Email Social Sharing Link Adoption Slowing Down

Use of share-within-your-network (SWYN) social links is declining slightly in online retailers’ email messaging, according to a new report from Responsys.

“It was a big surprise,” says Chad White, research director of Responsys. “We had thought adoption would reach 50% by the end of the year, but only 25% are regularly include SWYN links in their emails.”

Why the slow down? One big reason, says White, is that SWYN appears to work best at the destination (say, a product page on the website) rather than the gateway, which is what email functions as.

“Engagement is higher and people are more convinced of value at the landing page, whether it is a blog post or a landing page or some other proxy,” he says.

Of course, that doesn’t mean SWYN can’t work in email. The takeaway, says White, is that emailers are getting more creative and selective about their placement. When they do add the sharing links, they’re making them more prominent, whether they place them in the header, the footer or elsewhere.

For example, special discount for friends and family type emails usually have a sharing element, and those deep discounts are very enticing for recipients to share. “That’s where retailers should be looking at using this type of call to action,” he notes.

Another big finding of the report (available for download here ) was that 88% of retailers are including social community links in emails, with that expected to hit 90% by the end of the year.

“We’re seeing pretty much universal adoption when it comes to validating the link between email and social communities,” White says. “We’re also seeing a few Facebook stores pop up and retailers using Facebook as a landing page for competitions, which is definitely validation of strong cross channel synergy between email and social.”

One hundred and four emailers were tracked for the report, including mass market retailers, as well as apparel, sporting goods, auto and computer merchants.

Right now, social activity among retailers is strongly coalesced around Facebook and Twitter, says White, noting that the results of the report predate the launch of Google+. “We’re not really seeing a lot of activity from retailers there yet, but it’s just a matter of time,” he says. “I am curious to see how adoption of Google+ takes off.”