have to resort to finding a text version of your email.
ConvertKit
Last but not least, we have ConvertKit. This content creator tool aims to make getting started with email marketing as easy and enjoyable as possible. On its website, the company describes itself as a marketing automation platform that scales with your growth. It strives to make email marketing simpler and more enjoyable by providing you with several features that make the process of creating an email campaign as easy as possible.
For example, you can use the tool to create triggered emails based on user behavior. You can also use webhooks to connect with other platforms like Slack and Google Analytics so that you can gain more insight into how your marketing tactics are performing.
The company’s tagline is Enjoy simple yet effective email marketing and their slogan is Trusted by over 2 million websites worldwide, which clearly demonstrates their global reach.
One significant disadvantage of ConvertKit is that, like Hootsuite, it is not mobile-friendly. If you’re sending out a lot of emails, then this might become a significant disadvantage. This is why it’s important to consider the needs of your business and marketing team before choosing this platform.
Choosing the right email marketing platform can seem difficult. However, with so much competition, businesses must ensure that they are investing in the right strategy. By understanding the advantages and disadvantages of various platforms, businesses can choose the right solution for their needs.