Social email marketing loses favour with 22% of consumers

Consumers are less likely to respond to social email marketing linked to video, microsites and social networking sites, a new survey shows.

According to the 2008 Email Attitudes Survey from e-Dialog 22 per cent of consumers said they are unlikely to respond to social marketing, while just 12 per cent said they would click on messages on sites such as YouTube and Facebook.

Around one in five 18 to 24-year-olds said they would respond favourably to email campaigns that use highly-targeted multimedia and social media content, compared to just nine per cent of 45 to 54-year-olds.

The survey also found that more than a third of consumers would be more likely to respond to an offer that is sent via email if it includes genuine customer reviews.

Simone Barratt, managing director of e-Dialog UK, said: “The results of the Attitudes Survey clearly support our view that you cannot take a blanket approach to the integration of traditional and emerging media.

“The old principles of targeting and personalisation still hold true and despite the industry hype, at the end of 2008, this type of content is simply not appropriate for everyone.”