The Question of Email vs. Social Media: 4 Reasons Why Email is Still Relevant

Sep. 21, 2010

Email Vs. Social Media Question As social media continues to grow in popularity, it also continues to erode email’s use, despite the fact that it has been proven again and again that email is a reliable communication channel for engaging with prospects, leads and customers. Many people believe that social media and email can and should work together (including us) but instead, many people are moving away from email altogether in favor of a completely social media-based approach.

We think that this is probably because in the face of the hype surrounding social media, email tends to look like an outdated option, and instead businesses are trying to connect with their audience using the newest, popular medium.

Don’t forget about email!

Email is still the biggest and simplest way for marketers to connect with their target audience. It’s also the base of many social media sites, can you think of a single social media account you signed up for that didn’t require you to have an active email address where you receive email updates and company information? I can’t.

Why is email so great?

It’s permission based (or at least it should be). If your email list grows organically, through subscriptions and opt-ins then they have given you explicit permission to email them with relevant information. This means that they have REQUESTED to receive emails from you and a connection is already established. If someone has asked to receive communications from you then they are more likely to open, click-through and read your emails which can lead to higher ROI.
It’s targeted. Because email is subscriber driven, it’s easier for you to send out targeted, relevant communications based on your subscribers’ preferences, rather than a general message that will hopefully appeal to a large number of your target audience, as with social media.
It’s personalized. While social media communications reach a large number of subscribers quickly, it doesn’t have the same, personalized and segmented abilities of email which is one of the major highlights of using email communications, especially for lead nurturing.
It’s easy. Sending out permission-based, segmented, personalized emails is relatively easy, especially when you’re using an email campaigns software product designed for non-technical users.

Now, we’re not saying you should ignore social media either. What we’re saying is that it’s important that you don’t lose track of the importance of email as a marketing tactic in the face of the popularity and low barrier of entry of social media. In fact, when you integrate you social media and email marketing you can actually produce better ROI than either of those tactics alone.

Image by Xurble on Flickr

Posted by Amberlie Denny at September 21, 2010 8:00 AM