WSI Blog - Internet Marketing Tips and Strategies

The short answer - yes and no. Most of the population have come a long way from learning how to send an email a couple of decades ago to updating our Facebook status and "tweeting" on a daily (sometimes hourly?!) basis. But is there a practical use for business in the hyperconnectivity of today's social networking sites? The answer, again, is yes and no.

Email and email marketing are still effective ways to communicate for many businesses, and offer an opportunity to stay in touch with your clients in a cheaper and easier way than traditional snail mail campaigns. And for many of our clients, email is still going to be an integral part of the internet marketing mix. That said, there is a tremendous opportunity to also connect with your existing and potential clients through these other social media channels.

For example, I was shopping in a local toy store this weekend and the shop owner reminded me they were having a fall sale beginning the following week. She was having a hard time locating a coupon for the upcoming sale during a particularly busy sales rush, then remembered "I'm planning on putting it up on Facebook tomorrow, are you a fan?" I was not a fan, but now I am and I have received the coupon information and plan on visiting the store during their upcoming sale. This is a great example of how retail is a great fit for social media and why. We have also found that certain service industries like spas and hair salons can create fun and engaging social media campaigns. There are also a select few clients for whom these tactics just aren't a great fit.

I'm not sure that email will ever become obsolete, especially as the method of preferred communication in the workplace and for the remaining few who like to be somewhat disconnected when they aren't in the workplace. An article in today's online edition of the Wall Street Journal has some interesting points, though, about where email and online communication in general may be headed. Our recommendation, as usual, is that you should never become too dependent on any one form of internet marketing. The best return on your investment comes when you work with WSI on a dynamic integrated internem marketing strategy that constantly evolves with new technology. And for now, for most of you, that still includes email.