Archive for the ‘social media’ Category
Monday, March 25th, 2013
 Now there is proof that customers who engage with a business through social media contribute more to the bottom line than customers who do not, said Ashish Kumar, assistant professor of marketing at Aalto University.
“Our study showed that social media activities help strengthen the bond between the customer and the firm. Participating customers on a firm’s social media site contribute 5.6% more revenue and visit the business about 5% more than non-participating customers,” he explains.
In the past there was no individual-level data that connected a customer’s participation in a firm-hosted social media site and their actual purchase behaviors.
Overall sales promoted
Companies questioned whether there was any return on their investment of resources to operate their social media site.
This study proves that building online communities, personalizing messages and encouraging contributions from online members enhances the customer experience as well as increases the frequency of social media visits and promotes sales overall. Such data is important to confirm the pay-offs of social media efforts by firms.
The research showed that the keys to success include maintaining a user-friendly site, sending regular updates about events, personalizing key messages to customers and encouraging interaction from them.
Not all customers respond equally
By fostering an online relationship, customers can be segmented depending upon their purchase history and prior interactions to determine which customers would be best to target with this marketing effort. It is important to note that not all customers respond to social media efforts equally. This makes market segmentation essential.
As a result of this study, business managers now have a better understanding of the return on their investment in social media.
They also now know there is a direct correlation between social media participation and the number of items a customer puts in their shopping basket and subsequently purchases.
By capitalizing on this knowledge, marketing can be focused on creating and nurturing the social media communities that generate the most profits.
This study has been published in a special issue of the journal Information Systems Research on ‘Social Media and Business Transformation’. This study was conducted by Ashish Kumar from Aalto University in collaboration with Rishika Rishika and Ramkumar Janakiraman from Texas A&M University, and Ram Bezawada from the University at Buffalo, New York.
Tags: Buffalo University, Marketing, online communities, social media, Social network ROI, Texas A&M
Posted in Marketing, social media, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Thursday, March 14th, 2013
 Google has awarded a multi-year grant to Polytechnic Institute of New York University’s (NYU-Poly) Oded Nov to further his study of the role of design in shaping online behavior.
Nov, an assistant professor in the Department of Technology Management and Innovation, has long focused on social media, and the behavioral aspects of information systems. Working with Mor Naaman of the Rutgers University School of Communication and Information, he will embark on an ambitious new two-year project to examine the factors that impact users’ interactions with and contributions to social media.
“In particular, we will focus on the impact of social traces created by users’ feedback and inputs – the social cues about the attributes of the users, their opinions and the community they form,” Nov said. “As in the physical world, your behavior online changes depending on the others around you.”
While in no way connected, this comes on the heels of Facebook reporting that your “likes” on the site reveal much about you – possibly your I.Q., sexual and political persuasion, and even drug use. It’s becoming increasingly apparent that social media’s interactive nature affects much as other communities we may belong to in the real world.
We’ll be interested to see if this study addresses how the apparently never-ending design changes on Facebook, Google+ and other social networks affects their use (other than sparking cries of protest).
Google bestows the Focused Research Award, as the unrestricted grant is known, upon scientists working in areas of key interest to the company as well as to the broader research community.
Tags: design, facebook, Google, NYU-Poly, Rutgers, social media, social traces
Posted in Facebook, Google, Internet/New Media, social media, University Tech | No Comments »
Thursday, March 14th, 2013
 Digital marketing spending averages 2.5 percent of company revenue, and these budgets are expected to increase 9 percent in 2013, according to a survey of U.S. marketing executives by Gartner Inc. The survey found that, on average, companies spent 10.4 percent of their annual 2012 revenue on overall marketing activities; these expenses include salaries, advertising research, agencies and software as a service.
These findings are included in Gartner’s U.S. Digital Marketing Spending report that is based on a survey of more than 250 marketers from U.S.-based companies with more than $500 million in annual revenue, across six industries (financial services and insurance, high-tech, manufacturing, media, retail and healthcare).
The survey was conducted in November and December of 2012. The report examines how marketers are allocating their budgets, what activities are contributing to marketing success and other factors.
Scope of digital marketing on the upswing
“While digital marketing has been a growing area of investment in many organizations for a decade, the scope is increasing and the techniques are maturing,” said Yvonne Genovese, managing vice president of Gartner for Marketing Leaders. “However, increased funding is a double-edged sword as it brings new opportunities, but it also puts more pressure on marketers to measure and attribute investments to revenue and profit growth.”
The majority of survey respondents are spending between 10 percent and 50 percent of their marketing budget on digital marketing activities, with the average at 25 percent.
“Digital advertising accounts for the largest share of digital marketing budgets at 12.5 percent, while content creation and management account for the second-largest share,” said Laura McLellan, research vice president at Gartner.
Content marketing emphasized
 “Marketers today are emphasizing the use of content marketing as part of a shift to drive more inbound marketing. While outbound marketing emphasizes finding audiences and delivering messages to them (for example, digital advertising and email marketing), inbound marketing focuses on techniques to get found by potential customers and create an ongoing dialogue with them (for example, social marketing and communities).”
Improving commerce experiences is the activity that will get the largest budget increase in 2013. The focus on commerce experiences will be in improving the ability to find the commerce site and the shopping experience.
It will also include strategies to embed commerce in digital marketing channels such as search, social and mobile.
