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Brand Emails Are The Most Popular Form Of Online Brand Interaction
04 Aug 2010 Posted by Market and Main Media
Consumers who interact with brands online tend to stick to one channel or another, with little overlap between channels. The recently released “Subscribers, Fans and Followers” study (conducted by digital marketing firms ExactTarget and CoTweet) looked at how online consumers choose to interact with brands, either via subscription to brand emails, becoming a brand “fan” on Facebook or “following” a brand on Twitter.
Email is the primary channel for consumers to interact with brands online and there tends to be little cannibalization between the channels. Only 4% of consumers do all three, though there is a greater overlap between email subscribers and Facebook fans with 32% of consumers doing both. Over half (56%) are only email subscribers. This openness to the email channel can be a mixed blessing in that it spells opportunity for marketers but also means increased competition for a consumer’s attention. In fact, nine in ten online consumers receive at least one permission-based email per day.
The study also pointed out the importance of simultaneously entertaining and educating Facebook brand fans, with only occasional promotional messages. This channel requires a more subtle approach in that it is public and the fan’s friends will have viewing access.
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