B2B Web Strategy Blog – eMagine » Social media joins the “Holy Trinity” of e-marketing

Social media joins the “Holy Trinity” of e-marketing – study

September 10th, 2009 Posted by: Bill Gadless

OK, we kicked that up just a notch; MarketingSherpa actually said that social media had “rapidly evolved to become a member of an elite trio of interactive marketing tactics,” right up there with email and search marketing. In fact, their research showed that…

88% of respondents felt that social media would become “a standard tactic for most companies, much like email or search marketing”; and
74% believe that it will soon have… its own budget line item and staff, along with those two established vehicles.

With an N of 1,886 marketers, it would be difficult (as always) to question Sherpa’s results on methodological grounds.

On his WebMarketCentral blog, Tom Pick provides a nice framework for thinking about why these results make total sense, based on their role in the marketing arsenal:

Social media is really a top-of-the-funnel tactic, most akin to PR …nearly as much about reaching influencers as prospects.
Search is the classic lead-generating activity, bringing interested suspects into your funnel who over time may become bona-fide leads and ultimately customers.
Email is the most effective medium for communicating with real prospects who’ve given you permission to address them personally. Depending on your segmentation abilities, it allows for near one-to-one tailoring of your message; and read rates are up to 20 times higher with your house list than the small fraction that will see any given Tweet.

As Tom concludes: “The three tools need to be used in tandem, each for its own unique strengths. Neglecting any one will reduce the effectiveness of the others.”

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Entry Filed under: B2B Web Strategy,Internet Marketing

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Social media joins the “Holy Trinity” of e-marketing – study

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