E-Mail Marketing Surviving Social Media ‘Threat’

Social media is undoubtedly useful for business-to-business (B2B) marketing, with websites such as Facebook and Twitter revolutionising the way that certain advertising methods are undertaken. Despite the rapid rise of social media, e-mail marketing is continuing to prove an effective medium through which small, medium and large size enterprises can advertise their brands.

A recent study carried out by Epsilon that examined no less than 7 billion e-mail messages highlighted the value of e-mail marketing in B2B communications. According to Epsilon, open rates pertaining to e-mail campaigns reached 23.3 per cent by April this year – a success rate of almost one quarter.

Click-through rates, which are critical to B2B lead generation, were also relatively high at 5.9 per cent. Click-to-conversion rates – the holy grail of e-mail – rose by 26.5 per cent from the same period in 2010. As such, it could be argued that, despite the phenomenal rise of social media, e-mail marketing is very much holding its own when it comes to B2B lead generation.

Marketing opportunities in the commercial sphere need not be limited to e-mail, of course, but the web’s most convenient and traditional form of communication should not be overlooked in place of new media. E-mail marketing has a proven track record in delivering results and it is unlikely the medium will suffer a major dip in the near future; indeed, current trends suggest e-mail marketing is set to increase this year and next.

According to the 2011 Digital Marketing Survey, which was undertaken by the Society of Digital Agencies, 70 per cent of marketers intend to increase investment in niche e-mail marketing throughout 2011. At the beginning of the year, a survey carried out by BtoB Magazine found that a massive 63 per cent of marketers hoped to increase spending on direct e-mail campaigns for the next 12 months and beyond.

E-mail is especially useful as marketers can track B2B lead generation using relatively simple methods and technologies. It is also the case that B2B e-mail marketing requires very little cost compared to other forms of advertising.

Although once considered a threat to e-mail, social media is proving to be a useful area in which marketers can promote a brand – but not one that is blind to all other forms of advertising; indeed, social media and e-mail can be utilised in combination to produce strong results for businesses. Ultimately, e-mail marketing is surviving the social media ‘threat’.