Marketers today want their marketing e-mail messages to reach as many eyeballs as possible. Taking advantage of subscribers’ natural desire to share info about a great deal or new program with their friends is one way to do just that. The majority of email service providors now provide dedicated links that allow e-mail subscribers to “forward to a friend” (FTAF) or “share with your network” (SWYN)( Social Forward). These are two ways marketers can help their messages go viral. Though social networking is hipper than old-fashioned e-mail forwarding, marketers are much more likely to provide a “forward” link (48%, including those who provide both links) than easy sharing capability (13%, including those who provide both links), according to data from Smith-Harmon. Only a few online retailers used both types of links in their e-mail campaigns, and nearly one-half did not offer any link at all for passing on messages. Links to share content with a social network can potentially give messages much more exposure. After all, such e-mails are shared with the subscriber’s entire social network, rather than just a few friends chosen specifically for the purpose. Smith-Harmon found that among those retailers that did provide social network sharing links, Facebook was the clear favorite. Every campaign studied that had a SWYN capability had a link to Facebook. Twitter came in second, at 67%, while only 44% of sharing-capable e-mails linked to MySpace. Online retailers also directed subscribers to share offers via social bookmarking sites and social shopping sites. “Despite FTAF’s incumbent position, I expect SWYN adoption to overtake FTAF usage over the next 24 months as more marketers and consumers become familiar with it,” wrote Chad White, author of the “FTAF vs. SWYN: The State of Email Sharing” report, on MediaPost. “Also, just as FTAF has to compete with the ‘forward’ button in every email client, I expect that we’ll see SWYN links built into email clients in the future.” Listed below is how Exact Target's Social Forward Feature works in their messaging:
ET's Social Forward is comprised of the following three parts:
- ShareThis Integration. Our integration with ShareThis makes it easy for subscribers to share content to over 20 online networks and communities while providing you the metrics you need to create a strategy around your social content. Identify top networks, content, and subscribers for sharing and quantify the results of your strategy.
- Direct to Social. The Direct to Social capability is a simple way for your subscribers to share content with the click of a button. Allow your subscribers to share content directly to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, and many other online communities.
- Forward to a Friend. Allow your subscribers to share your message directly with their friends via email. Forward to a Friend enables subscribers to include a personal note about your message and send it on to their friends via email. You'll be able to track how many times your message was forwarded and how many new subscribers you've gained as a result.
Tracking metrics provide the data you need to improve the results of your social networking strategy, as well as prove the effectiveness of your existing campaigns. With Social Forward, subscribers now have the power to instantly share their brand experience with their entire social network-and you have the opportunity to become a trusted member of their online community. Powerful!!
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