A hot topic in web-based communications has for some time centered around the question of whether or not social media messaging will replace email as our primary means of communication over the interwebs. This conversation has grown significantly and in proportion to the rise of social networks like Twitter and Facebook.
As people deeply involved in email, the contributors at Deliverability.com are more than willing to point out the holes in the side of the argument that says social media will in fact kill email, as is evident from a recent post from the folks at Critsend right here on the blog. Similarly, at SendGrid, we believe that our mere existence, let alone our extremely fast-paced growth, is evidence enough – and we’re telling the world when given the chance.
Luckily, we’re not alone…
Just last week, two well known investors made their voices heard on the topic.
Fred Wilson published a very insightful blog post, pointing out the fact that email is actually a critical tool and contributes directly to the success of today’s social media giants and budding upstarts alike. As he mentions:
“…more and more social applications are leveraging the power of email to drive repeat usage and retention.”
In his follow-on post, Brad Feld, takes Fred’s point a step further and discusses the importance of executing email programs efficiently and effectively within a web-based business. He makes clear that the dependency on email does not stop at social apps. Virtually all web applications send some sort of transactional email – account registration confirmations, password reminders, activity notifications, etc. He then goes on to discuss the headaches that implementing an in-house email solution can create and the corresponding logic around paying email experts to handle it for you. His final message to web developers:
“…if you are serious about what you are doing, focus on your app. Don’t waste precious development time on all the activities around the app.”
So, as the number of Facebook messages, wall posts, comments, @-Replies, and Direct Messages grows, so too does email. Without email, how else would you know that Nancy tagged you in a photo from the dinner party last weekend? But more importantly, how would you know that your recent purchase from Amazon just shipped?
Not to worry, though, because as long as we continue to do our jobs right (and we will!), you’ll continue to see those ever important notifications right there in your inbox 
What are your thoughts on the topic? …Â Is email simply riding the coattails of social media’s success, temporarily avoiding its imminent death? … Will social media be the one to go by the wayside, while email lives on in internet glory?
Let us know what you think!
Thanks for reading,
Tim Falls, Community Guy @SendGrid
Last 5 posts by Tim Falls
- Why Legitimate App Email is Mistaken For Spam - April 26th, 2012
- Four Tips To Identify and Engage Inactive Subscribers - March 23rd, 2012
- Does SEM Affect Email Deliverability - February 28th, 2012
- How to Handle Email Bounces: Three Rules of Thumb - January 26th, 2012
- How to Design Your HTML Email for Optimal Deliverability - December 22nd, 2011
Good points Tim. These are reinforced by the release of a recent market research study commissioned by Microsoft. There was a Mashable article highlighting these points in the “The Past, Present, and Future of Email” [Infographic] http://on.mash.to/kJPhMA
45% of the respondents said their e-mail increased over the last year
35% spend half their day reading or replying to work email
55% believe spending time in work email increases their productivity
Thanks for reading and commenting!
One significant point I failed to mention (for brevity’s sake), was the usage of email vs. social media messaging, based on demographic.
Younger folks (ie, middle-high school age) are happy to use facebook messages to communicate with friends.
When one reaches college, he/she realizes that correspondence with their university administration and professors needs to be performed over email. However, they can still utilize social media within their social circles.
But once you get to “the real world” and have a job, the first thing you get when hired by a new company is an email address. From there, almost all communications with co-workers, colleagues, partners, customers, etc. is done through email. Email IS the default means of communication for professionals around the world.
Furthermore, it is often overlooked that an email address is REQUIRED to sign up for almost every social network. This simple factor ensures email’s survival and underscores the idea that social networks NEED email!
Thanks again for engaging!
Tim
The other advantage of email is the ability to track data – such as opens and click throughs. If you post to Facebook, you have no idea how many people who like your page actually see your message. With ESP data, you start to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t to get your subscribers’ attention.
Great post! Email and Social Media absolutely complement one another as well as other online channels. One does not work without the other. The basis for every Facebook login IS an email address.
I went a step further beyond the complements of Email and Social Media (in this case, Facebook) and thought about the opportunities that Facebook is missing out on. Facebook has a huge opportunity to create extremely well personalized emails based on a user’s activity or inactivity on their website as well as other websites from the data collected using the “Social Plugin”.
I mocked up what a Facebook Newsletter might look like from a user’s perspective. Based on the emails sent from Facebook, they could vastly improve their email communication.
http://www.emailmarketingiq.com/2011/05/07/facebooks-500-million-users-deserve-a-better-email-communication-program/
I’ve also created “Facebook Email” on Tumblr to make suggestions to Facebook to improve their Email/CRM Strategy.
http://facebookemail.tumblr.com
Thanks,
Terry
Natalie -
Excellent point on statistics – we’re big on email analytics! Without them, you’re flying blind!
Terry -
Very cool email mockup and blog idea – I’ll keep an eye on it!
Thanks to both for joining the conversation – simply awesome comments!
Until next time!
Tim
Great post and good analysis. Though social media is gaining its popularity email marketing will never loose its place in the business.