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Social Games - Who's Playing?While young males dominate the video game world, a recent study by Information Services Group found that the average social gamer was a 43-year-old woman.Social games include web-based games, such as FarmVille and Mafia Wars, found on social networking websites. The survey found that 55% of social gamers are female. Furthermore, more females are avid gamers - 38% play multiple times per day, compared to 29% of males. Other insights revealed interesting findings beyond gender specifics. For example, Facebook is the most popular social network for gaming, with 83% of respondents logging onto the social website to play a game. Players have about six social games on average, and about 50% of respondents began playing a game because of a friend's recommendation. With 100 million people playing these games, the industry expects $1 billion in revenue this year. Source: Mashable; February 17, 2010 Labels: Facebook, Social Media, Social Networking 0 comments. Click here to post comments. Baby Boomers take their Communication OnlineThe generation that once participated in the sit-ins, protests and demonstrations of the 1960s is slowly embracing social networking as their latest communication tactic. These boomers are interested in reconnecting with people from their past as well as keeping current personal connections strong. About 47% of online Boomers maintain at least one profile on a social networking site. (It is important to note that maintaining a profile on a social network is distinctly different from simply creating a profile.) In 2007, the same survey was administered, but only 30% of Boomers said that they maintained a profile on a social network.  Labels: Baby Boomers, Social Networking 0 comments. Click here to post comments. College Students Still Appreciate FacebookThough statistics have proven Facebook's fastest growing audience is primarily older generations, Facebook continues to keep its cool among college students, according to an Anderson Analytics survey.Facebook is the favorite website among college students in 2009, with almost 28% listing the social network site as their top choice. This is a large increase since 2005, when only 8.2% of college students picked Facebook as their top website. Only 6.3% of students chose Google, which came in second, as their favorite website of all.  Though websites and word-of-mouth are two of the most popular ways to obtain product information, social networks prove to be valuable information sources as well. Fifty-eight percent of females and 44% of males obtain product information from social networking sites such as Facebook.  Source: eMarketer; December 15, 2009 Labels: Facebook, Social Media, Social Networking 0 comments. Click here to post comments. Social Media is a Marketing SuccessAccording to marketing pros, social media has found success as adoption and awareness continue an upward trend. A majority of companies have reported to be familiar with social networking, with ninety-one percent using at least one social media tool in 2009.Social networking and blogging have shown impressive growth in 2009, by 80% and 45% respectively. Twitter has also shown strong growth in 2009, although reports from 2007 and 2008 are not available.  Wikis, blogs and social networks have topped the list of types of social media tools companies have successfully adopted. These companies were primarily using social media to measure hits, comments, leads or sales. Studies also show how private companies are quickly adopting social media into their marketing plans. This year, nine percent of Inc. 500 companies did not use social media, compared to 43% in 2007. Source: eMarketer; December 2, 2009 Labels: Marketing Trends, Social Media, Social Networking 0 comments. Click here to post comments. Anonymity of Internet Brings Out Different Behaviors in PeopleA study from Euro RSCG Worldwide showed that people are more likely to behave more differently online than they would during face-to-face interactions. About 43% of respondents feel less inhibited online, according to research.With people displaying less inhibited behaviors, brand marketers need to remain aware of how brand messaging is being distributed over the Internet, as consumers can display positive and negative behaviors. A little over 30% of consumers feel more empowered over the Internet to do things they have been wanting to do. Approximately one-fifth of the survey's respondents had already negatively spoken out about or at a company and its brand.  However, it is important to realize the stigma associated with online social networking is disappearing. For example, 57.6% of respondents disagreed with the statement that "online socializing is for sad, antisocial types." Finally, 48.7% of Internet users also find online interaction more convenient than offline interaction. Despite these results, it is important to blend offline elements into a marketing campaign in order to alleviate any negativity consumers have exhibited about a brand via social media.  