Why You Need an Internal Email Marketing Strategy, Too—Especially Right Now

Email marketing is an increasingly important slice of the marketing pie. And it’s not just for your external audiences: At a time of scattered workforces and remote collaboration, internal “marketing” is a critical way to keep colleagues connected and aligned.

“As remote and geographically dispersed teams increase, the benefits of in-person collaboration need to find their place within the digital realm,” Christina Crawley of the global marketing firm Forum One wrote in a recent Forbes post  (opens in a new tab). “Various combinations of tools support this approach; however, smart use of internal email marketing is key to keeping employees focused and informed so that they can do their jobs effectively.”

Internal messaging can take advantage of strategies similar to those used in email marketing, such as consistent scheduling, link tracking, and segmenting. And if followed through, they can generate impressive results.

A few tips for improving your internal communications right now:

Work on your voice and branding. According to the email provider Campaign Monitor,  (opens in a new tab) “research indicates that internal branding positively affects employee engagement and loyalty. This occurs because branding makes the company and its goals relatable. It helps employees understand how their role contributes to the greater cause. A brand voice that humanizes the tone of your emails accomplishes this on an organic level.”

Enable two-way communication. It can be easy to default to one-way communication, but encouraging conversation is more inclusive and usually brings better results. “While providing information is the spark that initially lights the communication flame, feedback tends to it, keeping that fire healthy and efficient,” Mary Clare Novak of the software research firm G2 Crowd noted in 2018.

Keep an eye on open rates. If your messages aren’t getting read—possibly lost among all the other email flooding your employees’ inboxes—it may be a sign that you need to take another approach to reaching your team. “Keep track of communication benchmarks to gain insight into what’s performing best,” writes the Sandy Yu on the Employee Channel blog  (opens in a new tab). “Then, develop a culture of transparency so your team has access to the information that interests them.”

And don’t be afraid to switch to another form of communication entirely. As PR News notes, a growing trend in some organizations is the private podcast  (opens in a new tab).

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