Effectiveness and Open-Rates:

While email marketing is considered one of the most effective ways to communicate with leads and customers, social media can sometimes be just as if not more effective. I’ve heard different stories from small-sized websites how their open rates with messages via sites like MySpace or Facebook were higher than email open rates of the same size databases. Moreover, their social network responders are more active than email ones, which can lead to better ROI and more sales. Social websites are perfect for viral marketing, which can yield quicker results than an email campaign. They are also, relatively, a new phenomenon so marketing on them can give you an advantage against your competitors, assuming you start today.

Downsides and Dangers:

Social networks are as effective as they are dangerous for your online activities. The nature of these sites is that they are people-driven, opinionated. This is especially true of the most active members, who will constantly leave comments and feedback, for better or worse. This can lead to trouble if you do something “wrong” by the subjective opinion of these social leaders, who collectively can damage your reputation within the community. This is particularly true if you are a corporation like Ford or Red Bull, which have established major presences on these sites.

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