Source: eMarketer; November 30, 2009Labels: Internet Behavior, Social Media, Social Networking 0 comments. Click here to post comments. Becoming Friends With BrandsOnline brand interaction has proved to be powerful: at least 97% of consumers have been influenced to buy a product or service from a certain brand after an online experience.A Razorfish study discovered that connected consumers - people who visit a community site, engage digital media and spent at least $150 online - were somehow connected to brands. Approximately 40% of these consumers have "friended" brands on Facebook or MySpace. The primary reason for this was to receive special offers and discounts for a brand's product or service.  Effects of "friending" a brand on Facebook or MySpace included recommending the brand to others, raised awareness and actually purchasing the brand's product or service. Source: eMarketer; November 18, 2009Labels: Facebook, Social Media, Social Networking, Web 2.0 0 comments. Click here to post comments. Social Media Use on Mobile Devices Provides Opportunity for MarketersOne of the fastest-growing mobile Internet activities, social networking, proves to have great impact on mobile Internet usage.There will be an estimated 141.1 million mobile social network users worldwide by the end of 2009. That number is expected to skyrocket by 2014 to approximately 760.1 million, almost half of the mobile Internet user population.  According to a July 2009 report, Facebook is the top social network website users access on mobile Internet, with a 6.1% reach. MySpace, YouTube and Twitter take the second, third and fourth spots, respectively. Though the mobile and social media channels are still emerging, causing premature estimates, the impressive numbers and promising user base open up developing opportunities for marketers. Some marketers have prepared to incorporate these channels into their marketing mix strategies, although programs are small and in experimental stages.Source: eMarketer; November 12, 2009 Labels: Mobile Web, Online Media, Social Media, Social Networking, Web 2.0 0 comments. Click here to post comments. Younger Women Adapt to Social Media Easier than Older WomenA report entitled “Why Y Women?” by PopSugar and Radar Research indicates that Generation Y women are more likely to turn to their peers for brand information and product reviews, rather than experts and celebrities, unlike Generation X women.Forty-two-percent of Gen Y women discover brands and products through social networking and status update websites, compared to only 22% of Gen X women. Additionally, Gen Y women are more influenced by blogs written by professionals as well as people they can relate to. On the other end of the spectrum, Gen X women (66%) are most likely to hear about product and brand information through an online newspaper or magazine.  Furthermore, the report says that 69% of Gen Y women call friends or tell them in-person about new products and brands; however, it is interesting to note that they are more likely to use social media resources to spread information about new findings than Gen X. For example, 28% of Gen Y will use a social networking site to share information about brands and products they like, versus 15% of Gen X. Source: eMarketer; November 11, 2009Labels: Blogs, Social Media, Social Networking, Web 2.0 0 comments. Click here to post comments. Paid Social Networking Revenue Expected to IncreaseAccording to Piper Jaffray, paid social networking sites, such as LinkedIn, Classmates.com and MyLife.com, are doing well and are expected to increase in revenue by 2013.In 2008, paid social media accounted for approximately $502 million in revenue. That number is expected to increase by 25% at the end of 2009 to $627 million. Piper forecasts that number to more than double to $1.4 billion by 2013 as a result of a combination of new, paid services from existing social media networks and increased use of premium services on websites such as LinkedIn and Classmates.com.  Social media leaders predict the best way to monetize social media is to offer a "freemium" service; that is, offer users the ability to access basic features for free, but charge a fee for premium content. For example, LinkedIn allows users to post job experience and browse other profiles at no fee; however, they must pay for a premium account to maximize search results, better organize contacts and contact certain people. These findings also present an opportunity for free social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, to explore revenue streams for users willing to pay for such services. The eMarketer report suggests users are willing to pay for content on social media websites as long as they "cater to specific market niches as opposed to broader, mainstream audiences."Source: eMarketer, November 2, 2009 Labels: Social Media, Social Networking 0 comments. Click here to post comments. Facebook Snags Top Market Share, Yet Still Lags in Average Usage TimeIt comes as no surprise that Facebook is currently the dominating platform when it comes to social networking sites. With a hefty 194% increase in market share of visits compared to September 2008, Facebook has managed to not only steal the number one spot from Myspace, but also create a sizable gap between itself and the rest of the top social networking services.  