Study Finds Customers Value Email, Facebook and Twitter as Collaborators, not Competitors

INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A new study released today by ExactTarget finds that while email, Facebook and Twitter may compete with one another for their share of marketing budgets, consumers expect brands to interact with them across all three channels.

“Marketers should focus on developing and implementing an integrated strategy that combines—not isolates—the powerful strengths of each of the online channels.”

Featured in The Collaborative Future, the final report in the Subscribers, Fans and Followers research series from ExactTarget and CoTweet, the survey of more than 1,500 consumers provides marketers insights on how consumers want to engage with brands via email, Facebook and Twitter.

“Consumers don’t isolate their communications to email, Facebook or Twitter and expect brands to communicate consistently across the channels,” said Jeff Rohrs, principal, ExactTarget’s Marketing Research and Education Group. “Marketers should focus on developing and implementing an integrated strategy that combines—not isolates—the powerful strengths of each of the online channels."

Key findings of the research include:

93 percent of online consumers subscribe to email marketing messages, 38 percent are fans of brands on Facebook and 5 percent follow brands on Twitter.
Of those who interact with brands via email, Facebook and Twitter, 27 percent of email subscribers, 17 percent of Facebook fans and 37 percent of Twitter followers are more likely to purchase from a brand after engaging with the brand via each channel.
Of those who interact with brands via email, Facebook and Twitter, 24 percent of email subscribers, 21 percent of Facebook fans and 33 percent Twitter followers are more likely to recommend a brand after interacting with the brand via each channel.
Twitter is most likely to drive increased purchase intent; followed email and Facebook. However, given the comparatively small percentage of consumers that interact with brands on Twitter and Facebook, email remains the cornerstone online retention marketing programs.
67 percent of consumers have subscribed to email marketing messages to receive discounts or promotions, compared to 40 percent of consumers who have become a fan of a brand on Facebook and 31 percent who have followed a brand Twitter for the same reason.
39 percent of Facebook users who become fans do so to publicly display their brand affiliation to friends – nearly twice as often as consumers who follow brands on Twitter (22 percent) and nearly four times more often than consumers who subscribe to email communications (11 percent) for the same reason.
20 percent of consumers indicate they have followed a brand on Twitter in order to interact with the company – more than become email subscribers (14 percent) or Facebook fans (13 percent) for the sake of interaction.

“Email, Facebook and Twitter offer unique strengths to marketers and consumers alike,” said Tim Kopp, ExactTarget’s chief marketing officer. “The Collaborative Future report provides marketers key insights and recommendations to develop effective online marketing across all three channels.”

Key recommendations featured in the report include:

Promote Facebook games, applications and competitions in email and on Twitter.
Communicate via Twitter and Facebook about exclusive content only available to email subscribers.
Feature winners of Facebook competitions in email marketing newsletters.
Post links to Web versions of email marketing messages on Twitter and Facebook.
Create an email segment containing subscribers active on Twitter and offer them additional insider information via email marketing messages.
Encourage email subscribers to post questions on Facebook and Twitter.

The Collaborative Future is the final research brief in ExactTarget’s and CoTweet’s six-part Subscribers, Fans & Followers research series. The series provides marketers exclusive insight into how U.S. consumers interact with brands online based on a series of focus groups, interviews and surveys conducted in March and April. For more information about the study and to access an interactive application of the Subscribers, Fans & Followers data, visit www.ExactTarget.com/sff.

About ExactTarget

ExactTarget is a leading global provider of on-demand email marketing and interactive marketing solutions. The company’s software as a service technology provides organizations a single platform to connect with customers via triggered and transactional email, integrated text messaging, landing pages and social media. Supported by collaborative global services teams, ExactTarget’s technology integrates with more sales and marketing information systems than any other in the industry, including Salesforce.com, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Omniture and Webtrends among many others. ExactTarget’s software powers permission-based multi-channel communications for thousands of organizations around the world including Expedia.com, Aurora Fashions, Papa John’s, CareerBuilder.com, Gannett Co., Inc., The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, The Home Depot and Wellpoint, Inc. For more information, visit www.exacttarget.com or call 1-866-EMAILET.