Email marketing is dead – long live social media at least that is what some marketers believe but which will maximize ROI on marketing effort. This article attempts to answer that question.

There is little point in talking when nobody is listening so the first point to consider is who actually reads the message. Symantec estimates 92% of all Email sent is spam and a MailerMailer report indicates that average Email open rates have fallen consistently since 2007. The problem may be that the advantages of Email are also its worst enemy. Its ease of use and low cost means it is the ideal medium for the spammers. This has in turn reduced Email credibility and open rates.

So social marketing is the way forward? Well it’s not quite that simple, analytics firm Sysomos found that 71% of Tweets on Twitter are ignored by those who receive them. A Pew study found that 41% of Twitter users check the site less than every few weeks.

So whatever medium is used a large percentage of recipients will ignore the message hence all that can be done is to work to reduce that percentage number. Building an army of genuine follows (no point just targeting numbers) and an Email contact list of real subscribers with an interest in the content will certainly help but that is only part of the answer.

Good quality content delivered to a quality contact list is the next priority. Engagement is key and social media facilitates the opportunity to open a conversation and engage more than Email. Without quality content then a quality contact list is of little use as without engagement there is little chance the message will be opened.

The final issue is the time involved to deliver the campaign. Quality content is required for both Email and social media so that cancels out. It is assumed in both cases lists of subscribers will not be purchased (poor return) but Email addresses will be secured via opt in and social media contacts by searching out relevant contacts, by publishing relevant content and by engagement.

For both Email and social media it is important to review what others are doing, establish what is working for others and what is not and establish what others believe maximizes marketing ROI. There are no obvious answers so monitor results of both mediums, test and tweak campaigns to achieve the best results.

So what will maximize marketing ROI? The time invested in a social media campaign significantly exceeds that of Email marketing. Given that the response rate is similar with social media having only a small advantage and the time invested in content is similar for both then Email marketing should be the clear winner. However, to collect subscriber Email for an Email marketing campaign takes extra effort over social media and this closes the gap significantly. In this authors opinion Email still has a slight advantage but other opinions welcome.