When you seek out the services of an internet marketing company, chances are that you’re looking for someone to manage social media activity, search engine optimization, and an ad campaign on Google or other major platforms. What you might not be thinking of is e-mail marketing, a form of direct outreach to consumers that is widely regarded as being outmoded in this day and age.

But writing off e-mail in this way is misguided. It still comprises an important part of some of the most successful campaigns by an internet marketing company. And it has certainly not been overtaken by social media. Although the latter is a more common means of mass communication these days, e-mail often commands more attention from consumers. This speaks to the fact that, as Marketing Land recently reported, e-mail marketing provides a return on investment that is four times greater than social media marketing.

The article explains that marketing communications are actually familiar and expected within the context of someone’s e-mail inbox. This is not so much the case with social media, so people may be more inclined to gloss over calls-to-action that an internet marketing company channels through that medium. More than that, typical trends in social media usage may prevent people from following commercial accounts in the first place. But people seem to be less hesitant about opting in for e-mail updates for companies they are interested in.

So what is the takeaway from this, as it concerns hiring or coordinating with an internet marketing company? Well, for one thing, it suggests that it is inadequate to employ social media marketers who are only good at the technical trickery of SEO, or the attention-grabbing, bite-sized communications of a tweet or an Instagram post. If you want to get the return on investment that comes from a well-managed e-mail marketing campaign, your internet marketing company should also have a penchant for long-form communications and traditional methods of advertising.

These skills may come in handy in other areas, as well. The type of content marketing that is conveyed via e-mail can also find its way into blog posts, press releases, and pitches to potential affiliates. All of these tactics go hand-in-hand, not only with each other but also with the SEO, social media marketing, and web development. An internet marketing company should be able to wear many hats, in order to seamlessly direct consumers from one platform of communication to another, and to maintain engagement across them all.

It also bears mentioning that the investment in this sort of multi-faceted internet marketing company is by no means a short-term investment. Tactics like e-mail marketing haven’t gone away lately, and they aren’t likely to do so anytime soon. In fact, the above-mentioned Marketing Land article notes that young, post-millennial consumers are actually expected to use more e-mail in the coming years. And it is just possible that this trend will be further accelerated by the growing distrust that people experience with established social media platforms.