Reinvesting savings
When asked to identify how they are funding their digital marketing activities, two in five marketers said they realized savings from digital marketing compared with traditional techniques, and they are taking that money and reinvesting it into their programs. On average, 28 percent of marketers say they have reduced their traditional advertising budget to fund digital marketing activities.
The corporate website and digital advertising were both ranked as the top digital marketing activities for marketing’s success, while social marketing emerged as the next most important activity.
“The survey results suggest that the corporate website will not be displaced anytime soon by a brand’s social media presence,” said Bill Gassman, research director at Gartner. “That’s all the more reason for marketing leaders to continuously invest in measuring and optimizing their websites through Web analytics and testing, paying attention to all aspects — from customized landing pages to compelling content that encourages visitors to be engaged with your brand.”
Additional information is available in the report “Key Findings from U.S. Digital Marketing Spending Survey, 2013.” The report is available on Gartner’s website athttp://www.gartner.com/digitalmarketing.
Tags: advertising, budgets, Corporate website, digital marketing, ROI, social media
Posted in Internet/New Media, Marketing, social media | No Comments »
Monday, March 11th, 2013
 LinkedIn is no longer just for older established pros and younger professionals should be taking advantage of it, says the marketing agency fishbat.
According to the The Wall Street Journal, LinkedIn’s page views for the recent quarter rose 67 percent compared to a year earlier, which was “the company’s highest growth rate in 2012. Data from comScore shows that LinkedIn has bounced between 40 million and 43 million U.S. unique visitors since August.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that “LinkedIn released several content-related products last year, such as an updated home page and news feed and a new publishing platform for “influencers” like Virgin Group’s Richard Branson, all geared toward keeping users on its site.
LinkedIn said it has rolled out more significant changes to its site in the last two quarters than the six previous quarters combined.”
The new classified section of social media
If you’re already on LinkedIn, you no doubt noticed the new endorsement feature, which lets people endorse the skills of others in their network. Personally, we’ve seen significant activity with that feature.
It’s also extremely useful for contacting almost anyone in a given industry if you’re a paying member and for gleaming basic information about people and companies, even if you aren’t.
“LinkedIn is the new classified section of social media,” comments fishbat CFO John Monderine. “LinkedIn used to be for professionals looking to network. Now, more college graduates are signing up to gain networking experience. LinkedIn’s not just for old people anymore.”
LinkedIn revenues exceeded expectations
The Wall Street Journal reports that LinkedIn has reported revenues that exceeded expectations for seven consecutive quarters, “with an 81% revenue increase to $303.6 million.”
According to the article, the company’s revenue growth is still surpassing that of other industry giants like Facebook, Zynga and Groupon – all of whose shares “tanked after their rocky stock-market debuts,” while LinkedIn stock is “still soaring, closing at an all-time high of $168.55.”
“I see LinkedIn keeping a steady growth over the next few years,” adds Monderine. “LinkedIn is a professional hunting ground for talented professionals hot out of college. There is no recruiting site or headhunter more qualified than LinkedIn.”
fishbat, Inc. is a full service online marketing firm.
Tags: features, LinkedIn, page views, revenue, Wall Street Journal
Posted in Internet/New Media, LinkedIn, social media | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 26th, 2013
 Websites are second only to word-of-mouth in bolstering or eroding brand affinity, but social media appear to have only a minimal effect, according to Kentico Software’s Customer Experience Survey.
Not surprisingly, word of mouth (28%), company websites (25%) and in-store experience (18%) weighed most heavily on strengthening or eroding brand affinity.
But given the growing reliance on digital communications, it was notable that only 7% of respondents felt their brand experience was affected via such social networks as Facebook or Twitter.
Social Media: All Bark and No Bite?
The smaller than expected role of social media was consistent across other aspects of brand interaction, including communications, where an overwhelming 48% of those surveyed prefer email over any other form of communication, including phone (19%), website (18%), in-person (13%), chat (2%), texting (0%), and social networking sites (0%).
However, customer comfort levels with the digital experience overall is high, with 56% most likely to be at their computer and 10% on a mobile device when communicating with or buying from a company. Only 24% are more likely to interact in person with businesses in stores or via the phone (10%).
Personalized Experiences vs. Privacy
Striking a new chord on the issue of privacy in the digital era, 69% of those surveyed expressed an overwhelming eagerness in allowing the collection of their personal data in exchange for more customized service.
This includes the ability and willingness of a company to own up to and right a mistake, with 97% ready to forgive poor service as long as the company quickly corrects the problem with an explanation, apology, credit or other response.
In terms of preventing mistakes in the first place, businesses are advised not to keep the customer waiting, with 45% naming wait times in the store, on the phone or online as their biggest customer complaint. 32% said they were most put off by unhelpful company reps.
 Other recipes for bad experiences include: inferior websites (9%), too much email (9%), untargeted promotions (4%), and unresponsiveness on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks (1%).
Optimize the digital experience
“Our new Kentico Customer Experience Survey shows businesses need to use the tools that are available to them in order to optimize the digital experience for customers, including the delivery of helpful websites, responsive service, and personalized interactions,” said Kentico CEO and Founder Petr Palas .
“While seemingly small in comparison to other modes of interaction, from what we’re seeing, I believe social media’s role in helping to shape brand affinity will grow dramatically as more businesses and customers embrace social platforms to create and maintain long-lasting relationships.”
The Kentico Customer Experience Survey was conducted online with participants from the US and UK.
