Acton says that successful lead generation and nurturing requires the ability to address different stages of the lead lifescyle based on “unique wants, needs and situations of each prospect.”
Archive for the ‘infographic’ Category
Successful lead generation requires addressing needs (infographic)
Friday, April 20th, 2012The state of IT security: not comforting (infographic)
Thursday, April 19th, 2012
Verizon, which has been tracking data breeches in the U.S. since 2004 says that they recorded the second highest number of records lost in 2011 in a total of 855 incidents, not a few of them highly public.
How do they occur and what common features do they have?
This infographic from Background Check on the state of IT security outlines how and where they occur and how much they cost, among other factors:
Compiled by: Background Check Guide
How mobile games resulted in big business (infographic)
Thursday, April 19th, 2012
If you own a mobile device, whether it is a smartphone, tablet, notebook or laptop, we bet you’ve played one or more mobile games.
They can be compelling. From slingshotting Angry Birds at laughing pigs, blasting away at tanks or bad guys, or trying to dunk a paper wad in an trash can, they’re great time-killers and may even have some beneficial effects on hand-eye-coordination and concentration.
Here’s an infographic from BusinessDegree.com that takes a look at how these little games became such big business:
Created by: BusinessDegree.net
Tech travel: from train to tweets (infographic)
Monday, April 16th, 2012
A Japanese bullet train, only one aspect of tech and travel.
On my last Amtrak train ride, I worked via the train’s wireless network for the entire three hour trip. GPS devices have replaced paper maps for many people.
Nearly all of us use the Internet to research and book travel these days. And one of the annoyances of flying is the need to turn-off electronic devices for take-offs and landings.
This infographic takes you on a trip from train to tweets in 171 years.
Where did you (or will you) lose that smartphone? (infographic)
Monday, April 16th, 2012
Have you ever lost your smartphone? So many people have that the losses ring up a staggeringly large figure.
This infographic, co-created by by Lookout, a growing service that aids mobile customers in finding their lost smartphones.
The company says the value of the phones that are projected to be lost in 2012 is an astounding: $30 billion.
More information on the statistics of the lost phones can be found on the infographic below and atbackgroundcheck.org.
Mothers are more engaged with social media than other women (infographic)
Friday, April 13th, 2012
A study of nearly 3,000 active U.S. social networkers by Performics shows that mothers are more versatile, present, active and engaged users of social networking sites, compared to other women.
According to the study, mothers are approximately 61% more likely than other women to own a smartphone.
They are also more likely to be active on social networking sites; for example, they are 16% more likely to visit Facebook daily and 46% more likely to visit Google + daily. Additionally, they are 75% more likely than other women to trust information they receive from companies through social networking sites.
“Moms continue to take advantage of the little spare time they have by utilizing all the tools at their disposal. This includes their mobile devices and social networks,” notes Daina Middleton, Global CEO of Performics.
“Increasingly, as a segment of the social networking population, moms perception is their voice can be leveraged to influence, participate with, and promote brands.”
The study shows that moms, more so than non-moms and the general public, trust brands on social sites and often look to that interaction as the primary point of contact. Given that mom bloggers, a sub category, control more than two trillion dollarsworth of purchase power, this is a significant finding.
For example, they are 45% more likely to make a purchase as a result of a recommendation on a social networking site than other women. In fact, the top industries most affected by this behavior include:
- Apparel: Moms are 54% more likely to make an apparel purchase
- Automobile: Moms are 64% more likely to make an automobile purchase
- Travel: Moms are 46% more likely to make a travel purchase
The data also shows that moms actively champion their favorite companies and brands on social media. These “mombassadors” are more likely than other women to:
- Recommend companies/brands via social sites (34%)
- Discuss companies/brands on social sites after seeing an ad elsewhere (48%)
- Talk about companies/brands they follow on Facebook (24%)
- Link to a company/brand ad (23%)
- Post a company/brand ad (53%)
- Post interesting or relevant content about a company/brand (50%)
“Brands have an opportunity to motivate moms to participate through their social media properties,” adds Middleton. “In this age of participation, moms expect a constructive, two-way relationship. To stay current, build loyalty and, in many cases, drive sales, brands must provide that meaningful connection with their customers.”
