CHALLENGES: More staff effort required to create, send, and track emails than posts on Facebook at tweets via Twitter.
Consumer migration of personal messages to SMS, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media channels may impact channel engagement over time.
Channel noise due to spam (unsolicited commercial email), personal, business, and other commercial emails.
1. Fred Wilson, “Social Media’s Secret Weapon,” AVC, May 14, 2011, www.avc.com/a_vc/2011/05/social-medias-secret-weapon-email.
2. See www.AVC.com.
3. “The Man Who Made You Put Away Your Pen,” NPR, November 15, 2009, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story?storyId=120364591.
4. Andrew Webster, “Internet Society Inducts Al Gore, Craig Newark [sic], and 31 Others into New Internet Hall of Fame,” The Verge, April 23, 2013, www.theverge.com/2012/4/23/2969378/internet-society-hall-of-fame; “Internet Hall of Fame Innovator: Raymond Tomlinson,” Internet Hall of Fame, www.internethalloffame.org/inductees/raymond-tomlinson.
5. Cecil Adams, “Was Chuck Barris a Hit Man for the CIA?,” The Straight Dope, February 7, 2003, www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2437/was-chuck-barris-a-hit-man-for-the-cia.
6. Kate Stoodley, “Father of Spam Speaks Out on His Legacy,” eSecurity Planet, November 19, 2004, http://www.esecurityplanet.com/trends/article/3438651/Father-of-Spam-Speaks-Out-on-His-Legacy.htm.
7. David Streitfield, “Opening Pandora’s In-Box,” Los Angeles Times, May 11, 2003, www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-spam11may11001420,1,5168218,full.story.
8. Dave Crocker, “Email History,” The Living Internet.com, accessed August 6, 2013, www.livinginternet.com/e/ei.htm.
9. “Marketing Strategy Outlook Survey,” Ascend2, February 2012, http://ascend2.com/home/reports/.
10. Mark Brownlow, National Client Email Report, Direct Marketing Association, 2012, http://alchemyworx.cachefly.net/2012/alchemy_worx/aw_p5424_nl_dma/html/National_Client_Email_Report_2012.pdf, 13.
11. Marcus Wohlsen, “Email Is Crushing Twitter, Facebook for Selling Stuff Online,” Wired, July 1, 2013, www.wired.com/business/2013/07/email-crushing-twitter-facebook/.
12. Eckerle, Courtney, “Email Marketing: Reactivation Campaign for Performing Arts Center Sees 738% ROI,” MarketingSherpa, July 9, 2013, www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/reacitivation-campaign-email-marketing-roi.
13. “eBags Boosts Fall Sales with New ExactTarget-Powered Cross-Channel Marketing on Facebook, Email and Mobile,” Business Wire, November 7, 2012, www.businesswire.com/news/home/20121107006069/en/eBags-Boosts-Fall-Sales-ExactTarget-Powered-Cross-Channel-Marketing.
14. “Thomas Cook Client Success,” ExactTarget, accessed August 6, 2013, http://pages.exacttarget.com/EN-ThomasCookClientSuccess.
15. Dylan Tweney, “Sept, 1979: First Online Service for Consumers Debuts,” Wired, September 24, 2009, http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2009/09/0924compuserve-launches/.
16. Sara Radicati and Thomas Buckley, Email Market, 2012–2016 (Palo Alto, CA: The Radicati Group, October 2012), www.radicati.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Email-Market-2012-2016-Executive-Summary.pdf.
17. ExactTarget, “SUBSCRIBERS, FANS & FOLLOWERS REPORT #14,” 11–12.
18. Matt McGee, “Email Is Top Activity on Smartphones, Ahead of Web Browsing & Facebook,” MarketingLand, March 28, 2013, http://marketingland.com/smartphone-activities-study-email-web-facebook-37954.
Chapter 10
Facebook: Making It Personal
Facebook was not originally created to be a company. It was built to accomplish a social mission to make the world more open and connected.1
—Mark Zuckerberg
If there is one thing you must know about Facebook, it is this: Users are not there for the advertising. The social network has grown into the giant it is because it connects people to the individuals, organizations, causes, and things that matter most in their lives. It has reunited mothers and sons, long-lost loves, and families after natural disasters.2 At its core, two basic, human needs drive most Facebook usage: the need to belong and the need to present oneself to others.3
You may therefore ask why any company should maintain a presence on Facebook. The answer is clear to those who spend just a few minutes on the site. First and foremost, Facebook has critical mass. As of this writing, Facebook is used by over 51 percent of all Internet users, making it the largest social network in the world.4 Second, personal associations with brands, causes, and organizations are one way that many people express who they are to others online. As a result, the businesses that are most successful on Facebook are those that build communities and amplify their FANS’ stories, as opposed to just shilling for a product or service.