You might think that social networks would not be interested in mail. Well think again. New research from mailmediacentre.co.uk reveals that people who use social networking sites are more likely to respond to mail. In fact, social network users are 34 per cent more likely to be a frequent responder to direct mail than the average UK adult. This certainly challenges some people’s perception that people who use social media ‘live’ online.
Direct mail and social media may seem at first glance to be diametrically opposed; direct mail is a physical, tangible item while social media, of course, exists purely online. But in many ways social media is not that far removed from direct mail. Both are straight to individual media, delivered into the recipient’s personal space. A well targeted social media or direct mail campaign can be a hugely successful way of driving response rates because consumers choose to read the message and are in control of whether or not they engage further with the brand.
I have always said that direct mail is a key component of any integrated campaign and the Mail Media Centre research further emphasises to me the importance of including direct mail in your marketing strategy.
Some 81 per cent of social network users like receiving physical vouchers and coupons in the post, so by using direct mail and social media together marketers could gain great brand exposure and awareness as well as an increase in response rates. And direct mail enables you to take purely digital engagement offline to help build loyalty.
So there is no doubt in my mind that direct mail can offer a real benefit to social media campaigns. And marketers are seeing its relevance in an increasingly digital world. Recent research from the Advertising Association and WARC highlighted that spend on direct mail increased by 12.7 per cent in Q4 2010.
Direct mail creates stand out for campaigns in today’s online environment and can give social network users something to talk about and share with their virtual communities. In an integrated campaign, direct mail provides marketers with social currency that their fans and followers can use online, making it a powerful tool to support social campaign engagement.
Mark Thomson is media director at Royal Mail
