Hear me out: Twitter and email are very similar channels. Fallon, what are you talking about? 

Twitter is a constant barrage of everything being thrown at you from brands, friends, family, and acquaintances in chronological order… so is email. Brands need to scrutinize and condense them with the same intentions. 

These should be treated more similarly than they are in most marketing campaigns I’ve seen. How?

K.I.S.S.

Keep it simple. The chances that your tweet and your email get passed by or deleted are very high. The chance that your 4+ paragraph gets read is almost 0 and the chance that your vague tweet gets remembered, retweeted or sends someone to your website is also very low. 

How often do you have something you want to say: ABC company is having a sale on shoes, bags, belts, and hats this week Monday through Friday. The sale ranges from 25 - 35% off and the code is SALE2020, but only for new customers. We are the biggest retailer in your area with the best selection of shoes, bags, belts and hats including big name brands like Brand X and Brand Y!

But you can’t post it because it’s 329 characters before you even add the link, So you condense. Do I really need to tell them at this point that our brand is the biggest and the best? No. Remove that sentence. Do I need to list each product individually? No. Do I need to spell out Monday through Friday? No. 

So if you have this kind of scrutiny because of a forced length, why do you feel the need to send an email that is so long and spells out everything? The consumer doesn’t want to read that any more than they want to read a Tweet that is 700 characters. As the saying goes “Ain’t nobody got time for that.”

While an email doesn’t have to stop at 280 characters, I will say that no email should be more than 280 words. For example this article already at 346 words and if I’m not telling you exactly what you came here to read about, I’ve lost you. While Twitter forces you to be concise, it doesn’t force you to be pertinent, creative or engaging. 

Consistency is key

You get more than one chance to resonate with your audience in both channels. Emails should be a series. 1 goal per email and keep it short. Then follow up with another one sometime later. Twitter also allows you to be part of conversations that your audiences are having. So besides the regular tweets that your brand is posting, what other available industry threads are having open conversations where you can weigh in and contribute? 

Twitter allows for a level playing field between brands and consumers. 280 characters for all, quick-changing content, and the opportunity for people and brands to speak to each other. Make sure you are capitalizing on those things. Email allows for a similar opportunity, however, the conversation isn’t had within the inbox, but can be continued based on the action that the email is guiding the reader to. The email may show a cute graphic for 20% off this weekend only, then a click to the landing page where live chat functions are, or more explanation on the sale and other available products/sales/services keep the user engaged.

Don’t count out Twitter as a viable marketing channel. It’s the best place to communicate with your audience and be genuine. Email may be “free” but don’t send people a multi-paragraph email or simply rely on newsletters. Those are not effective, relative, or concise. Go at Twitter and emails with the same scrutiny and you’ll see better conversion rates.