SNet Social Media Moms Infographic April 2012
View more presentations from Performics
SOPA’s evil twin – CISPA violates 4th Amendment rights (infographic)
Friday, April 13th, 2012
Now that the U.S. Congress has shelved the much derided SOPA bill, it is now considering what some critics believe is even worse, the CISPA act.
Here’s an infographic from one critic, Lumin Interactive (www.Luminconsulting.com), which maintains that CISPA is a violation of our Fourth Amendment rights.
What do you think? Let us know.
Infographic designed by Lumin Consulting
Will Apple revolutionize the textbook market? (infographic)
Monday, April 9th, 2012
Digital textbooks accounted for only 3 percent of the market in 2011, despite years of predictions that e-textbooks would replace the heavy, expensive tomes most students carry around.
But Apple’s free iBooks 2 delivered more than 350,000 e-textbooks to users in its first three days.
So, asks WorldWideLearn, can Apple tip the scales in favor of e-textbooks? It created this infographic on how Apple’s iBooks may change how students learn:
Courtesy of: WorldWideLearn.com
Industry, government efforts cause sustained drop in spam
Wednesday, April 4th, 2012
Industry and government efforts have dealt a significant blow to spam, Commtouch® (Nasdaq: CTCH) reported today in its April 2012 Internet Threats Trend Report.
The report is compiled based on a comprehensive analysis of more than 10 billion transactions handled by Commtouch’s GlobalView™ Cloud on a daily basis.
This time last year, spam levels were around the 150 billion mark daily, just before the takedown of the Rustock botnet. Spam levels dropped immediately after that takedown and have continued to decrease ever since. In the first quarter of 2012, an average of 94 billion spam emails were sent per day.
Many factors at work
“The sustained decrease in spam over the last year can be attributed to many factors, including: botnet takedowns, increased prosecution of spammers and the source industries such as fake pharmaceuticals and replicas,” said Amir Lev, Commtouch’s chief technology officer.
“However, spam is still four times the level of legitimate email and cybercriminals are increasing their revenues from other avenues, such as banking fraud malware.”
Specific social engineering campaigns of note this quarter focused on the U.S. tax season, targeting both consumers and members of the accounting profession.
Facebook remains a popular outlet, with a social engineering campaign featuring “an unwatchable video.”
Commtouch’s GlobalView Cloud has unique threat intelligence collection and analysis capabilities that form the basis for the data in the report, as well as Commtouch’s email security, Web filtering and antivirus solutions.
This threat intelligence is supplemented with information from numerous Commtouch Security Alliance partners.
Additional data from the trend report:
Pornographic websites were the category most likely to contain malware
Pharmaceuticals and replicas were the most popular spam topics in Q1
India keeps its title as the country with the most zombies – 19.2 % of all zombies worldwide
270,000 zombies were activated daily for malicious purposes
More details, including an infographic, and a brief presentation summarizing the trend report, are available at: http://www.commtouch.com/threat-report-april-2012.
Small business owners: too many hats, too little time (infographic)
Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012What’s the biggest challenge facing many small business owners today? Performing multiple roles within the organization, according to a new survey conducted by eVoice, a virtual phone number service offered by j2 Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:JCOM) that enables small business professionals to work more efficiently when managing multiple tasks and roles. Not having enough time in the day to get things done came in as a close second – outweighing making a profit, staying ahead of competition, and managing employees.
The survey results underscore the need for a successful entrepreneur to use the right tools and master the art of multitasking and wearing multiple hats – including acting in demanding roles such as office receptionist and sales manager, in addition to business owner and visionary – all in the same day.
Other interesting findings from the survey include:
- Approximately two in five (38 percent) of small business owners say that their time is the most valuable asset for their business. Their computer was the second most valuable asset (36 percent).
- One in four small business owners will pay more than $500 for one extra hour in their work day.
- “Keep up with technology changes” (30 percent) is the most challenging IT issue facing respondents, beating out “No IT support” (16 percent) and “Being more mobile” (15 percent).
- Almost half of respondents (45 percent) plan to move more business services to the cloud in 2012 with online backup and data storage (59 percent), email marketing (35 percent), CRM (28 percent), and customer service (26 percent) being the most likely business functions making the move.
- Nearly three-quarters of respondents (71 percent) say they have become more mobile over the past two years.
