Some marketers are quick to hail the death of email marketing. But the medium still has shockingly strong vitals, even if social media has destroyed much of its mindshare.

According to the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing returns 4,300% ROI for those that practice it. With the data analysis tools available today, pushing out emails to your audience is more of a science than ever.

Social media’s massive growth hasn’t closed off email as a medium. But that might not be the case for very long.

Why are people so eager to kill email?

Social media has been heralded as an email killer, both in consumer and business circles. People are still happy with email—but that might be because they’re used to it.

Digital communication evolved with email at the forefront. But people have found more effective ways to communicate. Here are a few trends that may lead to the death of email.

• A mailbox crammed with junk mail: Yes, poor email marketing has led to the rise of spam. Even marketers (like myself) are sick of poorly targeted junk mail that clutters the messages they really care about.
• Wasting time: Twenty-eight percent of the workweek is spent sifting through and responding to internal emails.
• Having fun through social channels: Social channels are simply more engaging. People want to spend time interacting with them.

Even in the face of these trends, you can still make a cogent argument for email marketing.

Why is email so powerful? Why still use it for marketing?

Put simply: email is an opt-in medium that feels more personal than other channels.

And yes, people still use it regularly. Even with social media adoption reaching astounding numbers.

Done right, email marketing is a direct channel to a member of your audience. If your email provides the right value, it can directly impact your bottom line. It’s also a great way to offer exclusivity, especially when it comes to special promotions.

Just a few years ago, Groupon proved the power of email marketing, especially when you couple it with social channels. As long as people use email, it’ll be a powerful channel for marketers.

In the long run, the question isn’t whether or not email marketing works. It’s whether or not your audience uses email in a way that offers value to your marketing strategy.

If you target an older demographic, you’ll probably find that email is as relevant as it ever was. Younger audiences probably tend to use social media more often than email.

A variety of factors come into play when you’re evaluating email as a marketing channel. But it’s important to look at the long term, too.

Will email marketing eventually go away?

I’m convinced it will, and I’m in good company. But until that day comes, email marketing will continue to be an effective channel for certain brands.

While researching this article, I came across an old post from 2011 on Marketo’s blog called “Is Social Media Going to Kill Email?” Now, more than two years later, it’s worth revisiting the excellent points this post made based on recent tech advancements.

1. “Email is the preferred communication medium in business.”

It’s safe to say that this is no longer true. Through tools like Yammer and Socialcast, enterprise social networking has become a much more prevalent form of business communication for organizations everywhere.

Tools like these have illuminated the problems with using email for certain types of internal communication, especially when it comes to group discussions. Archiving certain types of information in a public setting has been beneficial for productivity as well.

2. “You need an email address to connect to social networks.”

This is also no longer true. In many cases, you need a social account to connect to another social network.

3. “Email is social too.”

That may be true, but it sure isn’t more social than social media. Let’s not forget that many social sites include private messaging.

4. “Mobile and email work well together.”

If you own a smartphone, you’re probably pretty clear on the fact that social and mobile have grown pretty tight, too. The massive financial and developmental interest behind social media sites will ensure that this bond only grows tighter.

5. “Email can deliver targeted and relevant content.”

Yep. So can just about every website on the web. In fact, the social web has become even more effective than email for identifying your audience members in real time.

As always, it’s really about where your audience lives and how email impacts your sales funnel.

Do you think email is dead or will be soon? Let us know in the comments!

About the Author

Mark Sherbin is a freelance writer specializing in technology and content marketing. He shares occasionally insightful information at Copywriting Is Dead, where he promotes authentic communication between organizations and their audiences. Say hello on Twitter: @MarkSherbin.