If you haven’t heard the news about Facebook allowing marketers to collect email addresses of their app users, read this article first. To summarize: If you run an application on Facebook, you can now ask for users’ email addresses, and this request can be optional or required.
This opens up a new opt-in channel for email marketers, but also could potentially step on the toes of their Facebook followers. I asked some of our Email Marketing Strategists to give their two cents on this exciting new development in the world of social media:
Kimberly Snyder: I am not surprised that Facebook is now offering this option to marketers. It is a natural next step in fully integrating marketing channels for retailers leveraging Facebook for SEO optimization, bringing their brand to life… Facebook’s draft policy is also very clean and clear (which I respect as an email marketer). However, I am not sure all companies will adhere to the first policy listed nor do I know how they plan to police this policy: “a. You must not give or sell users’ email addresses to any third party or affiliate.”
Hopefully the majority will play by the rules so this powerful medium can continue to help email marketers grow their email house file organically.
Kelly Lorenz: I think this is an interesting idea and certainly an expansion on the stand-alone sign-up form marketers could add to their Facebook pages. I’m glad to see that Facebook put their own permission marketing policies around adding this opt-in through apps, especially the one around making it clear how the users’ email address will be used. I also think the policy around emails originating from the same domain is a great step to prevent marketers from selling their lists and such.
Using Facebook to collect email addresses is also a great way to get cleaner, more active email addresses. What I mean by that is that the contacts are likely actively checking and engaging with the email address through which they use Facebook. This may mean you’ll get less sign-ups than through other means due to user fear of getting spam, but they’ll be more valid and likely more engaged.
I’m a little iffy on the mandatory auto-opt-in. I would imagine that would cause user frustration and aggravation toward the marketer and potentially have a high abandonment rate.
Julie Waite: I agree with both Kimberly and Kelly… my first reaction was “Awesome, but how on earth are they going to enforce it?” The required opt-in gave me pause, and I think that yes, it may be a turn-off and cause abandonment, but it also might produce the most loyal list of subscribers.
What do other marketers think of this? If you have a Facebook app, are you implementing an optional or required opt-in? Please share your thoughts or experiences in the comments below.
Julie Waite
Email Marketing Strategist at Bronto
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