Email?

Who uses that anymore?

Well, smart marketers, for one. We’ve looked at a couple of studies of late that have compared the merits of email versus social media marketing, and the results are in: email still converts better than either search or social networking, and brands who have abandoned their mailing lists completely for the glittering lure of Facebook and Twitter might end up regretting it.

Those in the know are still putting their budget in the right places. Email marketing spend increased by 60 percent in 2012, and that’s because email marketing delivered a return on investment (ROI) of 4,000 percent over that same period. And it’s easy to understand why – however quickly Facebook et al have grown, email remains the single most popular online activity.

But hold your horses. Email isn’t everything, and that’s really the point. By combining all of these tools in your marketing strategy – email, search and social – you can amplify your brand’s awareness, significantly increase your reach and maximize the effectiveness of your campaigns.

This infographic takes a closer look at the respective pros and cons of email versus social media marketing.

(Source: Hostpapa. Email icon via Shutterstock.)