Email vs. Social Media



 

 

A battle is raging online. And not just between those mighty search engines. Email and social networking are in a blazing hot contest. At stake are the hearts and minds of thousands of users. Chadwick Martin Bailey reports that three-fourths of all online visitors very likely will share content with friends and family via one of these channels.

According to studies, email currently reins as the preferred channel for content sharing. Coming in at a distant second, social networking accounts for but a fraction of all shared data. However, social networking holds the number one spot in one key area – clicks. A staggering 60% of all clickthroughs generated by shared communications take place on sites like Twitter and Facebook. Email gets a meager 31%.

 

More to the Click Than Meets the Eye

Clickthroughs often are regarded as the end all-be all of marketing success, opening doorways to both ad revenue and awareness-building. Appearances may be deceiving, however. Remember, emails aren’t limited to blurbs. So messages sent via email typically have the necessary details packed into one convenient spot. Readers don’t need to click to linked content to learn more about a product or service. Social networking users hungering for more than a blurb must take this extra step. Hence, the higher clickthrough rate on sites like Twitter and Facebook.

Marketers should also be aware that shared email content typically generates higher reader engagement than social networks. This includes more viewed pages and more conversions. Basically, email readers are staying in touch for longer periods of time.

So the question remains — email or social networks? Which is the most advantageous? The grueling contest likely will rage for quite some time. Most experts would agree that exploiting the potential of both channels is the key to marketing success.

If you’d like to learn more about harnessing the power of both email and social media to reach more customers, we’ll be delighted to help. You can connect with our Young Company team at 949-376-8404 or email me at byoung@youngcompany.com. And be sure to follow us for the latest industry news and tips.

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