Do You Agree or Disagree that Social Sharing...

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Social sharing is a rapidly emerging email tactic. As this chart shows, about 80% of marketers agree that social sharing "extends the reach of email content to new markets," and "increases brand reputation and awareness." Approximately half of marketers surveyed agree that social sharing accelerates the growth of email lists and increases the ROI of email programs.

The missed opportunity here is the use of social sharing to generate more qualified leads. As a new medium, there are still misconceptions about social media’s value, as well as the value of sharing email content through social media. As this chart shows, only 31% of marketers consider social sharing an effective lead generation tactic.

But when you combine targeted email with the scope of social media, new lead generation opportunities become available to marketers.

What type of email content works best to engage prospects in the socialsphere? One marketer told us, "As with any messaging intended to build a relationship with prospective customers, the email content shared on social media sites must not be sales-oriented.

"We began sharing content that was heavily geared toward promotion. This was not effective in the social environment. We now concentrate on educational and informational topics that our prospects and customers will find interesting rather than on aggressive selling information. This is building a preference for our brand within the social communities we are reaching."