Tags: Kentico, Marketing, social media, websites
Posted in Internet/New Media, Marketing, social media, Studies, surveys, reports | 1 Comment »
Monday, February 25th, 2013
 Which CEO wields the most social media influence? It’s not Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, investor Warren Buffett, or any of a number of other names you might think of. Mark Zuckerberg isn’t even one of the top 50 most influential CEOs on social media, according to the Reuters & Klout 50.
How about Warren Buffett, the third wealthiest person in the world? Well, he’s sent only one tweet, so his social media impact is, well, lacking. The person leading the Reuters & Klout 50 is the former queen of daytime TV, Oprah Winfrey.
A number of tech honchos do appear high on the list, though, including, Mark Cuban, Jack Dorsey, Steve Case, all in the top ten.
Here’s an infographic from www.topmanagementdegrees.com showing who really dominates social media:
Source: TopManagementDegrees.com
Tags: CEOs, Dennis Crowley, Dick Costolo, Esther Dyson, influence, Jack Dorsey, Jonah Peretti, Kevin Rose, Mark Benioff, Mark Cuban, Oprah Winfrey, Richard Branson, Rubert Murdoch, social media, Steve Case, Steve Forbes, Tim O'Reilly
Posted in infographic, Internet/New Media, social media, Studies, surveys, reports, Twitter | No Comments »
Friday, February 22nd, 2013
 All earned media is not created equal. A new report from House Party Inc., a social marketing platform, demonstrates why brands need to make room in their marketing mix for experience-driven social, the most powerful driver of earned media.
The report, “All Earned Media is Not Created Equal: Experience-Driven Social Marketing — Deeper Engagement, for Stronger Advocacy and Bigger Lifts,” can be downloaded for free at about.houseparty.com/allearnednotequal.
While most marketers know by now that earned is the most powerful media and have programs in place to drive it, many don’t yet realize that experience-driven social marketing generates the most powerful earned.
Build the brand and drive sales
In fact, it can have the power and reach to both build brands and drive sales as well as, or better than, all other channels.
Citing research from Nielsen, ChatThreads and Keller Fay, and detailing results from eight years of House Party campaigns, the report looks at what happens when products are put into the homes and social networks of prescreened brand advocates, as well as the bigger and longer lasting brand and sales lifts that result when those advocates spread their enthusiasm to millions — online and off.
“It’s widely accepted by now that there’s no better ad than a consumer recommendation,” said House Party CEO Chris Maher.
In-person brand experience most persuasive
“What this report shows is that those recommendations are both much more persuasive and much greater in number when they’re driven by an in-person brand experience. The proof is in the unmatched brand and sales lifts we’ve consistently generated in eight years of perfecting experience-driven social marketing for our clients.”
According to Brad Fay, COO of leading word-of-mouth research consultancy, Keller Fay Group, “Seven years of research by Keller Fay Group shows that word of mouth based on real product experience is more credible, more viral, and leads to higher purchase intent.”
JWT Atlanta’s Associate Director of Digital Strategy, Sunni Thompson, said, “As we invent and develop new types of engagement for our clients, creating deep and lasting connections between consumers and brands is at the forefront of all we do.”
“One of the most effective ways to truly develop brand engagement is through real-world experiences. Consumers that become excited about an organization through direct interaction with the brand offline are far more likely to serve as evangelists online, bringing the paid media efforts full circle.”
Key findings from the report include:
Experience-driven social generates bigger lifts in branding and sales:
- Bigger brand lifts. Compared with, say, the typical 0% to 30% brand lifts of digital display campaigns, experience-driven social can average favorability lifts of 155%, advocacy-intent lifts of 196%, and purchase-intent lifts of 183%.
- Lifts that last longer. Six months after a campaign, consumers reached can still be well over 100% more familiar with the product; 60% more favorable; and over 500% more intending to recommend.
- Lifts in “marketing receptivity.” Experience-driven social can get an average of 69% of those reached taking more notice of the brand’s other marketing.
- Bigger sales lifts and ROI. Experience-driven social campaigns can average sales lifts of over 10% and ROI of $4 in gross revenue, and $2 in gross profit.
- Bonus assets. Experience-driven social produces valuable assets — mountains of user-generated content, tens of thousands of opted-in advocates, deep consumer insights, and more, raising the already high ROI.
Experience-driven social can have mass reach:
Engaging 5,000 advocates can reach an average of 8 million people, as many or more than are reached by a Top 10 cable show, consumer site, or magazine.
- Reach that keeps growing. Engaging 5,000 advocates can drive an average of one million recommendations a month — at six months after the campaign.
Tags: build brands, deeper engagement, drive sales, earned media, experience driven, House Party, Marketing
Posted in Internet/New Media, Marketing, social media, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Friday, February 22nd, 2013
 One-third (34%) of affluent investors are using social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and company blogs specifically for personal finance and investing (PF&I) purposes.
While most investors continue to rely on a variety of resources for investment information, nearly 70% have reallocated investments, or began or altered relationships with investment providers based on content found through social media, thus reflecting the importance of a strong social media strategy for asset managers and distributors.
These and other findings are included in a new report, Social Media’s Impact on Personal Finance and Investing, recently released by Cogent Research. The report is based on a nationally representative survey of over 4,000 investors with more than $100,000 in investable assets.
Investors using social media for research
Investors who use social media for PF&I purposes are using various platforms to form first impressions about providers, and their decision to use a firm’s investment solutions. Regardless of the platform, investors primarily turn to social media to conduct research on investing, products, and companies or to seek advice regarding investment decisions.
