While social media has been garnering a lot of attention as an anticipated top content marketing channel for 2011, it seems marketers also understand the value of getting their messages directly into consumers' inboxes. The results of StrongMail's 2011 Marketing Trends survey reveal email marketing will be a leading investment for brands next year.
The survey asked more than 900 business leaders how they would be budgeting and prioritizing their marketing dollars in 2011. Email marketing proved to be the top area of investment, with 65 percent of respondents claiming the channel was a priority.
Moreover, 93 percent of participants said they would be increasing or maintaining their email budgets in 2011. Those who said they may face budget cuts cited lack of resources as the leading reason, indicating email marketing challenges are not platform-specific.
Brands planning to reach consumers with email marketing messages next year might consider offering industry news insight. According to the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, more than one in 10 Americans regularly look for news in their inboxes.
