Sometimes Social Media Does Trump Email - MarketingVOX

Sometimes Social Media Does Trump Email - MarketingVOX ...and sometimes it doesn't! As one of the surveys quoted points out, we need email addresses even to get on a social network -- and then the social network generates an awful lot of email notifications to us. I'm still of the opinion that in general (but not always) Facebook is best for issues that concern people in their daily, personal lives, mostly on the fun side of life: gossip, family, entertainment -- although other topics are certainly creeping in. If your product or service can connect to the conversations your target audience is having on Facebook in some subtle way, great. If not, listen more and push less. An example: a garden supply center realized that FB ads targeted to their local market were very cheap. But how many people are talking about their gardens on FB? If you look for groups, you'll find very few, with very low membership. Garden talk goes on, but not on FB. The campaign, cheap as it was, didn't work, and was soon pulled.

How NOT to use the web

Top of an email I received today:


"Thank you for your request to ABC News.

To submit a story idea to one of the ABC News shows listed below, write a single page letter including your name, phone number, and address. Include photocopies of backup information. On the outside of the envelope, write "Story Idea." If a producer is interested in your story, he/she will contact you. Here are the show addresses:"


And you won't be surprised at this point to know that the addresses were all "bricks" -- no email, Twitter, chat, video... NBC (MSNBC.com), Foxnews.com and CBSNews.com also have the typical "contact us" link in the footer, but different things happen when you have the patience to scroll all the way down -- a very long way for Fox News. NBC and CBS give you the usual email form -- NBC devotes a whole page to the various shows, while CBS hides them in a dropdown list for the email form. But if you find and click the "contact us" link for Fox News, here's the nice welcome you get:


"We want YOUR input! Tell us what you love, tell us what you hate ... just don't keep it to yourself! As a FOX Fan, you'll have a unique opportunity to make your voice heard and affect change at FNC. Below, you'll find a few ways to contact us. BUT, if you're more of a phone person, you can call us at 1-888-369-4762."


If only they put that at the top of the home page, I'd be more inclined to believe them.