“Today’s investors’ are scrutinizing ‘traditional’ sources with content and commentary they are finding through social networks, and are becoming much more critical and conversant when it comes to their investment choices,” said Remy Domler Morrison, Project Director and co-author of the report.
A double-edged sword
“On a positive note, social media is also motivating investors to engage more with their advisors and investment firm representatives, which can lead to more asset gathering opportunities for providers.”
For financial companies, investors’ use of social media for PF&I can be a double-edged sword. While engaging in social media presents the opportunity to increase and develop relationships and trust, it also presents the risk of getting negative feedback.
“For every positive comment and favorable investment decision comes the possibility for damaging content. However, the larger risk to a firm is ignoring negative comments that may already exist.
Overall, there are significant opportunities to strengthen brand equity for firms that regularly pursue strategies to foster positive relationships with brand followers and address negative sentiment,” says Tony Ferreira, Managing Director at Cogent Research.
In general, investors recall a higher ratio of favorable to adverse brand-related content for several firms on social media, including Fidelity Investments, ING, and Vanguard.
Top 10 Brands with the Highest Ratio of Positive to Negative Impressions Via Social Media
BASE: Among investors exposed to respective brands on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter
| Rank |
|
|
Provider |
| 1. |
|
|
Fidelity Investments |
| 2. |
|
|
ING |
| 3. |
|
|
Vanguard |
| 4. |
|
|
USAA |
| 5. |
|
|
Charles Schwab |
| 6. |
|
|
John Hancock |
| 7. |
|
|
American Funds |
| 8. |
|
|
Wells Fargo |
| 9. |
|
|
T. Rowe Price |
| 10. |
|
|
Janus |
Tags: facebook, investor decisions, LinkedIn, negative impressions, positive impressions, research, social media, top 10 brands, twitter, YouTube
Posted in Facebook, LinkedIn, social media, Studies, surveys, reports, Twitter | No Comments »
Friday, February 22nd, 2013
 A bot believed to have netted $14 million in illicit profits has been turned into a golden learning opportunity, yielding important insights into how the online community can best alert and assist customers with infected systems.
So say Georgia Tech researchers who announced the results of a study based on the industry’s response to the DNS Changer Trojan and shared recommendations to help curb future malware outbreaks.
From 2007 to 2011, the DNS Changer Trojan hijacked Internet searches and re-routed the Web browsers of infected computers to fraudulent sites using the rogue DNS servers operated by the Rove Digital advertising network.
Active social media warnings effective
The DNS Changer Remediation Study identified phone calls, billing notices and redirecting users to customized Web pages among the most effective methods to notify customers that their systems were infected.
Researchers Wei Meng and Ruian Duan, working under the supervision of Georgia Tech School of Computer Science Professor Wenke Lee, also found that “active” social media warnings were useful for enabling remediation.
With this approach, sites such as Google directly informed users they were infected through their browser windows, a tactic that proved to be more effective in motivating users to disinfect their systems than passive warnings issued in general posts or news articles on social media platforms.
“Social media can have an important role to play in alerting users to infections in their systems and in stemming malware outbreaks. We believe in the importance of implementing active, direct notifications earlier in the process,” Lee said.
The complete DNS Changer Remediation Study is available on the M3AAWG website athttps://www.maawg.org/sites/maawg/files/news/GeorgiaTech_DNSChanger_Study-2013-02-19.pdf.
Tags: bots, DNS Changer, Georgia Tech, Google, online safety, remediation study, Security, social media
Posted in Georgia, Internet/New Media, social media, University Tech | No Comments »
Thursday, February 21st, 2013
 Need a reason why you should attend the Seventh Annual Southeast Venture Conference in Charlotte, NC, March 13-14? Here’s five:
First, you’ll make connections with the region’s top technology entrepreneurs and executives.
More than 50 presenting companies and hundreds of high growth company C-suite execs attending, you’ll have an unsurpassed opportunity to build partnerships and hear about the latest startup trends.
Second, you’ll have an unparalleled opportunity to network with investors and venture firms from throughout the United States, not just regional firms.
Whether you’re in venture fundraising mode or an investor looking to further relationships with fellow investors for deal flow, SEVC is the vehicle to make those connections.
We’ve interviewed several of the participating venture capitalists at the TechJournal, with more to come. Here’s a sample:
 Brian Rich, managing director, co-founder, Catalyst Ventures.He’s participating in the Southeast Venture Conference in Charlotte, NC, March 13-14. How to pitch a venture capitalist (interview with Brian Rich of Catalyst Ventures).
SecondMarket turns dead equity into productive equity (interview with SecondMarket’s Matt Shapiro).
The bar is higher for startups seeking first round financing (interview with Intel Capital’s East Coast Director, Mark Rostick).
Will there be an app economy in five years? (interview with Ron Shah of the Stripes Group).
Seven lessons from the dark side (interview with Grotech’s Don Rainey).
What does it take to build a startup to successful IPO? (interview with Bob Hower, general partner at Advanced Technology Ventures).
Also see: Startups aim to put Charlotte on the map (Charlotte Observer story focused on Terry Cox, founder and CEO of BIG (Business Innovation Growth) in Charlotte. It includes background on how Charlotte was chosen to host the event.
And three more reasons SEVC can kick up your chances for success:
3. You’ll gain market insight and success strategies from innovation and technology community’s brightest starts.
From the CEO of SAP to the Publisher of Forbes - SEVC will feature over 40 speakers discussing the latest trends, best practices and strategies relating to technology and entrepreneurial growth. You’ll learn from them not just during roundtable discussions, but in one on one situations through hours of networking.