“As a small business owner it is easy to get overwhelmed with a handful of critical activities,” says Robin Feltner, Supernatural Botanicals CEO and founder. “With the eVoice service I get a virtual assistant. eVoice screens my calls, takes notes for me, transcribes my voicemail and routes vendors and customers to different messages. Not only do I save money, but so much valuable time.”
Healthcare mobile app market growing rapidly
Monday, April 2nd, 2012
According to a newly released infographic by healthcare solutions company Healthx, the rising trend in mobile healthcare apps is here to stay.
Healthx, which recently released its own mobile app to help healthcare payers connect with members, found that mobile apps in general have been downloaded almost 11 billion times since their introduction to the market.
Specifically, the healthcare app market is gaining particular speed, with experts forecasting 142 million downloads by 2016.
The proliferation of healthcare apps can be credited to the way smart phone usage has skyrocketed in recent years. Last year, for the very first time, smartphone and tablet shipments to the U.S. exceeded those of desktop and notebook shipments. Furthermore, almost 75 million Americans reported owning a smartphone last year.
Revolution in how people consume healthcare info
This technology shift has, in turn, revolutionized the way people consume healthcare information. Remote patient monitoring services using mobile networks is expected to become a nearly $2 billion market by 2014.
Experts also predict mobile will become the most popular way of accessing the internet by that same year. Such statistics generate a promising atmosphere for upcoming changes in the U.S. care management model, including Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) and Patient Centered Medical Homes (PCMH).
Startup Companies hiring for technical & sales jobs (infographic)
Thursday, March 29th, 2012With most of the country still sluggish on job creation, startups face the opposite problem — a glut of open technical jobs.
According to data disclosed in a new infographic released by StartUpHire, the largest online database of jobs at startup companies, with support from the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), engineering and other technical jobs account for more than 36 percent of all open jobs at startups, but less than 15 percent of candidates are applying for these positions.
Software engineers had the largest number of open jobs last year with more than 42,000 jobs posted. Sales jobs were the only other position where applicants trailed openings.
This is where the job growth is
“To get our economy moving, we have to both develop and attract qualified talent to these young companies,” said Steve Roberson, CEO of StartUpHire. “The startup economy is our country’s best kept secret. This is the where the job growth is, and the industry needs to raise awareness about the opportunities that exist in order to help young companies capitalize on their tremendous promise.”
Data from StartUpHire’s more than 14,000 open jobs and 100,000 registered job seekers also show an increase in startup job posts by more than 23 percent over the last year with more than one-quarter of applicants having prior startup experience. Executive level postings on the database are rising steadily as companies increasingly use StartUpHire for all levels of recruiting. More than 500 executive level positions were posted in 2011.
“The venture community invests heavily both in time and dollars in the growth of technical talent which helps companies grow and succeed,” said NVCA president Mark Heesen. “However, this data clearly shows that there is a significant amount of untapped potential in our workforce. We need to leverage this talent so that our nation’s entrepreneurial community can reach its full potential with the right teams in place.”
On the opposite end of the spectrum, administration, finance, operations and HR positions make up roughly 9 percent of the job openings but those areas represent 30 percent of the applicants. Marketing is close behind with almost 10 percent of the jobs getting roughly 13 percent of the applicants. The top states with open startup positions are California, Massachusetts, New York and Texas. Eighteen states had job growth increases of more than 100 percent in the last year.
Stay safe: social media security basics (infographic)
Thursday, March 29th, 2012Veracode Inc., which sells cloud-based application security testing, has created an infographic on Social Media Basics.
This infographic examines various types of targeted attacks and focuses on malware’s history of infecting Twitter and Facebook.
To minimize risks, the image summarizes advice such as being aware of trending topics as a popular lure, protecting passwords and being wary of Facebook spam. In a related webinar, Veracode addresses the ubiquity of social media applications and the challenges facing enterprise infosecurity organizations in how they manage usage across the workforce. The webinar is available on-demand athttp://veracode.com/social-media-security.
“This infographic reinforces that enterprises must balance the allure of social media with risks for viruses and attacks,” said Connie Stack, vice president of corporate marketing, Veracode. “While it may not be realistic to have your workforce avoid all forms of social media, it’s important to educate employees on social media safety and best practices to reduce a company’s risk from costly losses and data theft.”
Evolution of gamification, from Monopoly boards to Facebook (infographic)
Wednesday, March 28th, 2012Identified.com, the fastest-growing professional network for young people (according to AppData MAU), has created infographic on the evolution of gaming and the power of combining social networking with gamification to encourage those aged 18-29 to share professional information.