Source: eMarketer, October 28, 2009 Labels: Facebook, Social Networking, Twitter 0 comments. Click here to post comments. What is your marketing priority for 2010?According to a recent study published by Unisfair, marketer's top priorities for 2010 include new customer acquisition and customer retention and engagement. Thought leadership was also seen by many as an important factor to focus on for the next year. Creating a community for consumers was at the bottom of most marketer's to-do lists, with only 31% believing this to be a crucial focal-point.   Source: eMarketer, September 21, 2009 Labels: Email Marketing, Facebook, Marketing Trends, SEO, Social Media, Social Networking 0 comments. Click here to post comments. Does Social Media Influence Your Travel Decisions?A recent study by Ad-ology Research found that over half of US Internet users have not used the Internet to research travel-related topics, preferring instead to do so offline and through other means. Not surprisingly, Airfare was the number one topic Internet users researched, followed close behind by hotel and motel rates and availability. Golf vacations were the topic least likely to be researched, with only 2.7% of respondents claiming that have ever searched for such info. Meanwhile, it seems that social media does not have a great effect on travel decisions. Only 23% of respondents claimed that they had been somewhat or significantly influenced by blogs, micro-blogs, forums, and social networks. However, companies have tended to have a high success rate with users who can in fact be influenced.  For example, both United Airlines and JetBlue have utilized Twitter to post cheap airfares, and have had significant success in influencing visitors to book a ticket over people who have not visited the micro-blogging service. Source: eMarketer, September 15, 2009 Labels: Blogs, E-commerce, Internet Behavior, Internet Statistics, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter 0 comments. Click here to post comments. 10 Levels of Intimacy in Today's CommunicationHow we communicate has recently been transformed by Web 2.0 and Social Media. Today, our lives are more connected on a global scale than ever… it truly has become a world economy.However, it is interesting to see how this technology, though making it significantly easier to interact with our peers, has also altered how intimate our interactions are with each other. The graphic below is a neat representation of the present most popular forms of communication. It ranges from 10 as the most intimate to 1 as the least intimate. Communication in the most intimate range involves visual or auditory interaction, whereas the least intimate forms lack this. The ranking in this graphic is definitely a matter of opinion and subjective in nature. Would you categorize these 10 levels in a different way?  Labels: Industry, Internet Statistics, Internet Usage, Marketing Trends, New Technology, Social Media, Social Networking 0 comments. Click here to post comments. Rise in Use of Social Networks by Older IndividualsThe overall usage of social networking sites in the US has increased by a total of 16% from Q2 2008 to Q2 2009. In addition, female users significantly outnumbered male users in Q2 2009, as nearly half admitted to visiting social networks. Younger users (<35) still hold the reigns as the top segment involved in online networking. However, the 35+ crowd managed to make significant gains in 2009, eating up a larger share of the overall market.  Usage patterns tend to trend towards vists of <1 time per week or 2-6 times per day, which poses an interesting yet important divide in frequency. It would be informative to correlate the type of user with frequency patterns in order to gain a more detailed overview of social network usage.  Though social networks have tended to contain a mostly younger crowd, it is important to take note that the number of older users adopting social media is only increasing. This has the potential to open up new opportunities for online marketers. Source: eMarketer, August 5, 2009 Labels: Internet Demographics, Internet Usage, Social Networking 0 comments. Click here to post comments. How Effective is Twitter as a Promotional Tool?As overall Twitter use continues to expand, so too has the interest of advertisers for using the service as a promotional tool. However, a discrepancy exists between consumers and advertisers over the effectiveness of Twitter as a medium for promoting products and services. While the majority of users seem to agree that Twitter is somewhat effective for promotions, it seems as if advertisers trend towards being more optimistic. In contrast, more consumers believe that the service is not effective for this purpose. These findings show that there might need to be broader consumer acceptance of Twitter before the service can be considered an effective marketing tool.Source: eMarketer, August 4, 2009 Labels: advertising tactics, Marketing Trends, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter 0 comments. Click here to post comments. Social Networks Popular with Gays & LesbiansA Harris Interactive poll from May 2009 shows that gay and lesbian Internet users were more likely to be social network members than heterosexuals. For