 The Southeast Venture Conference is headed to Charlotte, NC, in March 2013. The event offers firms a chance to present to top national venture capitalists and angel investors. Panel & Presentation topics include:
- State of Venture Capital
- Early Stage Fundraising
- Value Creation: Company/Investor Relationship
- Growth Stage Funding
- M&A Outlook and Strategies
- LP Viewpoint
- SaaS Investment Trends
- Getting to Market
- IPO & Secondary Market Outlook
- Entrepreneur’s Roundtable
- International Health Care Trends
4. To make networking and private meetings even easier, there is an online pre-event networking platform for attendees.
At SEVC, the online networking platform allows attendees to connect with one another prior, during and after the conference. Attendees can see other attendee’s interests, request and setup meetings and connect helping to maximize the lasting connections you’ll make at this year’s conference.
5. Even more CXO and Venture Partner networking to create relationships that can last your entire career.
Networking is center stage at SEVC. Over one and a half days there are 3 separate open bar networking receptions, a networking breakfast, lunch networking and 7 additional networking breaks.
The event sells out, so it’s a good idea to Register today.
Tags: 2013, Advanced Technology Ventures, Bob Hower, Brian Rich, Catalyst Ventures, Don Rainey, Events, Grotech, Intel Capital, Mark Rostick, Ron Shah, SEVC, Southeast Venture Conference, Startups, The Stripes Group, venture funds
Posted in Arkansas, Carolinas, Ecommerce, entrepreneurship, Events, Georgia, Internet/New Media, IPOs, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Other SE, Potomac, social media, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, DC | No Comments »
Thursday, February 21st, 2013
 The 2013 IT Priorities Survey, designed to help IT departments classify areas in need of attention in order to better execute the function’s strategic mandate, found that IT executives are struggling to manage the wide variety of technology risk, regulatory compliance and performance challenges that now face them.
When asked to assess their competency in key areas of IT technical knowledge on a scale of one to five, with one being the lowest and five being the highest, nearly 200 CIOs, chief technology officers, chief security officers, and IT vice presidents/directors reported a 2.8 average rank for social media security, social media integration, mobile commerce security, mobile commerce integration, and mobile commerce policy.
“The continued rapid global expansion of the smart phone and mobile applications marketplace reflects the strong demand from business leaders and consumers for access to information anytime and anywhere, which presents exciting opportunities for delivering value. However, it also creates greater technology risk potential,” said Kurt Underwood , a managing director with Protiviti and leader of the firm’s global IT consulting unit.
“The result is significant pressure on IT departments and business leaders as they are asked to deliver more mobile technology-enabled services. This pressure forces them to take on considerably more risk than they’re prepared for – especially in terms of policy, integration, data management, security and data privacy related to mobile commerce and social media proliferation and innovation.”
Social media, mobile security need improvement
Among 21 areas of technical knowledge, survey respondents identified social media security and mobile commerce security as the areas needing most improvement.
CIOs and their staffs indicated that they intended to strengthen their cyber security capabilities in order to tackle the growing threat of breaches ‑ and potential incident response procedures ‑ as well as ensuring their compliance with the increasing number of state and federal information security requirements.
Executive-level respondents also rated mobile commerce security, policy and integration among their top five priorities in the new survey’s technical knowledge section, which contrasts strongly with the 2011 survey in which none of these areas made the top of the list.
Interestingly, challenges related to virtualization and cloud computing receded in the rankings compared to 2011, suggesting IT departments have a higher level of confidence in managing these areas.
Additional Survey Highlights
Survey results also highlighted the following findings related to IT processes and capabilities:
- Managing and classifying enterprise data is the number one security and privacy area in need of improvement, and remains a major challenge for IT departments.
- The IT function’s top priorities are related to strategy and organization, reflecting a need to enhance the clarity and precision with which IT performance is measured, monitored and reported internally and externally, as needed to customers.
- In terms of IT infrastructure, platform performance planning and storage management and planning are listed as top concerns, with respondents ranking their competency level in these categories at 2.8 on a scale of one to five.
- Three primary priorities in the “ensuring continuity” category are developing and maintaining business resumption plans; developing and maintaining IT disaster and recovery plans; and developing and maintaining crisis management plans.
In the survey’s “managing IT assets” category, monitoring and accounting for IT assets are listed as the top two areas that require improvement. According to Tom Andreesen , a managing director in Protiviti’s enterprise application practice, “This concern about IT assets is driven by an increasing volume of small computing devices coupled with their mobility ‑ factors that make verification of location, condition and value difficult, especially if they are off-air or dark assets.”
Tags: big data, IT, mobile commerce, monitoring, performance, Security
Posted in IT, social media, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Friday, February 15th, 2013
Businesses can no longer adopt a trial-and-error approach to social media as all-new research finds a link between social media and business metrics such as consumers’ likelihood to purchase or interact with companies through leading social channels, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2013 Social Media Benchmark Study.
The inaugural study is based on responses from more than 23,200 U.S. online consumers who have interacted with a company via the companies’ social media channel.
Fielded from November to December 2012, the study measures the overall consumer experience in engaging with companies through their social platforms for both marketing and servicing needs across more than 100 U.S. brands in six industries: airline, auto, banking, credit card, telecom and utility.
The study establishes performance benchmarks and industry best practices that provide insights to companies to help them maximize their social media efforts.
