Email a stepping stone to social media success

[Social Media]

According to a new study conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by Pontiflex, consumers are far more willing to share their email information with brands than their social networking details, demonstrating that email remains a key tool even in social marketing campaigns.

The study found that while only 12% of online adults said they would be willing to provide marketers with social media information, such as a Twitter or Facebook name, a massive 96% had provided their email to brands in exchange for special promotions or more information. To break it down further, of the 2,064 online adults age 18 and older that were surveyed, 17% of those age 18-34, 8% of those age 35-44 and 7% of those age 45-54 were happy sharing their social networking names or handles with brands.

"Building a relationship in the social networking space is not very different from building a relationship in the real world," explained Zephrin Laskerm, Pontiflex CEO. "Once marketers have built relationships and trust through email, they then engage consumers in relevant ways on social networking sites."

Source: webguild.org