​A new report highlights the re-emerging power of email marketing and suggests brands turn off autopilot and get serious with content creation.

​When it comes to ecommerce lead generation, Monetate’s Quarterly report suggests email marketing drives more conversions than social and search. While the company’s latest report measured data from Q1 2013, it noted that email has outshined social and search marketing each quarter since Q1 2012 – the first time the study was released.

The report found the conversion rate for targeted email content was more than 3 percent in Q1 2013. Search (under 2 percent) and social media marketing (under 1 percent) lagged behind. Email thrived beyond website conversions – it also led to the most pageviews on site for surveyed brands.

 

List segmentation sets email apart

Email is responsible for generating twice as much direct traffic as social media, and fully four times the conversion rate.

Email remains a useful marketing channel because brands can now personalize content with new technologies, improving recipients’ overall experiences. Audience targeting tools that segment leads into lists based on demographic and psychographic tendencies ensure relevant information finds prospects’ inboxes. That’s not to say email marketing doesn’t have its fair share of challenges.

“Because it’s by no means the new kid on the marketing block … I fear (and see) many companies are running their email programs essentially on autopilot,” said Monetate Vice President of Marketing Blair Lyon. “This is a huge missed opportunity, because email is responsible for generating twice as much direct traffic as social media, and fully four times the conversion rate.”

Marketing automation effectively measures success.

Brafton recently reported on a BtoB Magazine report that found email marketing is most often used for customer acquisition, but companies grade the success of their campaigns by clickthrough rates. This is not an accurate way to measure success because recipients may clickthrough and not convert, or prospects may delete messages and buy on their own accord.

A more effective way to understand how email content works is through lead scoring and marketing automation technology. Brands that use services like Marketo understand the actions their prospects take after engaging with email content, so follow-up messages can be perfected and geared toward their leads’ behaviors.

To drive conversion rates even higher, companies can use email to inspire conversion, and select technologies make the practice an integral component to any internet marketing campaign.

Ted Karczewski is an Executive Communications Associate at Brafton. He works to develop his own voice and apply his passions to the evolving world of SEO and content marketing, but he doesn't shy away from writing for fun. After graduating from Suffolk University, Ted used his Communications degree to test out Sports Journalism before Marketing at Brafton.