Email Applied: Attack Social Media Like a Direct Marketer

1. Promote your social networking presence on your homepage. See JCPenney.com, with its prominent placement of the Facebook icon, or the footer of the Barneys.com homepage — which has Facebook, Twitter and YouTube logos — for examples.

2. Send an email that highlights your social media activities. Cooking supplies purveyor Sur La Table sent an email to subscribers with the subject line "Become One Of Our Biggest Fans." It focused on Facebook, provided a $10-off coupon for those who became fans and called attention to fandom's other benefits, such as celebrity chef appearances.