Research in June of 2009 by Epsilon indicates that email is actually being used more regularly than social networking for personal communication. 79% of the respondents used email as their primary method of communication while 10% used social networks in the same way. What does that mean to you as a marketer? Email has retained its position as the dominant communication channel while social networks have contributed to its increased usage.
What does that say? Social networks are a great tool to communicate on a personal level but they are not designed for sending and receiving marketing messages. You need both email and social networking. The reality is that consumers still prefer email over other channels when receiving marketing messages. The fact is, 92% of online consumers have opted-in for email, making it the post popular channel for permission-based promotional messages across every age group, according to ExactTarget’s 2009 Channel Preference Survey.
What does that mean to you as a business person? Social media should be used to drive awareness and engagement; email should still be used as a tool to drive measurable conversions.
The most popular email providers online, in order of popularity, are:
iContact, CheetahMail, GetResponse, InfusionSoft, MailChimp, VerticalResponse, StreamSend, Bronto, ExactTarget, NetAtlantic, Lyris, SilverPop, Campaigner, BenchMarkemail, MailerMailer, SubscriberMail, Majon, SimplyCast, CampaignMonitor, MyEmma, Marketo, iSoft, EmailBrain, ResultsMail, SendBlaster, FuseMail, Listrak, YesMail, EROI, JangoMail, CakeMail, EliteEmail, AWeber, ConstantContact, GlockEasyMail, Contactology, Email-Unlimited, ArialSoftware, BigResponse, Boomerang, Alterian, ContactPro, StrongMail, EmailVision, Nesox, EmailLabs, Neolane, EnterpriseMailer, Lencom, GoldLasso.
So keep emailing! It’s not going away anytime soon.