Local email marketing provider, ExactTarget, has released some fantastic research in the past month, all as part of a series they call Subscribers, Fans and Followers. So far, they’ve released four reports, which I’ll detail below. If you’re interested in getting PDFs of all of the research, check out their Subscribers, Fans and Followers page. While ExactTarget started out as an email marketing company, they’ve expanded to become much more than that. They recently purchased CoTweet, a California-based Corporate Twitter Management software company, so they’re definitely headed in the direction of a communications management company. This research fits really well with the direction ExactTarget seems to be heading and I think its great that they’re handing out this research.

Report No. 1: Digital Morning

The first report in the Subscribers, Fans and Followers series focuses on general user behavior. What’s the first thing online customers check in the morning? How engaged are online consumers with email, Facebook and Twitter? Digital Morning gives a great overview of those and other questions. Here are some highlights from the report:

• 58% of US online consumers check email as their first online activity of the day.
• 93% of US online consumers are SUBSCRIBERS (receive at least one permission-based email a day).
• 38% of US online consumers are FANS (have a Facebook account and are a fan of at least one company or brand).
  • 69% of US daily Facebook users are FANS.
• 5% of US online consumers are FOLLWERS (have a twitter account and follow at least one company or brand).
  • 69% of US daily Twitter users are FOLLOWERS.

Even with the huge rise of social media, permission-based email is still extremely important for marketing. But even with a smaller percentage of US online consumers using Facebook and Twitter, those consumers should not be ignored. Use your target demographics to dictate whether getting involved in Facebook or Twitter would be beneficial for your organization.

Report No. 2: Email X-Factors

The second report in the Subscribers, Fans and Followers series is all about email. With the huge popularity of Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media, where does email fit into your marketing mix? Why should you still use Email? In order to have an effective email marketing campaign, here are the 5 Email X-Factors you need to pay attention to:

• Familiarity: Email is a familiar medium. Make sure your SUBSCRIBERS know what to expect from your emails.
  • 56% of Millennials subscribe to email in their search for ongoing deals compared to 28% who search for deals on Facebook.
• Manageability: Even while the average consumer receives 44 emails per day – just over 1/4 of those are permission-based emails – they also consider their inboxes manageable, not necessarily true with Facebook or Twitter. Let your users know how often they’ll receive emails from you.
• Trust and Privacy: Let your customers know EXACTLY what you will do with their email address and information. Consumers want to know their private information is secure.
• Relevancy: Be sure to provide relevant, if not personalized, content to your consumers. They want to feel that they’re receiving something special, not just a mail-merged email about the services you offer
  • 49% of consumers “always” open emails from their “favorite” companies, compared with only 16% who say they never open an email.
• Exclusivity: Among the exclusive perks you can offer your SUBSCRIBERS are promotions and deals, first-to-know information and tailored content.
  • 81% of SUBSCRIBERS have been motivated to provide a company with their email address due to some form of promotion.

An excellent example of a tremendously successful email campaign is Groupon – the daily email that offers you exclusive deep discounts for things to do in your hometown. Localized, exclusive and relevant, Groupon has been successful because they’ve done email marketing right.

Report No. 3: Social Profile

The third report in the Subscribers, Fans and Followers series talks in-depth about a dozen different social profiles that emerged during ExactTarget’s research. Every Subscriber, Fan or Follower fits into at least one of these categories and knowing which profile your brand appeals to can help you more effectively market to them. Here are a few of the social profiles that can be found in the report:

• Inner Circle:47% of Online Consumers
  • Much more heavily focused on Email and Facebook, Inner Circle Consumers primarily use social media to enhance relationships they already have and may not be receptive to brands or organizations in their personal social media space.
• Deal Seeker:30% of Online Consumers
  • These consumers focus more heavily on Email and Twitter as well as Facebook to find the best deals. The average Deal Seeker is a FAN of 10 brands on Facebook, FOLLOWS 10 brands on Twitter and receives 14 permission-based emails a day.
• Megaphone:7% of Online Consumers
  • While there are relatively few Megaphones online, their heavy usage of Twitter and Facebook give them a disproportionate influence online. These consumers tend to share lots of information with people and 65% regularly maintain a website, blog or both.

With a dozen different social profiles out there, it can be tricky finding out where your target market lies, but just knowing about the different types of consumers can help you as you plan your digital marketing strategy.

Report No. 4: Twitter X-Factors

The fourth and newest report in the Subscribers, Fans and Followers series is all about Twitter. Here are the five X-Factors that make Twitter so unique:

• Influence: FOLLOWERS on Twitter represent the most influential online consumers and their reach goes way beyond Twitter. While only 12% of online consumers have created a Twitter profile, 23% of online consumers read Tweets monthly.
• Brevity: Because of the 140-character limit for Tweets, users must get right to the point. There’s no beating around the bush on Twitter and it can be used to find information quickly without much effort.
• Accessibility: Never before has the average consumer had such a direct line of communication with celebrities (@THE_REAL_SHAQ), corporate entities(@ComcastCares) and breaking news (@cnnbrk) – many of whom will even reply back to people who ask them questions.
• Interaction: Similar to accessibility, Twitter offers the ability for average users to truly interact with even some of the largest organizations in the world. In fact, 20% of consumers indicate that they started FOLLOWING a brand in order to interact with that company.
• Versatility: Throughout the ExactTarget research, no clear consensus emerged for why consumers turn to Twitter to engage with brands. Consumers interact with brand for a variety of reasons.

While there are fewer consumers using Twitter, they are the most influential online consumers that exist today and the conversations they have and the content they create doesn’t live in a bubble on Twitter:

• 74% publish blog posts at least once a month
• 70% comment on others’ blog posts
• 61% write at least one product review a  month
• 53% post videos online
• 45% share deals found through coupon forums

Twitter users truly can become a great channel for your brand, but it must be managed effectively. Twitter, and social media in general, is about creating relationships, not just about broadcasting your marketing message.

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