Online and email marketing firms StrongMail and Net Atlantic have joined on an A2A integration initiative that combines email and social media marketing campaigns for small- and medium-size businesses.

For SMBs, melding email and social media makes for cohesive multi-channel communication that can easily and inexpensively reach millions of potential customers. According to InformationWeek, A2A integration can also increase access to technology that was traditionally reserved for larger companies.

"Customers are looking for more of a multichannel platform," Bill Reich, president of Net Atlantic, told InformationWeek. "That's the next level of email marketing: email, mobile, social media, couponing, SMS, on one platform."

According to InformationWeek, email and social media are perfect for integration because the former is the best way to reach an audience and having a presence in the latter can quickly grow a business.

Integrating email and social media appears to be a trend in the online marketing industry. According to InformationWeek, a study released by eROI in April found 66 percent of marketers were already combining the two. This is to take advantage of the fact that 40 percent of respondents to a separate poll said they regularly visit Facebook and Twitter to learn more about information sent in a marketing email.