How do you communicate with your PR clients? Do you communicate mostly by telephone? Do you reach them primarily through email? Or, are you like a growing number of businesses? Do you contact clients mainly through one of the new social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter?
It has even been suggested that Google Wave is a replacement for email.
The question of whether email is on its way out is significant for PR agencies, and indeed, for anyone who does business online.
Not too long ago, a popular newspaper speculated that email was indeed on its way out. The author concluded that it was just a matter of time before email became obsolete.
The blogosphere has mixed opinions on this question. Here are some opinions on the matter:
- This post from TechCentral.ie. heralds the death of email.
- Other bloggers, such as Adam C. Engst, at TidBITS, disagree.
- Rachel Kaufman, blogging at Media Bistro’s Media Jobs Daily, reports mixed findings when it comes to the future of email in e-commerce.
- At Pivotal Veracity, Jordan Cohen points out that social media users are also more likely to use email.
There’s absolutely no doubt that the new sites ARE popular and will continue to be a part of the PR landscape in the future. However, email still offers some advantages that not every social media platform can match completely. With email you can:
- Attach even large files such as documents, pictures, and even programs
- Receive a receipt and/or time stamp for a message
- Respond to a message when you want to rather than immediately
- Institute security measures such as a company setting up an internal email system
Technology trends would seem to indicate that email will be with us for quite some time. Nearly every mobile device now boasts the capability to check email remotely.
Even Facebook seems to feel that email is still important. Adam Ostrow at Mashable reports that Facebook is planning to roll out a feature that would allow members to update their status by email.
Which brings us to my original question…
What is your primary means of communication with your clients? Do you rely mostly on email, or one of the newer platforms? Or, do you use social media and email equally?
Leave your answers in the comments section below!