New Bells & Whistles Take Email Social

In response to a greater demand for better behavioral targeting and other advanced capabilities in email marketing applications, a slew of new and upgraded email tools are coming to market that increasingly use social media and analytics to help marketers better understand and pinpoint sales prospects.

To single out one example, ExactTarget recently launched a tool that integrates e-mail marketing into Twitter. The tool enables marketers to select content from an e-mail and incorporate it into a Tweet.

Other new releases include Implix's GetResponse 6.0 email marketing application, which has beefed up its social media integration, including a GetResponse for iPhone.

Yet another example is the app released by the newly partnered StrongMail Systems and Equifax, which incorporates the Equifax Social Influencer, a tool that combines StrongMail's viral marketing application with Equifax's data services and analytics expertise.

A Mobile Connection

While DM News reports that Datran Media and Epsilon are also among marketing service providers taking advantage of consumers' appetite for social media, other providers are aiming to span social media and delivery platforms to reach on-the-go prospects. For example, email provider Pivotal Veracity has updated its email marketing system to include optimization for MySpace and for various mobile phones, including the Google Android and the Palm Pre - with the intent of helping marketers connect with consumers wherever they might be checking their e-mail.

“It's really building on our existing strategy, which is to help marketers optimize the deliverability, rendering and reputation of their digital communications across all channels,” Jordan Cohen, senior director of marketing and public relations at Pivotal Veracity told DM News. “Your e-mail is being read not just on computers but as a myriad of mobile devices and you can repost e-mails to your social networking sites.

Indeed, it is becoming difficult to overstate the drive for social media marketing in general, and especially its  integration with email. A recent "2010 Media Planning and Intelligence" survey examined by Marketing Charts found that having "presence on social networks" is one of the top priorities for marketers in 2010.
In addition, other research appears to support this trend. The Nielsen Company, for instance, found that the heaviest users of social networks also show increased email use, likely because of the multitude of "status update" messages that flood social networkers' inboxes.
'Playing Darts with a Blindfold'

Using Web analytics to better tailor campaigns - a long held but elusive goal of the industry - is also becoming a reality thanks to new applications and technology. Satnam Singh, VP-analytics with Javelin, told BtoB Magazine that sending out an email campaign sometimes feels a little like playing darts with a blindfold on.

"You need to add vision to see which ring you're in,” he said, noting that using web history to assist e-mail offers does that, he says.

JetBlue's new email marketing campaign illustrates this trend toward more intensive use of analytics. According to DM News, the airline's campaign is focusing on including customer preference and behavioral data.

“Each of our customers is unique and valuable, and we want to respect these attributes in our e-mail communications,” says Danielle Compitello, email marketing manager for JetBlue, in a statement.

Similarly, the newly released Unica Interactive Marketing OnDemand, which integrates Web analytics, customer analytics, email marketing, and web personalization, falls in this category. Marketers can analyze visitor behavior, and then design email campaigns or update Web sites accordingly. It also leverages behavioral data that visitors and customers generate as they react to a company's marketing programs.