Gaming technique is helping young people manage their career presence online in a way that resonates with the “Facebook generation,” the company says.
Identified provides a score – based on job qualifications – for participants to easily see how they are ranked by companies. Identified also scores schools and companies.
The gamification technique encourages people to input college major, job title and years of work experience that recruiters seek in job candidates. As people add information and progress in their careers, they gain points to increase their Identified Score.
However, these are not the vanity points typical of other “game” centered apps that award users with badges and avatars. The points represent the value of key information currently in demand by employers that helps young students and professionals plan their careers.
Identified allows people to import their Facebook network and information, and “professionalize it” so they have an active, up-to-date professional profile available to recruiters without having to tailor their existing Facebook Timeline page for job searches, or recreate their friend network.
Identified is part of a growing number of companies using games to empower consumers in areas ranging from dating to fitness, energy use and to healthcare.
Identified was conceived as a research initiative at Stanford University’s MBA and Engineer programs by Brendan Wallace andAdeyemi Ajao and grew virally across campus, signing up 80 percent of the university in just one week. Subsequently, Identified raised $5.5 million from Draper Fisher Jurvetson’s Tim Draper, Bill Draper - and others. To find out your Identified Score, visit www.identified.com.
Here’s the infographic:
Why and how consumers connect with brands digitally (infographic)
Wednesday, March 28th, 2012The reasons that consumers “Like” businesses and nonprofits on Facebook and subscribe to their mailing lists are very similar, according to a new study conducted by Constant Contact Inc. (NASDAQ: CTCT) and research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey.
The study, which details the reasons why and how consumers “Like” pages on Facebook and subscribe to email lists, also revealed that consumers are more likely to opt in to receive communications from local businesses than national businesses in email and on Facebook.
“The parallels between email and social media marketing are strong because both are forms of permission marketing”
“The parallels between email and social media marketing are strong because both are forms of permission marketing,” said Mark Schmulen, general manager of social media, Constant Contact.
“Whether someone ‘Likes’ your page or ‘Opts-in’ to your newsletter, they are effectively giving you permission to communicate; one happens to be in the newsfeed and the other, in the inbox. This study reveals the similarities behind ‘liking’ and subscribing as well as ‘unliking’ and unsubscribing.
Small businesses have an edge
“The main reasons people unlike or unsubscribe have to do with relevancy and frequency. Content isn’t king. Relevant content is king. Effective marketing is about earning your audience’s permission and delivering relevant and actionable content without being overly intrusive. This data shows the importance of not just producing great, engaging content, but following best practices and finding the right balance between over-doing it and not communicating enough.”
“While consumers decide to opt out of email and Facebook communications for very similar reasons, they also decide to opt in for similar reasons: to receive discounts and special offers,” said Kristen Garvey, vice president of marketing, Chadwick Martin Bailey.
Consumers want great offers
“Consumers want great offers, and this is good news for marketers. Regardless of whether it comes through email or on Facebook, a great offer can be a front door to new business, and a really good opportunity to begin to build a long-term relationship with new customers.”
“Small businesses clearly have the edge over larger organizations. By comparison, small business owners excel at customer experience and building lasting relationships. That personal touch translates exceptionally well through engagement marketing practices, including both email and social media,” said Schmulen.
“Relationships are the cornerstone of any business, and they are one of the top reasons that emails get opened. Additionally, a quarter of respondents indicated that they prefer to opt in to local businesses via email and Facebook over national businesses because of the personal relationships that they have with the organization.”
This infographic summarizes the study findings:
Resources
- Read and download the full report at: http://conta.cc/GKHRsD
Will the new iPad let you streamline your digital life? (infographic)
Tuesday, March 27th, 2012
While I’m no Apple fan boy, I have been considering getting the new iPad for its high resolution Retina display and its dictation feature.
Some people seem to think they could get along without some of their other digital equipment once they have the new iPad. I’m not one of them. I certainly wouldn’t give a good digital camera to take photos and videos solely with a nearly 10-inch tablet device, even if the cameras on the device are decent.
I’m hoping that the dictation feature will make doing some actual work on the device easier, because virtual keyboards don’t cut it for me when I have to write a blog post or anything much longer than a password or light texting.
