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Social is such a hot topic right now. I have read several 2009 articles claiming that 2009 was the “Year of Social”. Throughout the year, I’ve seen advertising cross-promoting, i.e. “Be our Fan on Facebook” and “Follow us on Twitter,” on various TV commercials and print ads as well as display advertising and email. I read the other day that 80% of females on Facebook are fans of a brand. And of course, the female is the proven purchasing decision maker. Advertisers have recognized the opportunity of conversation brand advertising that social provides with current and potential customers.

One way of cross promoting social that we have found to be successful is to include social icons within eNewsletters. This shows the user that there is the option for them to also connect with the brand via social. The question is, where should we place the icons so that the user’s eye is prompted to see the icon and click? Should the icons be included within the design of an email or above the design in the pre-header?

We did a placement test with the Birmingham eNewsletter and this is what we found:

Test A

Icon in preview pane above the email creative
- 0% of overall clicks

Test B

Icon within the creative of the email
- 6% of overall clicks

So, the outcome of the test is to include the icons within the actual email creative. Specifically, the main message of the email seems to draw the most attention.

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