Survey finds small business marketers believe in using both to get customers.
In a sign that shows how important using the social media has become to small businesses that employ e-mail marketing, a recent survey found almost 70% of them are employing some sort of social media tactics and a majority (77%) believe that integrating e-mail marketing and social media is either "very important" or "moderately important."
AWeber Communications, an e-mail marketing software firm, conducted the survey. The respondents were 2,579 of the companies that make up the firm's clientele.
According to the executive summary of the survey, the most popular tactics include spreading content onto additional mediums such as sharing e-mail newsletters on Twitter (36%) and delivering blog posts via e-mail (35%). "Small business marketers seem to recognize the value in driving social media followers and fans to their e-mail lists and vice versa-allowing subscribers to access information from the medium they are most comfortable with," AWeber said.
Approximately 54% of the small businesses that responded to the survey said they plan to use their Facebook page in order to build their e-mail marketing list. On the other side of the equation, 46% said they will have a "follow us" link in their e-mail message to promote their social media presence.
The survey also found that nearly 20% of small businesses indicated that using both social media and e-mail marketing has helped them increase customer loyalty. "This reaffirms the thought that the medium through which customers find businesses may not be the one through which they prefer to continue hearing from businesses. Thus, when customers discover that they can choose to hear from a business via social media instead of (or in addition to) e-mail-or vice versa-their satisfaction and loyalty increases," the report stated.
To gauge the success of any marketing campaign, the experts have time and time again stated that the business needs to examine its return on investment. The survey found that it is easier for businesses to measure their ROI on e-mail marketing than it is to do for social media marketing, 62% of respondents for e-mail vs. just 5% for social media. Furthermore 32% of respondents said e-mail marketing ROI is more quickly realized than social media ROI at just 8%.
AWeber's conclusion: "These responses should not suggest that marketers will or should abandon social media; but rather indicates that marketers who can derive ROI from both mediums should and will look to integrate the two mediums. However, for marketers who are short on time or other resources necessary to operate both e-mail marketing and social media campaigns, it seems clear that e-mail should receive priority, since it is more easily measured."
The survey asked small business marketers to rank analytical data in order of importance to their business. As follows, they selected:
1. Tracking who opens an e-mail vs. who doesn't.
2. Tracking who clicks links in an e-mail and who doesn't.
3. Reports on sales revenue that is generated as a direct result of an e-mail campaign.
4. Reports on which ad campaigns or signup forms bring the most subscribers.
5. Split testing results.
6. Reporting on the results of segmentation.
While opening an e-mail is certainly not a perfect measure of engagement of a customer, it is one that marketers are familiar with and one that they are comfortable using to draw conclusions about which subscribers are paying attention.
The "sign-up" form for gathering names to add to an e-mail list is important. Over 60% of those surveyed said the form needs to look like it "belongs" on the site to have a measure of authority and convince people to sign up.
However, AWeber noted, a large minority of respondents weren't sure if this tactic worked, a sign that indicates there is significant room for improvement in the effectiveness and profitability of e-mail marketing campaigns.
By specifically targeting e-mail campaigns toward subscribers who have taken an action, such as having opened a particular e-mail or clicked on a link, nearly 50% of respondents indicated that behavioral targeting increases their conversion rates either significantly or moderately.
These responses also highlight a divide between e-mail marketers who are testing behavioral targeting and those who are not. Nearly a quarter of respondents state that they have not tested behavioral targeting in their e-mail marketing campaigns, while another 23% are not sure whether behavioral targeting increases conversion rates-a number which suggests that marketers may not be testing this thoroughly, if at all.
As for the future, "behavioral targeting will be a focal point for e-mail marketing campaigns over the next year. More than 66% of respondents indicate they intend to use behavioral targeting as well as sales tracking in their campaigns over the next 12 months."
Plus, over 80% of the respondents said they plan to significantly or moderately increase the amount of e-mail marketing they do over the next year.
"As the survey results indicate, e-mail marketing continues to be a measurable, effective tool that brings significant value to small businesses, regardless of the nature of their business," said Tom Kulzer, chief executive and founder of AWeber. "It is also evident that marketers are continuing to realize the importance of integrating their e-mail marketing campaigns with social media activities as a way to reach a broader audience, but are still learning how to do this effectively."