“This is a unique, comprehensive consumer study that defines consumer expectations in the ever-changing social space and measures companies’ performances against those benchmarks,” said Jacqueline Anderson , director of social media and text analytics at J.D. Power and Associates.
“This study provides companies with the framework they need to begin effectively integrating social media into their business strategies. It also illustrates the relationship between a positive social media experience and consumer purchase intent.”
Social Media Servicing vs. Social Media Marketing
 The study focuses on two types of social media engagements, marketing and servicing, and provides best practices for each. Marketing engagements include connecting with consumers to build brand awareness and affinity, in addition to promoting coupons and deals. Servicing engagements include answering specific consumer questions or resolving problems.
The study finds that social marketing engagements vary by age group. Nearly one-third (39%) of consumers 30-49 years old and 38 percent of those 50 years and older interact with a company in a social marketing engagement context, while only 23 percent of consumers who are 18-29 years old interact with companies.
Vast difference in how age groups use social media
In contrast, 43 percent of consumers who are 18-29 years old use social media for servicing interactions, while 39 percent of consumers who are 30-49 years old use social for servicing needs. Only 18 percent of consumers who are 50 years and older interact with a company via social for a service-related need.
“While there are vast differences among age groups in the frequency of servicing and marketing engagements, there is a consistency in the impact on brand perception and purchase intent through both types of engagement,” said Anderson.
“Companies that are focused only on promoting their brand and deals, or only servicing existing customers, are excluding major groups of their online community, negatively impacting their satisfaction and influencing their future purchasing decision. A one-pronged approach to social is no longer an option.”
Companies need to understand how their consumers use social media and then develop a strategy that addresses their usage patterns.
“If your customers want service and you’re pushing discount coupons out to them while ignoring their attempts to connect with you, you’re going to end up with dissatisfied customers,” added Anderson.
Social media affects purchase decisions
The study finds a correlation between overall satisfaction with a company’s social marketing efforts and consumers’ likelihood to purchase and their overall perception of the company.
Among highly-satisfied consumers (satisfaction scores of 951 and higher on a 1,000-point scale), 87 percent indicate that the online social interaction with the company “positively impacted” their likelihood to purchase from that company.
Conversely, among consumers who are less satisfied (scores less than 500), one in 10 consumers indicate that the interaction “negatively impacted” their likelihood to purchase from the company.
 The study also finds that some industries are more successful than others at implementing best practices into their social media engagement strategies than others. When looking across industries, the auto industry performs particularly well in both marketing and servicing social media interactions, the only industry to do so. Other industries performing well are wireless in social servicing interactions and utility in social marketing interactions.
Industry Performance
Listed below are the companies that perform particularly well in each of the industries included in the study. Companies are listed in alphabetical order.
| Social Media Servicing |
Social Media Marketing |
|
|
| Airline |
Airline |
| JetBlue Airways |
Delta Airlines |
| Southwest Airlines |
Southwest Airlines |
| Virgin America |
Virgin America |
|
WestJet |
| Auto |
|
| Chevrolet |
Auto |
| Ford |
Cadillac |
| Subaru |
Fiat |
| Toyota |
Ford |
|
Hyundai |
| Banking |
Kia |
| Capital One/Chevy Chase |
Lexus |
| Chase |
Nissan |
| Fifth Third Bank |
Toyota |
| PNC Bank |
|
| SunTrust Bank |
Banking |
|
Capital One/Chevy Chase |
| Credit Card |
Chase |
| Chase |
Huntington National Bank |
| Citi Cards |
Regions Bank |
| Discover Card |
|
| Wells Fargo |
Credit Card |
|
American Express |
| Telecom |
|
| Sprint Nextel |
Telecom |
| U.S. Cellular |
AT&T |
|
Cricket |
| Utility |
Straight Talk Wireless |
| Florida Power & Light |
T-Mobile |
| Georgia Power |
Virgin Mobile |
| Pacific Gas and Electric |
|
|
Utility |
|
Con Edison |
|
Florida Power & Light |
Tags: airlines, auto industry, Best Practices, credit card, industries, social media, telecom, top performers, utility
Posted in Best Practices, Internet/New Media, social media, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Friday, February 15th, 2013
 The digital world is maturing and moving toward successful business models in social media, search, online video and digital advertising, according to comScore’s 2013 U.S. Digital Future in Focus report. Marketers need an understanding of the whole digital landscape to navigate it successfully, the report says.
“2013 is poised to be digital’s most exciting year yet as the growing ubiquity of digital platforms presents marketers with nearly endless opportunities to connect and engage with consumers,” said Linda Abraham , comScore CMO and EVP of Global Product Development.
“It’s clear that the dynamics of the marketplace have fundamentally evolved through the adoption of smartphones and tablets and the increasingly ‘digital’ nature of all media. Navigating this changing landscape requires a holistic understanding of the key trends, underlying drivers and new opportunities that the digital ecosystem will bring in the year ahead.”
To download a complimentary copy of the 2013 U.S. Digital Future in Focus report, please see: http://www.comscore.com/FutureinFocus2013
Key insights from the 2013 U.S. Digital Future in Focus include:
Social Media Market Matures
Americans’ usage of Social Networking sites continued to be dominated by Facebook, which accounted for 5 out of every 6 minutes spent online on these sites. Facebook’s 2012 IPO signaled a maturation of the social media market with a renewed focus on building strong business models and monetization streams.
