2. The Full Resurrection of E-mail
…
E-mail addresses are a safer long-term investment than social media features. Think about all the money companies spent advertising their MySpace (
) pages in 2007. Even on Facebook (
), your direct messages to fans are relegated to a second tier inbox no one reads. This is something you don’t have to worry about happening in e-mail marketing. Among 20- to 35-year olds, at least, their physical addresses change more frequently than their e-mail addresses.
The smarter marketers will budget “social media” acquisitions based on lifetime value (or a set duration, like 6 months’ retail purchases) of e-mail addresses.
I am not sure about this prediction of Mashable. Speaking about myself I am tired of e-mail blasts and e-mails newsletter spamming my E-Mail Inbox. I prefer to select myself, which information I get when. I prefer to get opinions and judgements from others on certain topics. I prefer to discuss and collaborate with others. I like to network …
But seriously: It is not a nor or neither. You have to do both, E-Mail AND Social Media Marketing. And the borders between both are disappearing anyway in the next years. The E-Mail Inbox becomes social, the social network solution has an Inbox.
P.S. And when talking about E-Mail Marketing do not forget, that we do have countries with very strict Opt-In and Opt-Out policies.