Let’s face it, Twitter and Facebook are making it much easier for people to share information with their network of friends and followers. Of course, marketers around the globe are wondering how they can leverage this ability to easily share content and get their content to go viral – or at least spread a bit more in a secondary push by social media.
Interestingly, a recent study shows that email is still the most widely used platform to share content with just under 50% of email users actively sharing (or forwarding) content to others.
Source: ShareThis – The Value of Sharing; Social Engagment
Of course, the impact of someone sharing (or retweeting) a link on Twitter has the potential to be far greater. Each retweet could mean a thousand new click-throughs.With email FTAF, content is more likely to be distributed in much smaller groups.
So how do email marketers get their recipients to share their content on Twitter?
There is a discussion on Mark Brownlow’s Email Marketing Reports today that sheds some light on the questions that email marketers are asking themselves (or should be) about how best to leverage social media in their email campaigns.
“…It’s very easy to add a “tweet this” link, either through an automated feature provided by your software or ESP or simply by using a link like this:
<a href=”http://twitter.com/home?status=See%20this:%20URL”>Share on Twitter</a>
So easy, in fact, it barely takes thinking about.
But should we consider the wider consequences? Are there, in fact, any wider consequences beyond the possibility of some kind of viral spread (however limited)?..” continue reading and participate in the discussion
Do you have a “Share This” link in your email campaigns? If not, why not?
FROM THE DESK OF
DR JOHN AFFULL
BRANCH MANAGER
INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL BANK
KUMASI BRANCH GHANA.
Hello Dear Friend
My name is DR JOHN AFFULL, I am the branch manager of the International Commercial Bank Kumasi branch Ghana. I got your information during my search through the Internet. I am 46years of age and married with 3 lovely kids. It may interest you to hear that I am a Man of peace and I don’t want problem, but I do not know how you will feel about this because you may have double mind. But I am telling you that this is real and you are not going to regret after doing this transaction with me. I only hope that we can assist each other. But if you don’t want this business offer kindly forget it and I will not contact you again.
I have packaged a financial transaction that will benefit both of us, as the regional manager of the International Commercial Bank; it is my duty to send in a financial report to my head office in the capital city (Accra-Ghana) at the end of each year. On the course of end of last year report 2010 , I discovered that my branch in which I am the manager made three million seven hundred and fifty thousand dollar [3, 750.000.00] which my head office is not aware of it and will never be aware of. I have since place this fund on what we call SUSPENSE ACCOUNT without any beneficiary.
As an official of the bank I can not be directly connected to this fund, so this informed me of contacting you for us to work, so that you can assist and receive this fund into your bank account for us to SHARE. Mean While you will have 35% of the total fund, Note there are practically no risk involved, it will be bank to bank transfer, all I need from you is to stand claim as the original depositor of this fund who made the deposit with our branch so that my Head office can order the transfer to your designated bank account.
If you accept this offer to work with me, I will appreciate it very much as soon as I receive your response I will give you details on how we can achieve it successfully.
Best Regards
DR JOHN AFFULL
BUSINESS TRANSACTION
drjohnaffull112@gmail.com