Several other social media players also made waves in the public markets this year, including LinkedIn, Yelp, Zynga and Groupon. Several other notable social media players like Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram (now part of Facebook) have all posted strong user growth as they begin to ramp up their revenue engines.
Google Leads While Bing Grows Share in Search Market
Google continued its strong lead in the U.S. search market, while Bing managed to gain ground as the #2 search engine in 2012. The desktop-based U.S. core search market saw its first signs of flattening as an increasing number of searches shift to vertical-specific searches and mobile platforms.
Online Video Brings TV Dollars to Digital as Consumers Become More Platform Agnostic
The U.S. online video market also shows signs of maturing from a consumption standpoint, but monetization is picking up steam as YouTube ramps up advertising efforts while traditional media players find success with TV commercial content. Because the demand for high-impact video advertising exceeds the available inventory, look for continued momentum on the advertising side – particularly as targeting improves.
Digital Advertising Improves Accountability in Quest for Print and TV Ad Dollars
Nearly 6 trillion display ad impressions were delivered across the web in 2012 as brand marketers have become increasingly comfortable with a medium capable of delivering strong marketing ROI.
Despite delivering so many impressions, comScore research showed that an average of 3 in 10 ads are never rendered in-view, leading to significant waste, weaker campaign performance and a glut of poor-performing inventory that imbalances the supply-and-demand equation and depresses CPMs.
Through the continued adoption of a viewable impressions standard, the market is beginning to embrace a digital scarcity model that better aligns monetization with the value created by the inventory.
Smartphone and Tablets Carve Out Space in Multi-Platform Digital Media Landscape
 Smartphones continued to drive the mobile landscape in 2012, finally reaching 50-percent market penetration in 2012. The Android platform also hit a 50-percent milestone as it captured the majority of the smartphone market for the first time. Meanwhile, tablets continued to gain traction, with 52.4 million U.S. tablet owners as of December 2012.
The rapid adoption of smartphones and tablets, and consumers’ increasing use thereof, has resulted in a fragmented digital media landscape where the typical consumer now shares his time across multiple screens.
E-Commerce Gains at Expense of Brick-And-Mortar While Consumers Experiment with M-Commerce
Despite the backdrop of continued economic uncertainty, 2012 was a strong year for retail e-commerce. Throughout the year, growth rates versus the prior year remained in the mid-teens to outpace growth at brick-and-mortar retail by a factor of approximately 4x. Total U.S. retail and travel-related e-commerce reached $289 billion in 2012, up 13 percent from the previous year.
While e-commerce continues to gain share from traditional retail, the first signs of mobile commerce affecting the digital commerce landscape are starting to emerge. In Q4 2012, comScore estimates that m-commerce transactions (from both smartphones and tablets) now represent approximately 11 percent of corresponding e-commerce spending.
Tags: advertising, comScore, Digital future, Marketing, online video, Search, smartphones, social media
Posted in Digital Devices, Internet/New Media, Marketing, smartphones, social media, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Thursday, February 14th, 2013
One crucial piece of advice digital marketing experts give brands about social media is that they must start by listening to what’s said about them. Consumers, however, have some conflicting attitudes about brands listening to their comments on social networks.
A new survey from Netbase reveals those conflicting consumer attitudes about social media listening by brands. The survey of 1,062 U.S. adult consumers, ages 18-55+, conducted by the J.D. Power Panel, found that while 51 percent of consumers want to talk about companies without being listened to, 58 percent want companies to respond to their complaints shared on social media.
Almost a third of consumers unaware companies are listening
According to Altimeter Group, 42 percent of companies have social media listening as a top three priority in 2013, but digital marketers must also consider the consumer perception toward this business strategy. Specifically, the NetBase survey found:
- 32 percent of consumers of all ages and 38 percent of Millennials (18-24-year-olds) have no idea companies are listening to what they say in social media.
- 43 percent of consumers think listening online intrudes on privacy, even though this is “social” media. Boomers put up the biggest fight (36 percent said they don’t want brands listening to what they say about brands online), while only 17 percent of Millennials said the same).
- At least 20 percent of each age group (and 25 percent of 18-24-year-olds) don’t yet know how they feel about brands listening.
- Nevertheless, 48 percent say companies should listen to improve products and nearly 58 percent want companies to respond to complaints.
“It’s really important that marketers consider these findings when developing social media strategies,” said Lisa Joy Rosner, CMO of NetBase. “The companies that take the time to understand what customers are saying, and engage in a way that considers context and builds relationships, are the ones that will benefit from social listening and engagement.”
Here’s an infographic detailing the survey findings:
Tags: Best Practices, boomers, brands, complaints, listening, Millennials, privacy, social media
Posted in infographic, Internet/New Media, social media | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 13th, 2013
 Despite initial skepticism toward Google+, the social network is quickly becoming mainstream. It saw a 9,400 percent increase in users in just one year, says the BrightEdge January 2013 Social Share Report. Three of four top global brands now have active profiles on Google+, the report says.
If you use Google+ personally or professionally, you have probably noticed an increasing level of activity and the number of people and brands on the network. It’s much more active than our Facebook page and we have literally thousands of people and brands in our Google+ circles.
It’s much easier to acquire large numbers of followers relevant to your interests on Google+ than on any of the other social networks. Also, a post that garners attention on Google+ will collect many more plus 1s, shares and comments than the same comment on most other networks if our own experience is any guide.
