HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa. — E-mail marketing is bringing significant value to small business, according to a survey from AWeber Communications, a provider of web-based e-mail marketing software for small businesses, with more than 82% of respondents planning to increase e-mail marketing in the next year.
"As the survey results indicate, e-mail marketing continues to be a measurable, effective tool that brings significant value to small businesses, regardless of the nature of their business," says Tom Kulzer, CEO and founder of AWeber.
The survey indicates that the more social media grows in popularity among consumers, the more attention it is getting from marketers. While it may not be clear how marketers can incorporate social media into existing digital efforts, nearly 70% of small-business marketers use some social-media tactics, and 77% say that the integration of e-mail and social media strategies is either "very important" or "moderately important."
Today's popular tactics include sharing content on additional media such as Twitter (36%) or delivering blog posts via e-mail (35%). More than half (54%) of respondents say they plan to use Facebook to help build their e-mail lists, and almost 20% say that integrating e-mail marketing and social media has helped increase customer loyalty.
Small businesses see value in driving "fans" to their e-mail lists and vice-versa, AWeber adds, allowing customers to access information from whatever medium with which they are most comfortable. "Marketers continue to realize the importance of integrating their e-mail marketing campaigns with social-media activities as a way to reach a broader audience, but are still learning how to do this effectively," Kulzer says.
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