Facebook v. Twitter v. Email

The growing presence of brands in social media had me wondering whether a Facebook fan, a Twitter follower, or the more traditional email subscriber is most valuable.

I put together the chart below which stack ranks each service under some key variables.  Please feel free to challenge these rankings or suggest any variables I may have missed.

Facebook earned the highest average rank given its Richness of Message, Interactivity and Depth of User Data.  The only last place rank was for Editorial Control, given the ease of deriding a brand on its Facebook page for the viewing pleasure of all fans. A disgruntled user can share the same thoughts on Twitter but the commentary is typically viewed only by their own followers.

Email came in second with the highest level of Editorial Control, which helps deliver the highest Quality of Ad Inventory.  I also gave Email the highest rank for Ability to Drive Commerce given that users are more accustomed to receiving commercial offers via Email relative to Facebook and Twitter.  This dynamic may change long term as brand presence expands within these services.

Twitter came in last primarily due to the messaging and advertising constraints of 140 characters.  I may not be giving Twitter enough credit in some categories given that Twitter links are becoming such a significant driver of traffic.  This increasing ability to influence user navigation could enhance Twitter’s position over time.

At the end of the day, it is critical for brands to drive their messaging via all three services.  Customers are living today across Email, Facebook, and increasingly on Twitter.

Many progressive brands are diving into social media.  We have a number of portfolio companies at SoftBank Capital that are facilitating that jump, including Buddy Media, BuzzFeed, KickApps, and Sermo.