So I have been reading a few articles lately based on the YouTube video (left) that Facebook is claiming that they have the potential of replacing email.

Hmmm…Makes you think a little bit, doesn’t it?  First, I want to add the disclaimer that I am not an uber-Social media person.  Not really my thing.  I do social marketing, but I spend less than 5 minutes per day on Facebook, Twitter and other social websites.  I personally don’t think that is ever going to change, either.  So call me one of the “stubborn ones”.

Saying that, though, I do admit that I respond a bit more social media messages.  Whether it is someone writing me a direct message, writing on my wall, sending me a DM on Twitter or even an @Reply on Twitter.  I see them all.  So from a social marketing standpoint, that means a lot to me.

Do I respond to these social media requests?  Sometimes.  The funny thing about social media is how fast it comes at you and the quality of the information.  If I want to socialize, I can see the power of social media over email.  It is interactive with instant gratification. But from a productivity standpoint, I don’t see social media working.

Email is still (and will always be) essential.

It is first your “centerpoint”.  Everything (even your Facebook and Twitter accounts) are based around your email.  This is kind of like your online personal identifier.

Second, email has a better archiving ability that social media.  Tweets come and go, but your emails usually stay. I would say that I do (on average) 3 email searches per day for past information.  Email is more than just communication, it is my file cabinet, too.  Social media is the “now”, but it goes stale very quickly.

I don’t see big business embracing social media anytime soon, either.  Most companies block social media sites because it distracts from work.  Plus, as I mentioned earlier, there is a very weak monitoring and storage facility associated with these websites.  Because of this, most people will still be viewing emails for 8 hours per day, 5 days per week.  At there jobs, this will be the only online way to communicate (assuming they are not constantly texting or using their smart phone).

From a marketing standpoint, I am asked “is email marketing dead”?

Well, I do admit that it is tougher these days than in the past.  Still, it is extremely effective, especially when you build a social network around it.  The biggest problem with email and SPAM comes back to trust and filtering.

Despite what Facebook thinks, we will all continue to check our emails daily.  The trick to email marketing is to get your recipients to open your emails.

“If You Send an Email and They Don’t Open It, Does It Really Exist?”

The answer is kind of no.  So use social media to develop the trust and train them to open your emails with good content. And remember that it is much easier to market on an email than in social media. So take advantage of them both (and don’t ignore either one).

cheers…matt