As new technologies and social platforms emerge, it’s important to understand how effective these channels are at driving purchases. Marketing firm ExactTarget recently released a report that compares the effectiveness of Twitter, Facebook, and E-mail for driving purchases and making recommendations to friends for purchases.
Twitter leads the way
The results, as reported on Pamorama, showed that those who follow a brand on Twitter are more likely to purchase from the brand as well as more likely to recommend the brand to a friend than Facebook or E-mail.
Don’t abandon e-mail yet
While this shows the power of Twitter, it is important to keep in mind that this is relative. Most brands these days will have significantly more Facebook fans and e-mail subscribers than they do Twitter followers. If we see Twitter followers numbers increase, the engagement and purchasing results will most likely settle down to numbers more comparable to E-mail and Facebook.
Other key findings from the report:
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93% of U.S. online consumers subscribe to e-mail marketing messages, 38% are fans of brands on Facebook, and 5% follow brands on Twitter.
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67% of consumers have subscribed to e-mail marketing messages to receive discounts or promotions, vs. 40% of consumers who have become a fan of a brand on Facebook and 31% who have followed a brand Twitter for the same reason.
