AWeber Communications, a leading provider of web-based email
marketing software for small businesses, today announced results
from a survey of more than 2,500 small businesses regarding email
marketing and social media marketing efforts. Email marketing continues
to bring significant value to businesses with more than 82 percent of
respondents planning to increase their email marketing efforts over the
next year.
The survey, generated by AWeber and initially reported
by eMarketer, indicates that the more social media grows in
popularity among consumers, the more attention it will receive from
marketers. While it may not be entirely clear how marketers are
incorporating social media into their existing digital marketing efforts
such as email marketing, almost 70 percent of small business marketers
are employing some sort of social media tactics and a majority (77
percent) indicate that integrating email marketing and social media is
either “very important” or “moderately important.”
The most popular tactics at the moment involve spreading content onto
additional mediums such as sharing email newsletters on Twitter (36
percent) and delivering blog posts via email (35 percent). Small
business marketers seem to recognize the value in driving social media
followers and fans to their email lists and vice versa – allowing
subscribers to access information from the medium they are most
comfortable with.
“As the survey results indicate, email marketing continues to be a
measurable, effective tool that brings significant value to small
businesses, regardless of the nature of their business,” said Tom
Kulzer, CEO and founder of AWeber. “It is also evident that marketers
are continuing to realize the importance of integrating their email
marketing campaigns with social media activities as a way to reach a
broader audience, but are still learning how to do this effectively. We
continue to provide our users with educational resources, including our blog
and webinars
to help them better understand how to engage with their customers.”
Another interesting finding from the survey centered on behavioral
targeting, a method considered help deliver superior results. By
specifically targeting email campaigns toward subscribers who have taken
an action (opened a particular email, clicked on a link), nearly 50
percent of respondents indicated that behavioral targeting increases
their conversion rates either significantly or moderately.
These responses also highlight a divide between email marketers who are
testing behavioral targeting and those who are not. Nearly a quarter
(24.8 percent) of respondents state that they have not tested behavioral
targeting in their email marketing campaigns, while another 23 percent
are not sure whether behavioral targeting increases conversion rates – a
number which suggests that marketers may not be testing this thoroughly,
if at all.
However, this divide may be shrinking, as an overwhelming majority of
respondents (71.4 percent) plan to increase their focus on behavioral
targeting in their email campaigns over the next year.
As the ongoing battle for subscribers’ attention escalates, relevance
and value are at a premium making analytical date more valuable than
ever. Nearly 70 percent of respondents indicate that analytical reports
either significantly or moderately impact their email marketing
strategies. Of the marketers who do not currently use these reports,
more than one quarter are interested in using them.
Other key findings from the AWeber survey include:
More than 66 percent of respondents indicate they intend to use
behavioral targeting as well as sales tracking in their campaigns over
the next 12 months.
54 percent of respondents indicate they intend to use Facebook as a
tool to help build their email lists
Nearly 20 percent of respondents indicate that integrating email
marketing and social media increased customer loyalty
Almost 12 times as many respondents said that email marketing ROI is
more easily measured than social media ROI (61.46 percent versus 5.28
percent)
Methodology
The AWeber
survey was conducted over a five-day period from May 20-24.
Responses were entered anonymously by 2,579 AWeber customers. Based on
the population size and the number of respondents, responses can be
reported with a 99% confidence level with a margin of error of +/- three
percent.
For more information, including full survey results and the executive
summary, contact Justin Premick, director of education marketing at justinpremick@aweber.com.
About AWeber Communications
AWeber Communications helps businesses increase sales and profits
through its suite of web-based email marketing software. The privately
held, debt-free company was founded in 1998. For more information, visit http://www.aweber.com.
Media Contact
Garfield Group Public Relations
Bill
Pavlou, 215-867-8600 x216
bpavlou@garfieldgroup.com