PART 1

Pros of email marketing

• Targeted and personalized communication: Email marketing allows for targeted and personalized communication with customers and prospects increasing the likelihood of conversion.
• Higher open and click-through rates: Email has higher open and click-through rates compared to social media.
• Higher conversion rates: Email marketing is known for having a high return on investment (ROI) (average $36 currently) and can drive sales more effectively than social media, as it allows for targeted, transactional and personalized communication with customers and leads.
• Owned media: Email marketing provides businesses with a direct line of communication with their customers and leads while giving them control over their message and the delivery.
• Measurable results: Email marketing provides clear metrics and analytics, allowing businesses to measure the success of their campaigns and make data-driven decisions.
• Low costs: One email campaign consisting of multiple emails costs less than a paid social media campaign and requires a shorter timeframe for results.

Pros of social media

• Wider reach: Social media can have a massive reach, with billions of monthly active users across multiple platforms, making it an excellent tool for building brand awareness and reaching new audiences. Wider reach requires sponsored posts and/or paid ads.
• Viral potential: Social media is designed to facilitate the sharing of information and content among users, making it easier to spread information and increase reach, potentially leading to viral campaigns. However, the odds of your video going viral are similar to winning the lottery odds.
• Real-time communication: Social media provides a platform for real-time communication with customers and leads, allowing businesses to respond quickly to customer inquiries and feedback. (Someone on staff has to be available to respond to messages that can come in 24/7 depending on your demographics.)

PART 2

Let’s Compare
Email Marketing to Social Media Marketing
Email Marketing vs Social Media: The Statistics

The following statistics should only be used as a guide. Your specific results may vary based on your target audience, the quality of your content, and the specific email or social media marketing campaign that is being executed.

Open rates

On average, email open rates range from 15-25% depending on your industry.

Reach: On average, organic reach for businesses is decreasing. In 2022, Instagram average reach rate is around 13.51%, Facebook’s average reach rate is only 8.60%.

Click-through rates

The average click-through rate for emails is around 2.9%.

Engagement rates on social media can vary widely depending on the platform, the type of content being shared, and the size of the audience. On average, engagement rates tend to be lower on social media compared to email marketing.

Conversion rates

Transactional emails have an average 38% Open Rate.  The average conversion rate is around 8%. This can vary widely depending on the goals of the email, the product or service being sold, and the audience being targeted.

The average conversion rate for social media is around 3%. However, this can be significantly higher for certain industries and products. (Go Zappos!!)

Return on investment (ROI)

On average, for every $1 spent on email marketing, the return is $36. In the retail, ecommerce and consumer goods sector, ROI is higher with $45 per one dollar spent.

There are no statistics!

Personalization

Personalized emails have higher open rates (29-50%) compared to non-personalized emails (15%).

There is no such thing as personalization on social media.

Mobile optimization

Over 40% of all emails are opened on mobile devices, making it crucial for businesses to optimize their emails for mobile viewing.

All social media platforms are designed to work best on mobile. Some features aren’t even available from a desktop.

Additional factors that impact small businesses

Video content has a higher engagement rate compared to other types of content with email marketing and on social media, with video content accounting for over 80% of all internet traffic.

Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing in emails can include guest articles, linking to online articles from credible sources or joint emails with a credible company.

Influencer marketing on social media can drive significant results, with influencer marketing campaigns delivering 11x higher ROI compared to traditional forms of digital marketing particularly in consumer oriented campaigns.

Additional email stats that impact small businesses

• 50% of the world’s population use email
• Welcome emails have an open rate of 86%
• Email deliverability averages at 81%
• 5% of all emails are opened on mobile devices
• Emails under 200 words are most likely to be engaged with
• Personalized subject lines increase Open Rates by 29-50%
• Use clear Call to Actions (CTAs) right at the beginning of the email and repeat them throughout the email
• Average email open rates:
  • Newsletters 19%
  • Welcome emails 86%
  • Transactional emails 38%
  • Autoresponders 26%
  • RSS emails 23%

Would you like some help applying this information to your business, your target audience and your marketing budget?  Call Pamela Bir today at 480-929-0335.