Censorship Online: Social Media Versus Email Marketing

Is Email the Last Form of Online Free Speech?

By the Net Atlantic Marketing Team

The amount of censorship on social media platforms is far more invasive then we are led to believe. As a result, and depending on the nature of your content, these platforms cannot be relied upon to distribute your content and information reliably.

Social media companies such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have been criticized for censoring content that they deem inappropriate, offensive, or those in violation of their community guidelines. This has led to concerns over freedom of speech, bias, and the impact on marginalized communities. Additionally, some governments have implemented laws and regulations to censor content on social media platforms, often in the name of national security or public safety. Some examples include:

- Twitter's policy of removing tweets that violate its rules on hate speech, harassment, and misinformation.
- Facebook's policy of removing content that incites violence or hate speech, or that includes nudity, sexual content, or graphic violence.
- China’s government policy of heavily censoring the internet, including social media platforms, to control the narrative and limit the spread of dissenting views or sensitive topics.

Overall, censorship on social media platforms is a significant issue, noting that censorship on these platforms is not always consistent, and the platforms have been criticized for inconsistency and bias in their enforcement of policies, affecting not only individual users but also businesses and organizations that rely on social media for communication and marketing.

Additionally, these companies have been criticized for not being transparent enough about their moderation process and how they decide to censor certain content. Further, social media companies also use techniques like shadow-banning, stealth-banning, ghosting, and secret blacklists. With these methods, content and users are not necessarily banned outright, instead they are demoted, de-prioritized, and penalized so that their content is almost impossible to find.

Large social media companies argue that because their networks are private, that they can run them however they like. This is certainly true, however monopoly power of large social media companies makes this argument much less valid.

The impact of censorship on businesses and organizations

When businesses and organizations are censored, it can lead to a loss of revenue, damage to their reputation, loss of trust of customers, loss of audience, problems reaching readers, negative impact on messaging, and loss of freedom of speech.

Censorship can also impact political campaigns and social movements, as censorship on social media can limit the spread of information and the ability to mobilize and organize. It negatively impacts self-expression for individuals, companies and organizations.

Some topics vulnerable to censorship by social media companies include: political viewpoints, plus-sized women, mothers (birthing, breastfeeding), sexual health, alternative health, pandemic related topics, cannabis and drugs, alternative health cures, polarizing viewpoints, art, LGBTQ topics, politically incorrect content, music and song lyrics, misinformation, and information contrary to mainstream messaging.

Advantages of email over social media

Email is considered a direct communication channel, and is therefore not normally subject to censorship by third-party entities. This means that businesses and individuals can use email to communicate without fear of their content being removed, their accounts being suspended, or being shadow-banned.

When sending an email, the sender has control over the content and messaging, and can be confident that the email will reach the intended recipient as long as the recipient's email address is correct. With email, there is no third-party intermediary that censors or removes content, so organizations and individuals can communicate freely and openly.

Additionally, although email mailbox providers like Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail and others have their own policies and guidelines, they are not likely to censor the content of the email. They are more likely to flag email as spam or phishing. However, these policies and guidelines do not typically involve censorship of the email's content, but rather the prevention of spam, phishing, and other malicious activities.

This makes email a reliable and uncensored communication channel for businesses and individuals.

It allows a sender to communicate directly with their customers and audience without fear of censorship, and gives them more control over their messaging and branding.

Overall, email allows for more control over content and messaging by providing businesses and individuals with the ability to craft and send messages that align with their branding and messaging goals, without fear of censorship or removal by a third-party entity. This level of control can help to increase engagement and conversions, and allows businesses and individuals to make data-driven decisions about their messaging and branding.

Email provides a higher open and click-through rate than social media

First, email is a more direct and personal communication channel than social media. When a person receives an email, they are more likely to open it and read it because it is addressed directly to them. On the other hand, social media posts can get lost in a person's feed among other posts from friends, family, and other pages they follow.

Second, email is less cluttered than social media. Social media platforms are constantly inundated with new posts, updates, advertisements, and notifications, making it easy for users to miss important information. In contrast, users generally have fewer emails in their inbox, and are therefore more likely to notice and open an email that is relevant to them.

Third, email allows for more targeting and personalization than social media. As mentioned before, businesses and individuals can use email marketing software and tools to segment their audience and send targeted messages that align with their audience's interests, preferences, and behaviors. This level of targeting and personalization can lead to higher open and click-through rates, as the messages are more relevant and engaging to the recipient.

Fourth, Email campaigns can be automated to be sent at specific times, on specific days, or when certain actions are taken, which can increase the chances of the email being read and acted upon.

Overall, email provides a higher open and click-through rate than social media because it is a more direct and personal communication channel, less cluttered, allows for more targeting and personalization, and allows for automation. These factors make email more effective for businesses and individuals looking to reach and engage their audience.

Conclusion

Email is a more reliable and uncensored communication channel for businesses and organizations, with a higher open and click-through rate than social media. Additionally, email allows for more control over content and messaging, and more targeted and personalized communication, to reach members, subscribers, readers, and audiences.