When you read the online social media advocates, you'd think that email is so yesterday and the best place to get engaged response is by going social. (3 in 4 US Orgs Say Social Media Poses Challenge to Email)Especially if you're trying to reach listeners where they live and not other businesses. (Email Conversion Rate Benchmarks Higher Among B2B Cos)
This is the final week for A&O's seventh annual client online perceptual study, Roadmap 2012, and I've been checking response rates for the more than 80 country radio stations participating.
We recommend that stations email an invitation to the study to 5,000 target age/gender listeners and most clients who do that are getting 7-10% response and a nice, robust sample.
Then, there are others whose numbers are lagging behind the averages. Several told me that they decided to try Twitter and Facebook this time since they have many more than the suggested 5,000 "friends" there.
I suggested that if they want a larger reliable sample, it was time to stop hoping for their social network connections to maybe do the survey and to send a well-written email with a powerful subject line explaining how they plan to make use of the opinions folks give.
24 hours later.
Just one day later, the response rate to the survey is 20 times what two weeks at social media was able to generate.
Social media is, no doubt, a fabulous way to listen to your audience's stories and converse with them. Reflect the best of them on the air. Your programming will be more engaging, but if you want a timely response to a specific offer or event, send a personalized email.
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