Sunday, July 25, 2010

Social Media vs. Email Marketing - Don't Forsake One for the Other

The ever-rising popularity and evolution of social media has shifted the focus away from other traditional forms of online marketing, such as email marketing and SEO. While social media marketing is certainly a viable, proven method, studies show that most forms of online marketing work best when used in conjunction with one another, as opposed to relying on a single method.

Additionally, while utilizing social media powerhouse sites such as Facebook, Linked:In and Twitter can cost you virtually nothing if the marketing is handled in-house, a large amount of time must be devoted to each site if the marketing is going to be effective. Producing engaging, interesting and informative content for each site is also necessary, along with time to engage with consumers or network with other peers.

Recent studies show that email marketing currently remains the most cost-efficient method of online marketing, with the highest ROI. A report by Direct News stated that "almost four in ten shoppers said they had been prompted to make an online purchase as a result of email marketing," and also that "more could be done by firms to improve their email marketing
strategy, as 50 per cent of consumers said emails were devalued by irrelevant information and a similar proportion claimed messages hold no value because they did not have a special advantage by receiving them."


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