example, 55% of them were on Facebook, versus 46% of heterosexuals - see more information in the graph below: Source: eMarketer, June 22, 2009Additionally, 55% of homosexual Internet users read blogs vs. 38% of hetersexuals from the same study. This Internet behavior is extremely helpful to advertisers for the types of messages they want to put out in the marketplace and where they will have the most return on their investment. Labels: Internet Behavior, Internet Statistics, Internet Usage, Social Media, Social Networking 0 comments. Click here to post comments. Women Who BlogStudies prove that women really do love social media. More than half of women internet users in the U.S. are interacting with social media in some way. Stats show this group not only reads blogs, but are publishing to them also. When putting together an online marketing campaign, it's obvious this demographic cannot be ignored!   Source: eMarketer, June 5, 2009 Labels: Internet Behavior, Internet Demographics, Internet Statistics, Social Media, Social Networking 0 comments. Click here to post comments. Small Businesses Get SocialStrength in numbers.It is not just big businesses that are communicating with customers using social media.   Source: eMarketer, June 4, 2009 Labels: Industry, Internet Behavior, Social Networking, Web 2.0 0 comments. Click here to post comments. How People Share Online VideoIn a world of continuous technological change, the concept of “new” can get old.  That scale of usage would mean online video in the US is now as big as network TV.   The most widely used platform for discovering and viewing video online was YouTube, followed by e-mail, music sites, Yahoo! and news sites. Source: eMarketer, May 28, 2009 Labels: Online Video, Social Networking, Web 2.0, YouTube 0 comments. Click here to post comments. The Problem with Social Media in the OfficeThere is some good news and bad news about workplace social media.   Source: eMarketer, May 27, 2009 Labels: Social Media, Social Networking, Web 2.0 0 comments. Click here to post comments. The Future of the Social Web: In Five Eras1) Era of Social Relationships: People connect to others and share2) Era of Social Functionality: Social networks become like operating system 3) Era of Social Colonization: Every experience can now be social 4) Era of Social Context: Personalized and accurate content 5) Era of Social Commerce: Communities define future products and services Click on images to enlarge.   Source: Web Strategy WebsiteLabels: Search Behavior, Social Media, Social Networking 0 comments. Click here to post comments. Beware the Twitter FlitterersTwitter is expected to double in 2009 with over 12 million users. However, out of those users, only 40% are sticking with it. According to eMarketer, hot new technologies are supposed to be the purview of young, hungry-for-new-gadget, early-adopter geeks. Twitter doesn’t fit the bill. 18-to-24-year-olds, the traditional social media early adopters, are not driving Twitter growth—25-to-54-year-olds are. Click on images to enlarge  Source: eMarketer, May 6 2009 Labels: Internet Demographics, Internet Future, Social Networking 0 comments. Click here to post comments. Teens on Social NetworksSocial networking is getting more and more popular with young people ages 12-17. By the time 2013 comes along, 79% of this demographic group will be online. Click on image to enlarge and see the growth throughout 2008-2013. And what are these younger people doing while on social network sites? 91% of them are keeping in touch with friends, while only 17% are there to flirt. Click on image to see how teens compare to adults in the social networking world. Source: eMarketer, April 16 2009Labels: Facebook, Internet Demographics, Internet Statistics, Social Networking 0 comments. Click here to post comments. What Are UK Women Doing Online?In 2008, 74% of UK women went online everyday (up 3% from the previous year). Online shopping for these women was also extremely popular last year- 97% of UK women research products online, while 92% actually buy products online. Even social networking is growing, with large increases between 2007 through 2008. Click on images below to see full break outs.   Source: eMarketer, April 7 2009Labels: E-commerce, Internet Behavior, Internet Demographics, Social Networking 0 comments. Click here to post comments. Marketers Moving to Social MediaMarketers are now changing their tune about social media sites. 63% of the companies surveyed planned to increase their social media marketing budget in 2009. Note: *vs.prior year,** North America (73%), Europe (17%), Asia-Pacific (9%) and South and Central America (1%)Social networking advertising spending worldwide is and will continue to grow throughout 2013.  Note: growth rates calculated based on unrounded figuresBelow is a chart showing tactics used by best-in-class companies worldwide. 39% established a method for engaging consumers in online conversation, while only 18% establish a method for driving brand advocacy/customer referrals.  Source: eMarketer, March 23 2009Labels: Advertising Spending, Social Media, Social Networking 0 comments. Click here to post comments. |
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