Email marketing and LinkedIn marketing are two popular digital marketing channels used by businesses to connect with customers and generate leads. Both have unique advantages and differences that companies should understand to use them effectively. This article will compare email marketing vs LinkedIn marketing looking at their purpose, target audiences, content types, metrics, costs and other factors.
What is Email Marketing?
Email marketing is using email to promote products, services and build relationships with current and potential customers. It involves creating and sending commercial messages via email to a list of contacts or subscribers.
Some key things about email marketing include:
- Uses opt-in email lists where subscribers agree to receive messages.
- Messages sent can include promotions, newsletters, surveys, special offers etc.
- Can segment lists based on demographics, interests, behavior etc.
- Delivers personalized and relevant content to subscribers.
- Ongoing strategy that nurtures relationships over time.
The main goals of email marketing include:
- Acquire new leads and customers
- Retain and engage current customers
- Drive sales through promotions and offers
- Cross-sell or upsell products and services
- Collect feedback and data through surveys and questionnaires
Email is a cost-effective way for businesses to reach prospects and existing customers. Segmented email lists allow delivering targeted, personalized content at scale.
What is LinkedIn Marketing?
LinkedIn marketing refers to marketing activities carried out on the LinkedIn social media platform to achieve business goals. It taps into LinkedIn’s audience of over 722 million professionals and 11 million active job listings.
Some key things about LinkedIn marketing include:
- Business and career-focused platform with high value audience.
- Allows targeted advertising to specific demographics and interests.
- Company Pages showcase brands and content to LinkedIn community.
- Sponsored InMail for one-to-one personalized messaging.
- Share useful content to establish thought leadership.
The main objectives of LinkedIn marketing include:
- Increase brand awareness and establish thought leadership.
- Generate leads through targeted ads and content.
- Recruit new employees by advertising jobs.
- Engage customers and build relationships.
- Market products and services to LinkedIn community.
LinkedIn provides access to quality prospects that are business, career and education minded. Companies can deeply target ads and build authority through content.
Target Audiences
The target audiences for email and LinkedIn marketing have some overlap but also major differences:
Email Marketing
- Email list subscribers who have opted-in and consented to emails.
- Existing customers – both active and inactive.
- Prospects who have provided their email address.
- Businesses and consumers interested in products/services.
- Diverse demographic backgrounds.
LinkedIn Marketing
- LinkedIn members – over 722 million as of October 2023.
- Working professionals and white-collar workers.
- Higher household incomes and education levels.
- Decision makers, influencers, senior management.
- Age 25-65 predominantly.
While email can reach people broadly, LinkedIn delivers a high value audience segmented by job role, skills, company and other professional criteria.
Types of Content
The content formats used in email and LinkedIn marketing also show some differences:
Email Marketing
- Promotional emails e.g. newsletters, special offers.
- Product update and announcement emails.
- Transactional emails e.g. receipts, shipping confirmations.
- Lead nurturing email series.
- Retargeting emails to re-engage inactive users.
- Cart abandonment emails.
- Feedback and surveys.
LinkedIn Marketing
- Company Pages showcasing brands.
- Employee profiles summarizing skills and experience.
- Sponsored content in LinkedIn feed.
- Direct Sponsored InMail messages.
- Display and text ads.
- Long-form thought leadership posts.
- Job ads.
- Reviews and recommendations.
Emails can use lengthy or short form content while LinkedIn emphasizes informative, useful or entertaining content.
Key Metrics and Data
Understanding the main metrics and data points for each channel is important:
Email Marketing Metrics
- Open rate – Percentage of emails opened.
- Clickthrough rate – Clicks on links divided by total emails sent.
- Conversion rate – Conversions divided by clicks.
- Bounce rate – Emails bounced as undeliverable.
- List growth rate.
- Unsubscribe rate.
LinkedIn Marketing Metrics
- Impressions – Times ads are displayed.
- Clicks – Clicks on the ads.
- Clickthrough rate.
- Cost per click.
- Conversions from ads and content.
- Follower growth and engagement for Company Page.
- InMail response rates.
Email provides open and click data while LinkedIn focuses on impressions, clicks and response rates.
Costs
The costs of each platform vary:
Email Marketing Costs
- Email marketing software fees like MailChimp, Constant Contact etc.
- Email list acquisition costs.
- Time of internal staff.
- Design and creation of email templates and content.
LinkedIn Marketing Costs
- Sponsored content campaigns based on cost per click or impression.
- Sponsored InMail costs per message sent.
