Ever since Mark Zuckerberg declared “we don’t think that a modern messaging system is going to be email” it set the email marketing sphere into a frenzy.

Are social media messaging apps like Whatsapp, Facebook, and Snapchat going to be the fatal blow to the email lists we have worked so hard on growing and nurturing over the years? All because of those damn meddling millennials?

Well, no.

Millennials, like myself, love our email. We are just as addicted to it as our social media, so much so that we are the highest demographic who thinks we will still be kicking it with our inboxes in 10-years time .

But we do use email to communicate in a different way compared to previous generations. With the sheer volume of social media messages going out every second of the day across an increasing amount of platforms, it can be hard for the average millennial to keep up with your brand.

This is why when it comes to consumer-to-brand communication, social media is for stalking our ex-boyfriends and email is for making sure we don’t miss out on that 50% sale.

Here is why email marketing DOESN’T suck – you are just doing it wrong.

1. Millennials Want To See Your Brand In Their Inboxes

If you are wanting in on the $200 billion buying power that millennials hold – you are going to need to up your EMAIL game not your social.

According to a recent report by the UK email marketing company Adestra, 73% of millennials prefer contact from brands to come via email. This is because we differentiate how we engage online.

While social media platforms like Snapchat are a way for us to keep up with our friends, communication from brands is a different story.

This statistic becomes even more valuable when you compare it with another by Direct Marketing Association: 66% of consumers have made a purchase online as a direct result of an email marketing message.

So if you are buying into all the hype that you should be more focused on using social media as a communication tool, you are missing out on potential sales and relationship building with the largest demographic generation.

2. Millennials Want Their Email Before That First Cup of Coffee

So just how important is having an email account to the average millennial? It’s basically a rite of passage. Opening up an email account is the equivalent of getting a driving licence or finally being able to go into a bar.

No one is constantly on social media, but everyone is checking their emails on a daily basis. None more so than us millennials.

In the same report by Adestra, nearly half admitted to checking their email first thing in the morning before getting out of bed and more than 80% of 14-35-year-olds check their email at random, all day long.

Younger consumers, like myself, sign up for brand emails primarily for promotions, freebies or product information. But, 60% of us feel that we get too many promotional emails and even enter old or fake addresses more often than other generations.

These statistics shows the value millennials see in receiving email, the lengths we’ll go to protect our email account and the importance of email as a communication tool.

Brands who haven’t figured out the right amount of email communications to send us are shooting themselves in the foot and losing out on getting in front of their consumers before they even drink their first cup of coffee in the morning.

Conclusion?

To speak millennial, use email.

Instant messaging services and social media can’t replace the inherent value of email and can’t duplicate that access into your consumer’s personal space. Email is far from dead and definitely does not suck. It’s still breaking the internet and will continue to do so for many years to come.

How do you use email? Would you agree with us or would you say you could easily do without email? Let us know in the comments below.

Lauren Melnick was born in Johannesburg and is as passionate about writing as traveling. You can follow her on Twitter or read more about her living the life as a digital nomad on her awesome blog.