The New Era of Deliverability: Why Multichannel Marketing Matters

Email deliverability is going through a major transformation.

With tighter regulations from major mailbox providers like Gmail and Yahoo, businesses are rethinking their email marketing strategies.

Stricter rules for email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and a stronger focus on user engagement metrics are pushing marketers to adopt a multichannel approach.

This shift is crucial for maintaining a good sender reputation and ensuring messages reach their intended audience.

Why Engagement Matters More Than Ever

Engagement metrics, such as open rates, clicks, and overall interaction are becoming central to email filtering algorithms.

Email service providers (ESPs) are focusing on these metrics to determine the value of incoming messages. Emails that receive little to no engagement are increasingly at risk of being filtered into spam folders.

To avoid this, companies can no longer rely solely on email. A multichannel marketing strategy incorporating SMS, social media, and phone outreach can keep audiences engaged across different platforms.

The Rise of Multichannel Marketing

Multichannel marketing allows businesses to connect with customers through various channels, creating a cohesive experience.

By integrating multiple touchpoints, such as SMS for timely alerts, social media for more personalized interactions, and email for informative content, marketers can maintain customer engagement without relying only on one channel.

• Social media: Platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter offer more dynamic ways to interact with audiences through multimedia content, polls, and interactive posts. When paired with email, social media can provide an alternative space for users to engage with your brand.
• SMS marketing: With open rates as high as 98%, SMS is a powerful tool for engaging customers. Also, it can complement email marketing effectively, which can sometimes get lost in crowded inboxes.

How the New Rules Affect Email Campaigns

The new deliverability rules also emphasize authentication. If your emails are not properly authenticated with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, they are more likely to be flagged as spam.

Furthermore, low engagement rates can damage your sender’s reputation, affecting future campaigns’ ability to land in your recipients’ inboxes.

Multichannel strategies allow you to balance your communications across various platforms, ensuring that even if your emails are flagged or underperform, you can still reach your audience via other methods.

By diversifying your engagement, you also give ESPs the signal that your content is relevant, boosting overall email performance.

How to Implement a Multichannel Strategy

To thrive under the new deliverability guidelines, businesses should:

• Segment audiences across channels: Not every customer prefers email. Older audiences still prefer Facebook over email, for instance. Segmenting your audience allows you to send highly targeted messages through the channels they most likely engage with.
• Use preference centers: Empower your audience to choose how they want to be contacted. A preference center gives users control over the type and frequency of communications they receive, which can reduce spam complaints and increase engagement.
• Track engagement on all channels: Monitoring engagement across all touchpoints is key. Use email performance tracking tools, social media analytics, and SMS engagement metrics to get a clear view of how users interact with your content. This insight helps fine-tune your strategy for maximum impact.

Adopting the Multichannel Approach

Maintaining strong email deliverability is more complex than ever.

With tougher regulations and a stronger focus on engagement metrics, businesses must embrace multichannel marketing strategies to ensure their messages reach and resonate with their audience.

By diversifying communication through email, SMS, social media, and more, companies can maintain high engagement rates and safeguard their sender reputation.