- Employee profiles – premium accounts with more features.
- Agency fees if using an external LinkedIn marketing agency.
Email can be very affordable while LinkedIn costs are driven by impressions and clicks to generate leads.
Integrations
Email and LinkedIn can both integrate with other marketing systems:
Email Marketing Integrations
- CRM – Sync email lists and history with CRM database like Salesforce or HubSpot.
- Ecommerce platforms – Add tags for customer data and sync product catalogs.
- Webinar software – Promote upcoming webinars and record attendance.
- Surveys – Embed survey links and view responses.
- Marketing automation – Track email performance and automate workflows.
LinkedIn Integrations
- CRM – Connect LinkedIn ads and Company Pages data with CRM.
- Marketing automation – Pass LinkedIn form fills and interactions to platforms like Marketo.
- Analytics – Track LinkedIn performance with platforms like Google Analytics.
- Ads – Use external ad platforms to manage LinkedIn PPC campaigns.
Both channels integrate well with CRM, marketing automation, analytics and more.
Deliverability and Compliance
Maintaining deliverability and compliance is crucial for both channels:
Email Deliverability and Compliance
- List hygiene – Removing inactive and bounced email addresses.
- Spam checks – Monitoring emails flagged as spam.
- Unsubscribe handling – Promptly removing unsubscribes.
- Content compliance – Following CAN-SPAM and CASL regulations.
- Authentication methods like SPF, DKIM and DMARC.
LinkedIn Deliverability and Compliance
- Page quality – Publishing engaging Company Pages and posts.
- Ad relevance – Ensuring ads are relevant to target audiences.
- Guidelines – Following LinkedIn’s policies and terms of service.
- Restricted content – Avoiding restricted content in advertisements.
Both channels require monitoring deliverability signals and compliance with policies.
Benefits and Drawbacks
Understanding the unique benefits and potential drawbacks of each channel is key:
Email Marketing Benefits
- Cost effective way to reach large lists.
- Flexibility for different types of content and campaigns.
- Delivers highly personalized messaging.
- Own subscriber lists with direct access and engagement.
- Detailed performance tracking and optimization.
Potential Email Drawbacks
- Ongoing list building and maintenance required.
- Possibility of deliverability issues or getting flagged as spam.
- subscribers can disengage or unsubscribe completely.
- Regulations may limit types of content and messaging.
LinkedIn Marketing Benefits
- Targeted advertising by job role, company, skills etc.
- Reach high value, relevant audiences.
- Position as thought leaders by sharing content.
- Talent recruitment opportunities.
- Ad performance reporting for optimization.
Potential LinkedIn Drawbacks
- Paying for all advertising and sponsored content.
- Limited types of ad formats and content available.
- Restrictions and approval processes for ads.
- Maximizing organic reach can be challenging.
- More noise as other companies advertise.
The right channel depends on budget, goals and types of content to promote.
Use Cases and Examples
Looking at real examples can illustrate ideal uses cases for each platform:
Ideal Email Marketing Use Cases
- eCommerce sales – Promotions, abandoned cart, product recommendations.
- Lead generation – Lead nurturing sequences, content offers.
- Events – Event announcements, invitations and reminders.
- Nonprofits – Fundraising campaigns, donation requests, newsletters.
- Retail – Cart abandonment, loyalty programs, personalized product suggestions.
Example: Fashion retailer sending a series of emails when shoppers browse products or leave their cart, offering discounts and suggesting other items to purchase.
Ideal LinkedIn Marketing Use Cases
- B2B technology – Targeted ads to IT decision makers and influencers.
- HR and recruiting – Promoting open roles to relevant talent pools.
- Business services – Build authority by sharing content like whitepapers.
- Financial services – Connect with professionals needing various services.
- Higher education – Promote programs to prospective students.
Example: Enterprise SaaS company creating LinkedIn ads highlighting their solutions for specific roles like CTOs and managers.
Conclusion
In summary, email marketing and LinkedIn marketing offer different benefits in terms of audience targeting, content formats, metrics and costs.
Email marketing allows affordable segmentation and personalized messaging to diverse contacts. LinkedIn facilitates highly targeted advertising to professional demographics in a business context.
The best approach is to leverage both platforms in a complementary way to widen reach for campaigns and diversify content. Integrating the two channels also maximizes impact through shared metrics, lead flows and unified messaging.
With a strategic approach, brands can capitalize on the unique value of both email and LinkedIn marketing. Segmenting audiences and crafting tailored content for each platform is key to success.
