WebProNews

ExactTarget released some new findings today about email use, finding that it is increasing, with social media and smartphones playing key roles.

Social media replacing email has become a hot topic. WebProNews ran an article on the topic recently, as something of a response to a recent Wall Street Journal piece, which seemed to declare email all but dead. We took the opposite stance, and so does ExactTarget's research.

"The total number of social media users is rapidly increasing, but often these users jump in quickly, only to curtail their use of social media over time," said Morgan Stewart, ExactTarget’s director of research and strategy. "Email on the other hand, is woven into all online interaction, making it an essential tool that consumers continue to use more and more."

"Nearly 40 percent of students use smartphones and two-thirds of those use email," said Mike Hanley, director of the Institute for Mobile Media Research in the study. "The increased use of mobile email is significant because it reverses the five-year trend of declining email use among college students."

ExactTarget notes that while email is here to stay, the channel is presented with some challenges, such as those that stem from increased volume and consumer's adoption of multichannel messaging.  The firm names two tactics that marketers should implement to drive continued email success:

- To break through consumers' inbox clutter, marketers should deliver timely, relevant and personalized emails to consumers

- Due to consumers' increasing receptivity to promotional messages via text, marketers should develop mobile messaging strategies.

Where do you stand in the email debate? Feel free to leave your comments below, or join the existing conversation on the topic over here.