Is Email Dead?

In the Face of Social Media Marketing, Is Email Marketing in Jeopardy?

By: Kimberly Grant

Social media.  It’s a behemoth of opinions, statuses, likes, followers, and now home to quite a bit of marketing prowess.  If all the time at home has taught us anything, it’s that social media is more than just a trend, it’s a way of life.  A lifestyle. 

Social media is also how marketers are finding new and inventive ways to market to consumers.  In the world of getting the right message to the right person at the right time, email marketing is considered the most effective tool.  However, with social media poised to take on more and more of marketing dollars, is email marketing dead?

Big Answers

Since this is a loaded question, I turned to five experts in the field of marketing to get their take on social media vs. email when it comes to marketing. 

“I do feel that the way we communicate has shifted into the rise of social media,” said Andrea Salazar, a marketing professional in the entertainment industry.  “To email someone may not be as effective as it used to be and you may need to resort to reaching out via social media and get creative in your messaging.  Basically, less is more.”  Salazar, a 20-year professional, emphasized that email isn’t necessarily dead.  Although, focus should be placed on quality as opposed to quantity when it comes to the marketing communication and keeping the attention of your target audience; no matter the communication channel.

Craig Evans, Assistant Director for Allied Global Marketing’s Miami office, spoke about email marketing playing second fiddle to social media promotion efforts.  He mentioned that email messages can be easily deleted when received unsolicited.  Then again, he also said: “When some creative thought can be put into the subject line, and the sender is from a source the recipient might already recognize, I feel it can still lead to potential success in terms of engaging the intended customer.”  After all, the crux of marketing is reaching consumers in a way that will get their attention at the right moment; even if it is via email.

Teaching the Answer

Professor Gregory Maloney, Ph. D., of Florida International University’s Chapman School of Business would agree with Evans.  “Email does not get the same level of attention today as it did in the past because consumers are bombarded with information from other digital sources, like social media and other streaming content.”  Professor Maloney mentioned the behavior of average consumers who are more likely to glance through an email than watch a social media post to its ending.  “For this reason, email still has a better chance of getting attention than most other sources.  However, the content needs to be targeted to gain further attention and interest.”

Interest is Key

What is a marketing communication, but a tool to generate interest?  That said, it’s not all together easy to generate interest in all of your targeted audience members.  Being able to find a happy medium between informing a consumer and not bombarding them with communication can be a delicate practice.

“The best is to apply a strategy that allows integrating social media with email marketing. Social media is a key communication platform that helps to share valuable content for current and potential consumers,” said Alexandra Larrea, a marketing professional with a wide background in social media management.  “On the other hand, email marketing is a much more personalized tool for a closer and direct relationship with each of the consumers. Using both will help to build engagement according to their preferences and generate sales.”

It may feel like a conundrum to think that email marketing and social media marketing are at odds.  Then again, Larrea posits that both can easily co-exist and complement each other in a world where there is a lot of choice in what and how consumers are marketed.  However, the question still remains: is email marketing truly dead?  Krystal Lewis, a marketing specialist, gives a great final answer to this question.

When a Good Idea Leads to ROI

“In my experience, I have found that it is always a good idea to stay on top of email marketing and marketing automation best practices within your overall marketing strategy,” said Lewis.  “Email marketing is the most trusted form of communication for brands. It also hosts one of the highest ROIs amongst all marketing channels.  As we saw from the (COVID-19) pandemic when brands had to significantly decrease their ad spend.  Brands that leveraged email marketing saw shinning results that were able to carry them through a tough time in marketing.”

In his January 2021 article, “10 Email Marketing Statistics You Need to Know”, for ConstantContact.com, Jake Link wrote that email marketing boasts a $42 return on investment (ROI) for every $1 spent on promotional efforts.  It is the highest compared to other marketing channels or platforms; including social media marketing.  Link (no pun intended) even stated that “email is still one of the most popular modes of communication.”  According to Link, social media doesn’t stand a chance against email marketing when it comes to conversions.  In fact, 60% of consumers have said that they made a purchase based on a marketing email message; as opposed to 12.5% of consumers who have considered using the “buy” button on social media. 

The Experts Have It

While social media marketing is quite popular these days, email communication is still a reigning champ when it comes to marketing.  Email marketing provides a vehicle to reach consumers via a channel where they are more likely to pay attention to the communication.  After all, social media is more of a form of entertainment, while email messages are considered a form of business.  When consumers are reading their emails, they are in a more professional mindset and apt to pay attention to the marketing message.

When done correctly, email marketing is also much better for any brand’s bottom line.  There is a high ROI and a high likelihood for conversion (purchase).  To officially answer my question, I will use Lewis’ succinct words: “Is email dead?!  Email has never been more alive.”

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