I’m also a bit concerned about how easily the device breaks when dropped from waist height (The LA Times did this good piece listing the gripes already coming in about the device, such as its hot running temperature when used intensively and the breakage problem). Still, the dictation feature and Retina screen alone make it appealing to me, and I feel that I should use at least one Apple device regularly, since I have to write about them so often.
Here’s an infographic more on the positive side, suggesting that some users, at least, may be able to subsidize buying the new iPad by unloading dedicated devices and even a laptop or PC. –Allan Maurer
Rapid smartphone, tablet adoptions boosting Google’s ad dollars
Monday, March 26th, 2012The rapid adoption of smart mobile devices, such as the iPhone and the iPad, is changing how consumers interact with search engines, and advertisers are paying attention.
According to a report released today by Marin Software, an online advertising management platform for advertisers and agencies, smartphones and tablets will account for 25% of Google’s U.S. paid search clicks by December 2012, up from 5% in January 2011.
A comparison of click through rates show that consumers are far more likely to engage with search engine ads on smart mobile devices compared to desktop computers.
The popularity of these mobile devices coupled with their ad performance will result in a surge of new ad dollars for Google in 2012.
The rapid adoption of smart mobile devices, such as the iPhone and the iPad, is changing how consumers interact with search engines, and advertisers are paying attention. According to a report released today by Marin Software, the leading online advertising management platform for advertisers and agencies, smartphones and tablets will account for 25% of Google’s U.S. paid search clicks by December 2012, up from 5% in January 2011. A comparison of click through rates show that consumers are far more likely to engage with search engine ads on smart mobile devices compared to desktop computers.
The popularity of these mobile devices coupled with their ad performance will result in a surge of new ad dollars for Google in 2012.
Findings in the report:
- In 2011, paid search clicks from mobile devices on Google increased 132% from January to December. By December 2012, Marin Software projects smart mobile devices will generate 25% of all paid-search clicks on Google as a result of the explosive adoption of smartphones and tablets.
- Consumers are much more engaged with search ads on smartphones and tablets as opposed to desktops, as evidenced by click through rates that are respectively 72% and 31% higher.
- Search ads on smart mobile devices also have lower costs-per-click than desktop ads. This difference, in cost coupled with higher click-through rates on mobile, creates favorable performance conditions for advertisers and increased demand for mobile ads.
- As a result of these trends, Marin Software estimates large advertisers will more than double their mobile search budgets in 2012, helping Google’s mobile search business grow between 4 and 8 times faster than their desktop business.
- Marin Software’s report, “The State of Mobile Search Advertising in the U.S.,” outlines the key trends, projections and optimization strategies for advertisers seeking to get the most from their mobile paid-search campaigns. The full report can be downloaded at:marinsoftware.com/resources/whitepapers/2012-mobile-advertising-report.
Facebook Timeline fan page tutorial (infographic)
Friday, March 23rd, 2012Facebook loves forcing changes on its users whether they like them or not. The Facebook Timeline is apparently here to stay, despite the fact that many users hate it.
But for marketers or others, learning to use the new Timeline feature is important. Timothy Brand created this infographic over at socialmagnets as a tutorial on how to make Timeline fan pages.
Apple will lose its tablet dominance by 2016
Wednesday, March 21st, 2012
Apple iPads
Tablets are still gaining traction in the mobile device market, with Apple selling a record 3 million new iPads within days of its launch. Amazon’s Kindle Fire is the online retail giant’s best seller, and a host of new tablet devices are slated for release this year.
While Apple currently dominates the tablet market – we’re about to buy one of the new iPads – it will lose its dominance to Android devices by 2016, according to forecasts by IDC.
Here’s a chart from Statista showing the incredible growth of the tablet market:
Can Pinterest posts heat up your brand? (Infographic)
Monday, March 19th, 2012
If your brand fits certain niches food, style/fashion, arts and crafts or anything else that lends itself to photographic or graphic representation, you may find posting on Pinterest boosts your marketing efforts.
One food photographer we know saw her posts start grabbing hits days after she began posting.
Personally, we’ve had some problems getting Pinterest to work on our machines and email to them has gone unanswered, so the startup hasn’t worked out all its bugs yet and customer service leaves something to be desired.
Currently Pinterest has a largely female audience, but that may be changing.
Here’s an infographic from Maxymiser on how the site can heat up your brand:
