VerticalResponse: Email, social combo ups open rates

According to the report businesses who engage in social marketing efforts in addition to using the VerticalResponse email platform say open rates 28% higher than brands who don't use email and social in tandem.

Those using a combined email-social approach most, by industry, are Non-Profits, Real Estate, Marketing/Advertising, Internet and Health/Wellness companies.

"This is really compelling evidence showing those who combine email marketing and social media obtain greater results from their campaigns, especially among small and mid-sized businesses that represent the majority of our customer base," said Janine Popick, VerticalResponse CEO. "The numbers clearly show that those who broadcast content across multiple online touch points are getting a lot more engagement than those who don't."

By the way, the email-social combination does have different effects for different business categories. Music brands, for example, have a 32% open rate when using an email/social approach. Other industries doing email/social well include Consumer Electronics (31.7% open rates), Financial Services (22.6% open rates) and Motion Pictures/Film (21.9% open rates).

As for where social marketing focus should go, Facebook and Twitter are the heaviest hitters. According to eMarketer Facebook's growth began slowing in 2011 - not surprising based on the number of users through 2010 - while Twitter's usage has increased by nearly 32% in the last year.

Researchers analyzed a sampling of more than 3,000 users from Roost by VerticalResponse and their email marketing service.

Tags: advertising tips, email marketing, eMarketer, marketing strategy, social marketing, VerticalResponse