Online engagement drives the customer purchase journey
I agree with the view that social media needs to have a business case rather than just being seen as a tool for engagement (MW 1 September) and that interaction rather than clicks is the driver of the customer purchase journey.
Email remains the most efficient means of driving this interaction but simply having a Facebook or Twitter icon within an email is not going to drive your customer to find you on social media.
Instead, brands need to provide tools that facilitate the sharing of online content.
The digital marketing toolkit is rapidly expanding, so an integrated approach across email, social and all digital marketing channels will reap the rewards of engagement that we all seek.
Judd Marcello, director of marketing and PR, e-Dialog Europe