There’s no doubt that paid social—especially platforms like LinkedIn—is becoming an increasingly important part of the B2B marketing mix. With targeting options that let you get your message in front of specific industries, roles, and even companies, it’s a useful tool for raising visibility.
But in our experience at Protean Inbound, while paid social is often great for reaching new contacts, email marketing continues to hold a unique and dependable role in a broader marketing strategy.
Consistency, familiarity, and relevance
We encourage all our clients to send regular email campaigns to the mailing lists we manage and grow for them. These emails generate consistent results—not just in terms of click-throughs, but in real activity. Quite often, we see a noticeable bump in traffic to the website, more messages via live chat, and a few direct enquiries coming in shortly after the campaign lands.
Even when the open or click rates aren’t especially high, the emails are still doing their job: keeping the company, the product, and the message front of mind.
That matters—because when someone does need the product or service, they remember the email. It’s also easier to find again in an inbox than a fleeting social media post buried under weeks of content.
Short shelf life vs long-term presence
Posts on social platforms have a very short shelf life. Unless someone is actively scrolling at the right time, chances are they’ll miss it. Paid social can push your content in front of people, but that visibility tends to be momentary.
Email, by contrast, sticks around. People might not act immediately, but your message is still sitting there—readable, searchable, and often saved for later. It becomes part of an ongoing conversation, not a one-off shout into the feed.
Supporting other efforts
Email marketing also supports other parts of your strategy. We’ve seen emails drive traffic to product pages, blog posts, or event sign-ups—helping to build momentum and keeping the content side of SEO ticking along.
And if you’re running paid social campaigns, the email list is often the place where those leads go next. Email gives you the space to expand on what you’ve said in a LinkedIn post, and follow up in a more considered way.
Still worth it
In a time when inboxes are crowded and people have less time, it’s easy to assume email has lost its impact. But in our view, that’s not the case. It’s still one of the most reliable, low-barrier ways to stay visible to people who’ve shown an interest.
It might not always deliver dramatic results in a single send, but over time it builds awareness, supports SEO, and reminds people what you do. And when done regularly, it works.
If you’d like support building or refining an email strategy that complements your paid social or wider marketing efforts, we’re happy to help.