From Facebook to Email and Back Again

You have your email list, you have your Facebook fans, so how do they work together? Believe it or not, there are benefits to having someone as a fan and as an email database member, you just have to get them to sign up.

One benefit of having a fan on Facebook is you can talk more often than you can email. Send me an email message every day and I'll probably unsubscribe, post a daily message on Facebook and I'll remain a fan, as long as the content is engaging.

One benefit of having an email address is you can use it to go from one social network to the next. If the popularity of Facebook wanes, you can use the email address to extend an invitation to the next social platform.

Sounds great, right? So, how do you get them to sign up?

Building your database - from Facebook to email. Want to capture the emails of Facebook fans? The easiest way is to host a giveaway on Facebook and drive fans to a website registration page where you capture their email addresses. If you are hosting an event you can also promote on Facebook and require email during the event registration process - again driving them from Facebook to a website registration page.

Building your database - from email to Facebook. Simply invite your fans to like you on Facebook via an email. Offer up a clear reason to join - perhaps you will post a fan only coupon to your page soon, or you'll be hosting a Facebook contest. Give them a sense of urgency that they need to join now in order to be a part of the action. Keep the email copy single-focused - don't bury the ask in a newsletter format.

Something else to consider is Custom Audiences, Facebook's ad product which allows you to upload a list of emails from your database and advertise directly to them on Facebook. If they like you enough to receive your emails chances are they would be open to becoming your fan.

Simple ways to drive people from Facebook to email and the other way around. What methods have you seen work?