While social media will always generate more buzz and attention amongst marketers, it’s hard to ignore the continued relevancy of email to the development of a successfully integrated campaign. The numbers don’t lie. According to eMarketer, a recent report entitled the 2010 Lead Generation Optimization Key Trends Analysis from CSO Insights found that while marketers are putting more and more of their marketing budgets online, it is actually email, not social media, SEO nor online ads that remains the most effective lead generation program.

The rationale here may not actually lie solely in email’s functionality—it might be that consumers still prefer to receive communications “the old fashioned way.” A different eMarketer study found that e-mail remained the preferred retail promotion delivery method for nearly four in 10 U.S. consumers. In fact, only 9% of shoppers indicated an interest in receiving promotional messages on social media. Similarly in a recent AdAge column, Steve Rubel referenced an eConsultancy study of 1,400 U.S. consumers that found that 42% prefer to “receive ads for sales and specials via e-mail compared to just 3% who said the same for social-networking sites and 1% who preferred Twitter.” Interesting stuff.

So what does this say? It ...

Recently, my take on the emergence of location-based marketing appeared in a Gloves-Off feature in DM News--Is location-based marketing a 'must have'?. As I mentioned in the piece, our team at Fusion92 is continually excited and motivated by the potential of this evolving practice. That said, on a daily basis we still ask ourselves—“Is location-based marketing (or any marketing technique for that matter) currently a necessity for every brand that we work with?” The answer is no, not necessarily.  Of course, some brands (mostly B2B) don’t have much of a purchasing environment or any sort of “location” to speak of in the first place. But as I insinuate in the piece, for all other brands ready to dive in and build lasting relationships with customers by leveraging the mobile channel to reach them right at the point-of-purchase, the emergence of the practice and the location-based networks is significant. With that in mind, regardless of your client base, all marketers should have a fundamental understanding of the strategies, channels and practices involved with proximity marketing.

Along that vein, I was pleased to see that Sarah Hofstetter of 360i agreed. Recently Sarah put together an Ad Age blog that described why her agency considers location-based social networks, regardless of their size, into all client engagements.  

Sarah’s ...

As marketers, we know full well that the emergence of new digital technologies and online platforms will continue to have far reaching implications on the type of work that we do and the solutions that we provide for our clients. We also know that, at the end of the day, no matter the channel employed or the strategy utilized, our solutions should always focus on the end-user’s behavior, needs and desires. But, while sometimes these solutions leverage digital and social channels to engage with customers, sometimes they must also still rely on tried-and-true direct marketing techniques. The key is bridging the gap between the two to devise the most balanced and effective campaign strategy. After all, the word innovation is not simply defined as the “introduction of a new device.” The definition also encompasses “ideas” and “methods”.

Interestingly, the same principle that applies to agencies and (should) guides our work as marketers, also applies to how we should approach traditional channels themselves.  Like agencies, traditional media and distribution channels, and the organizations that rely on them for revenue, constantly seek reinvention in order to remain relevant in a constantly evolving digital world.

Just take a look at one of ...

This past week, I was excited to see that some of Fusion92’s insights into social media marketing and SEO were included alongside other industry thought leaders in Brian R. Hook’s great piece for E-Commerce Times, “Steering Around the SEO Blockade.” While the overall purpose of the article was to highlight the differences between SEO and “Social Media Optimization,” it was refreshing to see that the contributors all tended to agree that it’s not simply about mastering “one or the other”—there is a distinct value to each approach and both play an important role in reaching customers. Also, as I allude to in the piece, developing dynamic and engaging content and conversation remains the most crucial component to finding and nurturing prospects online—no matter how active your social media feeds or how well your site is optimized.  

Some additional thoughts:  

Businesses undoubtedly need to place a focus on social media and social media optimization, but only if they approach them from the right angle. Again, it is imperative that organizations understand that social media is intended for human interaction—content sharing, conversations, community building etc. If you approach your social media optimization strategy from a strictly business angle, and in an impersonal fashion, you can do more harm than good. The goal is to not ...