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Social media is hot. Consumers and business buyers alike have flocked to the channel in recent years for information, advice and recommendations, circumventing traditional marketing channels such as television and print media. The eyeball shift is affecting online marketing as well... according to Alexa, Facebook and YouTube have replaced eBay and Amazon as two of the Top 5 most trafficked sites on the Internet. So how can a marketer best capitalize on this shift?

Since the emergence of social media, there has been a wide-spread land grab for ownership of the channel within the various facets of marketing. Public relations was the first department to jump at the opportunity to monitor awareness and “listen” and “engage” in dialogue with customers. However as time passed, direct marketers started to leverage the channel to drive response, using tactics such as exclusive, Twitter and Facebook-only promotions of special offers. In fact, Mashable recently reported that Dell’s Twitter program has been so successful, that it has resulted in over $2 million in sales to date.

Today, StrongMail announced the results of a recent survey that sheds light on who’s winning the land grab. According to the survey of 511 marketers, social media is clearly emerging as a direct channel with 36% of respondents stating that social media is owned by direct marketing within their organization. 29% of respondents report that responsibility is still shared between multiple divisions, and surprisingly, only 9% of respondents claim that social media is owned by their public relations department. A paltry 5% have a dedicated social media department.

Based on these results, it is clear that social media is emerging as a viable direct marketing channel. In order to effectively capitalize on its potential, marketers must start leveraging social media in the same way that they monetize other online channels such as email marketing, online advertising, and search marketing. While it’s important to continually monitor for brand perception, StrongMail believes that social media should be leveraged as a direct channel and has introduced a framework to help marketers do just that.

Watch this space for more insight into the convergence of email marketing and social media… there are many exciting updates and developments to come.