A record number of US email marketers are planning to bridge the gap between online social networks and their email marketing campaigns this year, according to new research from Ball State University, the Email Marketer’s Club and ExactTarget.
The research also found that the number of social email initiatives is expected to grow 367% this year.
The collaborative study, which was designed to gauge marketers’ opinions and plans for integrating email marketing with social networks, surveyed 351 US email marketers in March and found that while only 13% leveraged the power of online networks last year to grow their email subscriber list, more than 46% plan to use social media and email together in 2009.
Moreover, the research also found that 88% of those who said they used social media and email together in 2008 plan to continue using it this year.
Morgan Stewart, ExactTarget’s director of research and strategy, said: “While the global reach, rapid adoption and high engagement found in social media have email marketers salivating at the potential these environments offer to engage with customers and prospects, the real challenge is how best to facilitate meaningful interactions.”
Last month, eMarketer forecast that global spending on social media advertising would grow 17.3% in 2009 (see Global adspend on social media predicted to rise 17.3% in 2009).
eMarketer forecasts that marketers will invest $2.35 billion (£1.64 billion) on ads on social networking sites by the end of 2009, with this figure rising to $3.49 billion over the next four years.
At the start of the year, meanwhile, the IPA released its second future of advertising report, which said that advertisers need to get to grips with social networking and the changing marketplace (see IPA: Social Networking Revolution).
