GigaOm’s latest survey shows that email marketing is alive and kicking. 300 digital marketers in the United States were quizzed on the techniques used to lead targets through the funnel from awareness to conversion and retention. Email emerged as the most preferred tactic while referral marketing was leveraged for acquisition and conversion.
It’s not as if modern marketers haven’t jumped on the SMM and SEO bandwagon. The survey revealed social media marketing to be the next most-used strategy to capture and engage customers. Search engine optimization came next followed by content marketing. Referral marketing and paid search beat digital video advertising and mobile advertising, while affiliate marketing was the least used digital marketing strategy by the survey respondents.
According to emailexpert.org, the average return on every $1 spent on email marketing is a solid $44.25. American consumers are estimated to interact with approximately 11 brands through email every day. Email marketing campaigns can add value to your overall marketing efforts. Being permission-based, this tactic is less intrusive and more flexible; creative strategies can greatly enhance the open rate of your emails and improve coverage on smartphones and tablets.
The survey showed that while social media marketing is a popular tactic, some factors are keeping marketers from embracing it wholeheartedly. The reasons cited include the social media noise and clutter that makes measurements difficult and challenges in demonstrating ROI for social media marketing. It appears that marketers are yet to completely figure out social media marketing; there exist analytics tools, scheduling tools and time management solutions that can help marketers develop powerful campaigns and improve their social currency.
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