Yesterday, IMA’s Aimee Kessler Evans posted a blog post “Email may not be sexy, but it still delivers results.”
In her post, Aimee said:
… while marketing via Facebook or advertising on mobile apps may be the hottest new trend, we urge to go “old school” and keep email marketing in mind as you plan your next marketing campaigns. Sure it’s practically geriatric in web years, but that doesn’t make it any less effective.
But we also posted a (somewhat) contrary view in our September 2009 IMA eNewsletter, “Is the eMail Newsletter Dead?” IMA VP, Business Development, Anthony Zarro wrote:
I have often said – sometimes to the dismay of fellow IMA staff members – that eMail newsletters will eventually be replaced by company blogs. While that has not yet happened to the extent I thought it would, I definitely do see the trend moving over to social media in the form of company FaceBook, LinkedIn & Twitter pages.
The reason for this should be clear to anyone who opens their email client on a daily basis. Competition for the inbox is fierce. Because we’re all faced with so much clutter, we are forced to delete or ignore many of these communications. How many times have you said that you’ll come back to read a newsletter when you have more time – and never did so? The messages that once were getting through, loud and clear, are now getting lost in the spam filter or are simply being ignored.
While we are not advocating that you stop sending email newsletters, this strikes us as the perfect time to test the utilization of your company communication in social media. Building a company profile page on FaceBook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are quick and easy tasks. Once they are live, all you have to do is post the same content that you would ordinarily have posted to your newsletter.
There are additional benefits to using this medium for company communications. The social media channels are easily indexed by the search engines. Content that was once sent via email and never found by the engines now appear in the organic search listings potentially exposing your thought leadership to a much larger audience. If you begin looking for social media listings in all your search activity you’ll notice a growing presence on page one for sites like LinkedIn, Twitter and FaceBook.
Posting your content in the social spaces is significantly more effective if you have an audience. I highly recommend sending an email to your existing list letting them know where they can find you in the social spaces and encourage them to become a FaceBook fan, a LinkedIn connection, or to follow you on Twitter. It is also sound business practice to include the appropriate icons on your Web site as well as links in your eMail signature. Just remember, social media is about dialogue and is a great venue for sharing your thought leadership. Encourage your audience to participate in the conversation, ask questions, request information and share their thoughts.
By utilizing this marketing channel, not only will you be able to easily keep your clients, prospective clients, vendors, friends, and others updated, but you will also expand your network via exposure to the friends of your fans. Spending a few minutes each day on these tasks will greatly expand your reach beyond the size of your eMail list.
Now, while Anthony clearly makes the point, “we are not advocating that you stop sending email newsletters,” there are clearly two differing points of view about the effectiveness of email campaigns.
So we wonder – is email just wise for its years, or is it really on its last legs? Let us know what you think, okay?
Still think I’m right, ANTHONY – and so do a lot of other marketers, apparently: http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=31606
The horse and buggy is still a method of transportation that will take you from one place to another but the % of the population that still uses it is extremely small. Why? Because there are more effective modes of transportation available. Yes, email still has some effectiveness but that all depends upon your audience. Ask yourself these questions:
1. You’ve just read a great article on which TV to buy. Do you post a link to that article on your FaceBook profile or do you send a link of that article to your entire address book?
2. You would like to promote a fund raising event for an important charity you support. Do you send everyone you know an email or do you post the event on Twitter where your followers can share the event with their followers?
3. You would like to gather opinions on a new car that you are considering buying. Do you ask your friends on FaceBook or do you send an email to your address book?
Using social media vs. email for certain content significantly expands the viewership of that content. Behavior on the web is changing. We can embrace it or continue to ride the horse and buggy.
good post..
I stand by the fact that, particularly for marketing that requires a strong call to action, email is still incredibly effective.
I get email from Borders, from Amazon, from Sephora – and I click. And I forward, too. And, if the offer is compelling, I even BUY.
I’m not saying social isn’t effective – I think it is, but at the AWARENESS stage of the buying cycle. Email is much more effective at the ACQUISITION phase. And together, they work really well at all stages, particularly for RETENTION.
So it’s not one OR the other. It’s both. Together. In harmony. Like sales and marketing. Like you and me.
Love ya, APZ!
I never knew Twitter had so much potential for marketers. Thanks for the read.
That’s interesting. I’m from Birmingham and see the same thing. Anyway, I’ll be back before too long.