Should You Use Email, Social Media — or Both?
Introduction
There’s a lot of noise about what works best for marketing:
“Social media is king!”
“Email gets better returns!”
“TikTok is the future!”
As a small business owner, you don’t have time to chase every trend.
You just want to know: What’s worth doing — and what actually brings in customers?
In this article, we’ll break down the difference between email and social media, what each one is good at, and how to choose the right fit for your business.
The Challenge
Many small businesses fall into one of two traps:
1. Doing everything — but not doing anything well
They post randomly, send one email a year, and hope something sticks.
2. Doing nothing — because they don’t know where to start
They’ve been told “you have to be on X” but aren’t confident enough to try.
Here’s the truth:
You don’t need to do it all. You need to do what works for you — consistently.
And that usually means starting with one, then adding the other once you’re confident.
What Email Is Good For
Email is best when you want to:
- Speak directly to people who already know you
- Share value or offers in a private space
- Stay top of mind with people who are interested but not ready to buy yet
- Build relationships over time (especially for repeat or high-trust services)
The big advantage?
You own your list — no algorithm can take that away.
What Social Media Is Good For
Social media is best when you want to:
- Get your name out in front of new people
- Show your personality or behind-the-scenes
- Build recognition through repetition
- Create quick touchpoints that spark interest
The big advantage?
You can get visibility without needing people’s email addresses — perfect for early awareness.
Why Both Can Work Together
Think of social media as the start of the conversation.
Think of email as how you keep it going.
Someone might see you on Instagram, then sign up for your emails.
Or they might read your emails, then share your social post with a friend.
The best results come when they work together — but it’s fine to start with just one.
So Where Should You Start?
Ask yourself:
- Do we already have a list of customers or leads?
Start with email.
- Do we want more people to hear about us?
Start with social.
- Do we have someone who can commit 30 minutes a day?
You can likely do both (and build from there).
Call to Action
Whether you choose email, social or both — your message needs to be clear and consistent.
Your Marketing Coach: Level 1 helps your assistant understand what to say, who to say it to, and how to make your business stand out — no matter where the message goes.
👉 Explore the Program
👉 Or Book a Call with Rachael
About Your Marketing Coach
Your Marketing Coach provides a practical training program designed to help small and medium-sized businesses get better results from their marketing — by training the person you've already hired to do it.
It’s created by Rachael Ward — a Chartered Marketer with 30 years of experience helping businesses grow. Rachael works as a part-time Chief Marketing Officer across the UK for small-medium sized businesses and built this program after seeing assistants asked to “do marketing” without support or direction.
The course is made for the real world — no complicated theory, no overwhelming jargon. Just helpful tools, video modules, printable worksheets, and built-in support through a custom AI assistant trained on the course content.
It’s practical, proven, and built for businesses like yours.
