How can up really be down?
The Up Part: Nielsen Online says that social networks and member communities grew their reach to exceed e-mail. Social networks score an active reach of 66.8% while e-mail expanded its reach to 65.1%. Social networking saw Time Spent Viewing increase dramatically in the past year.
Sounds like member networks are the social thing to do.
The Down Part: But take a look at the marketing impact of these media. IDC found that 43% of social network users never clicked on ads, and only 11% of those who did actually purchased anything. Those who don't use social networks clicked on ads at least once per year and 23% bought something.
So Econsultancy and R.O.EYE (my vote for current favorite business name) found e-mail marketing to be very cost-effective for customer acquisition.
| Very cost-effective | Quite cost-effective | Not cost-effective | |
|---|---|---|---|
| E-mail marketing | 51% | 33% | 17% |
| Affiliate marketing | 46% | 48% | 6% |
| Paid search | 40% | 49% | 11% |
| Mobile marketing | 7% | 17% | 75% |
| Online display advertising | 7% | 44% | 50% |
Source: Econsultancy and R.O.EYE "Affiliate Marketing Survey Report 2008"
Marketers are experimenting with all sorts of ways to make social networking an effective way to engage their target audience (e.g., hosting an interest group or a fan group), but there are certainly no well-trod roads for the marketers to follow yet. It is worth keeping an eye on the impact that social networks can have with consumers.
You can keep up with the marketers' viewpoint with online vehicles at www.emarketer.com. It is a good way to know what will help attract audiences and income to our stations.
