Social Email Initiatives On The Rise

According to new research from Ball State University, the Email Marketer’s Club and ExactTarget, the number of social email initiatives is expected to grow 367% in 2009. In 2008 only 13% of marketers leveraged social networks in their email marketing strategy. In 2009, that number is expected to grow to 46%.

One example of this cross media integration is the tactic of letting email subscribers share messages with their social networks in hopes of driving increased email program registrations.

Insights from the Social Media Pioneers

Several social media pioneers have shared what they’d learned in the past year and offered several tips for those who are considering integrating social media within their email marketing programs.

1. Currently, there are very few established best practices, so trying new things is the key to learning what works and what doesn’t.
   
2. Consumers are sensitive to “marketing speak”; therefore, stay away from traditional marketing lingo and focus on relevance and authenticity.
   
3. Social networks represent a distinct audience and mindset. As a result, organizations should think about this medium differently than traditional marketing channels. Develop unique strategies specifically for social networks, keeping in mind that users engage in each network differently.
   
4. Consider broadening your definition of success. Traditional direct marketing metrics are not necessarily a good measure of success in social media.
   

Read more details of this research by requesting the whitepaper, Expanding the Reach of Email Through Social Networks,” from ExactTarget.