Online platforms begin to overlap

A new report from ExactTarget suggests that audiences of different marketing channels may overlap, allowing businesses to engage consumers across multiple platforms.

According to the survey, 90 percent of consumers who are fans of a brand on Facebook receive at least one marketing email per day. At the same time, 75 percent of Twitter users who follow a brand also receive permission-based emails. Nearly half of consumers (40 percent) use social platforms to supplement news received via email marketing messages.

The reasons consumers follow brands on certain platforms largely depend on what kind of information they seek. While some actively seek out deals, others are looking for product information or reviews. "The things that motivate consumers to go online initially dictate where and how they choose to engage with brands - whether that be email, Facebook or Twitter," said Morgan Stewart, principal of the research and education group at ExactTarget.


By integrating both email and social media marketing, businesses are able to reach a significant portion of online consumers. According to a recent survey from AWeber, 77 percent of businesses consider using the two platforms in tandem to be important.