Is Social Really An "Email Killer?"

Nielsen has some interesting findings. Apparently social media is now more popular with Internet users than email.

Great.

Look, I don't doubt the findings, as reported in AdWeek here. Nor do I think that the study is unimportant. Who am I to question? I just run a marketing podcast. But it has led your humble host of The BeanCast to consider things a little deeper.

Nothing Different Under the Sun
First, when we say "social," what exactly are we talking about? By all indications what we are measuring is the growth of a few web properties over the last few years. Specifically we are looking at the growth of the so-called Web 2.0 communities that include Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Digg, and a host of little social networks, community sites and forums.

But consider this. Before there was a term for "social media," there was AOL, which was largely built on chat rooms and forums and bulletin boards. And before that there was usenet which was all about social communities. And before that there were the evolutions of the BBS communities, like The Well. (Now I'm really dating myself!)

We get all worked up over the fact that email, the killer app of the Internet's explosive growth in the 90s, is now suddenly less popular that social networking. But we have to consider that maybe Internet users have always gravitated toward the social connectivity without us really having the terminology to define it.

This is an important distinction, largely because it helps us to showcase the role of social media programs in effective marketing. This is not just some new fad that is now eclipsing email and will eventually be eclipsed by the next fad. Social approaches to marketing are an integral part of the very fabric of what has always made the Internet appealing to the majority of users. And the social media "craze" has revealed a fundamental and unmet need in our customers.

From those first scientists who used the ARPANET as a means of quickly sharing their research and gaining community input to those teens during the 90s who spent every waking hour in AOL chat rooms, the social and community aspects of the Internet have always been the drive beneath it's growth. Only the tools have changed.

So how do I personally take the findings regarding email vs. social media?

Both Tools Are Vital
First, my core take-away is that each tool remains vital and important, but the role of each has evolved. And as such, we need to be careful not to have a knee-jerk reaction and say, "People are abandoning email in favor of social." This isn't what the research is saying. What it is revealing is that the audience is preferring to spend more of their time in social interactions with friends and associates over dealing with the more informational-based medium of email. We need to be aware of this fact.

They Must Be Used Differently
Second, just because an audience prefers a medium, it doesn't make that medium the right medium for you to communicate a product or offer. Email remains one of the most effective means of communicating offers and opportunities to your list of contacts and really can't be replaced by social in this capacity. However, social does provide you with better opportunities to engage and understand your customer's desires and needs.

We Must Understand the Permissions
Third, we need to be clear about the permissions for each medium. To use a metaphor, just because people like hiking in the woods more than walking down a city street, that doesn't mean you can toss up billboards all over Yellowstone and have your product be appreciated. People complain about "junk" mail and "spam," but people still welcome targeted and relevant messages in these mediums because these mediums are naturally information based. Brands are intruders in most social media experiences, though. So we need to be clear about the benefits of the medium and not stray too far into promotion.

If all this sounds familiar, it is. It's called marketing 101. And I repeat, it's important to realize this to understand that social is not some crazy new fad. Social media is just another tool of branding, customer service and experiential marketing. It's not an "email killer." It doesn't function anything like email anyway. It's just the natural outflow of individuals wanting involvement in the things (including products) that effect their lives.

And that's the real story in the Nielsen study. The soapbox is now yours. And remember, if you are an AdGabber member (or have a Ning ID) that same ID will allow you to quickly join and comment on this site.