Just 12% of British consumers claim that they would be more likely to click through to email messages linked to video, micro-sites and social networking sites such as Facebook and YouTube, according to a new study from e-Dialog.
Nearly a quarter of adults (22%) claim that this kind of content would actually make them a lot less likely to respond.
According to e-Dialog’s 2008 E-mail Attitudes Survey, the e-mail marketing services provider, which has polled the views of a representative sample of 1,965 British adults with research specialist YouGov, traditional e-mail marketing principles still retain a vital role.
Recent research from Ball State University and ExactTarget found that 18 to 34-year-olds in the US are more influenced by email and direct mail than marketing messages via social networks (see Younger People Prefer Email Ads).
The survey results indicate that e-mail campaigns using multimedia and social media content need to be planned and approached in a highly targeted way by brands.
Simone Barratt, e-Dialog’s UK managing director, said: “The results of the Attitudes Survey clearly support our view that you cannot take a blanket approach to the integration of traditional and emerging media.
“We currently work on some very successful social media campaigns with clients – using tactics such as e-mail triggers that direct customers to appropriate MySpace or Facebook pages and widgets – but, as exciting and innovative as this work is, it can never be a one-size-fits-all approach. The old principles of targeting and personalisation still hold true and, despite the industry hype, at the end of 2008 this type of content is simply not appropriate for everyone.”
The research also revealed that 5% of adults claim to spend the most time using e-mail accounts connected to social networks such as Facebook, Bebo and MySpace, and almost one in five (19%) of 18-24 year olds and almost one in 10 (9%) of 25-34 year olds claim that their social networking e-mail is now their primary e-mail account.
However, crucially, only 3% of the total of those surveyed would prefer brands to contact them via social network e-mail accounts.
Even among 18-24 year olds, the age group most likely to use their social network account as their primary e-mail channel, this statistic was subject to only a minor rise to just 9%.
Barratt said: “While there are many advantages for brands in using a Facebook platform for example, it is clear consumers regard their Facebook e-mail accounts as sacrosanct, personal spaces where brands do not belong.
“Social media is here to stay but it is imperative that brands realise it is impossible simply to crowbar their traditional e-mail tactics into a consumer’s social media account. As with all aspects of emerging media, it is a matter of evidence based and intelligent integration.”
At the start of the year, JupiterResearch forecast that e-mail marketing spending would grow from $1.2 billion in 2007 to $2.1 billion in 2012 (see E-Mail Marketing Spend To Top $2 Billion by 2012).
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