The Social share report tracks social media adoption trends for the BrandZ top 100 global brands including Apple, BMW, RedBull and Samsung. The report also includes insights into how YouTube is performing as a social media network.
Key insights include
· The top 10 brands on Google + account for 4 out of 5 followers
· The Auto Industry accounts for 40% of the top 10 spots for followers on Google
· 20% of brands now have their Google+ pages show up in SERP results
· 87% of top brands now have a YouTube channel
· Google, Red Bull and Samsung lead the way with breakaway numbers of subscribers on YouTube
The full report can be downloaded here http://www.brightedge.com/social-share-january-2013
Tags: Apple, BMW, brand profiles, circles, Google Plus, luxury car makers, Red Bull
Posted in Google, Internet/New Media, social media, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Monday, February 11th, 2013
 Women entrepreneurs are decidedly optimistic about their businesses and the overall economic outlook, according to a national survey conducted byWeb.com Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: WWWW) and the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).
Most women business owners (85%) predict that even more women will become entrepreneurs this year than in past years. More than a third (38%) plan more hiring this year than last year, and more than half (54%) expect to do about the same amount of hiring they did in 2012.
2013, the Year of the Female Entrepreneur
The State of Women-Owned Businesses survey found that the large majority of WBOs were optimistic about their business’ overall performance (81 percent) for the year ahead. They were also optimistic, though slightly less so, about the broader economic outlook (74 percent) in 2013.
“The 2013 State of Women-Owned Businesses Survey reveals that even in these tough economic times, women entrepreneurs are optimistic about business opportunities for the year ahead,” said NAWBO President, Diane L. Tomb .
What keeps them up at night?
The top four things worrying them are the same things worrying the business community in general: the state of the economy (57%); health insurance costs and afforability (40%); business taxes (36%); and access to quality workers (36%).
The majority (71%) say the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) will not impact how they do business.
Who Should Become an Entrepreneur?
Survey respondents assert that women start their own businesses for a variety of reasons, including: having a vision for a business idea or a passion for solving a specific industry problem, wanting control or a more flexible work-life balance, and being in the right place at the right time.
When asked the biggest motivation for starting their business, the most common answer was that they were following their vision (28 %), followed by finding an idea that allowed them to become an entrepreneur (21 %). The survey found that the most important traits for running a successful business are to have a passion for an idea (1st), to have a vision to succeed long-term after the business is launched (2nd) and a willingness and attitude to fail before you succeed and to take risks (3rd).
Investments in social media, SEO planned
Two in five WBOs said gaining more customers is their number one challenge – as it is to most businesses. So more than three-quarters plan to invest more in marketing, specifically social media (36%) and SEO (36%). Almost half (44%) believe that social media and SEO are the future of small business marketing and many feel traditional marketing such as direct mail, email, and online ads will have less impact in the future.
When considering what marketing tactics currently have the greatest impact on a business’ bottom line, more than half (52 %) of respondents indicated that website design and maintenance was very important, followed by social media marketing and SEO (38 percent) and email marketing (25%). And WBOs indicated that LinkedIn (27 %) is the most valuable social media platform to them, followed by Facebook (26 percent), YouTube (18 %) and Twitter (17 %).
Here’s an infographic detailing the study findings:
Tags: hiring, infographic, marketing plans, NAWBO, optimistic, SEO, social media, Web.com, women entrepreneurs
Posted in Economy/Jobs, entrepreneurship, Internet/New Media, social media | No Comments »
Thursday, February 7th, 2013
 Can you guess which brand has the most loyal fans on Facebook? While familiar names such as Facebook itself, Google, Walt Disney World and Starbucks make the top 20 list, a non-profit is number one, according to LoudDoor, a Facebook Insights Preferred Marketing Developer.
Brand Satisfaction, a new dashboard powered by over 1 million monthly survey responses. The largest market research of its kind, Brand Satisfaction tracks every major brand on Facebook and how likely Fans are to recommend those brands to friends or colleagues.
For its first study, Brand Satisfaction compiled millions of responses from Facebook Fans of over 15,000 Facebook pages to determine the Top 20 brands with the most loyal Fans.
The surprising survey findings reveal that a non-profit tops the list over brand stalwarts Facebook and Google:
1. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
2. Facebook
3. Google
4. Walt Disney World
5. ALDI USA
6. Xbox
7. Starbucks Frappuccino
8.  Google Chrome
9. Duncan Hines
10. Adobe Photoshop
11. Tim Hortons
12. Hershey’s
13. In-N-Out Burger
14. Dove Chocolates
15. NFL
16. Portillo’s
17. BRAVO
18. Disneyland
19. Dollar Tree
20. AMC Theatre
“Demographic and behavioral data is the cornerstone to understanding a brand’s Facebook audience and powering game-changing marketing decisions,” says David Guy , CEO of LoudDoor, a leading research and audience targeting platform on Facebook.
“Rather than relying on highly subjective social chatter or experimental ‘listening’ technologies, Brand Satisfaction does the hard work of asking brands’ Fans directly about their attitudes, behaviors and motivations. We then package this powerful data in a simple dashboard interface to empower brands to harness their Facebook asset.”
Survey methodology
Starting January 1, 2013, Brand Satisfaction asked consumers to rate how likely they are to recommend a brand page they “like” on Facebook.
Participants also completed a demographic, behavioral and attitudinal survey. Millions of anonymous responses are summarized in a user-friendly Brand Satisfaction insights dashboard currently in limited beta release.
Adds Guy, “We’ll be conducting our study every month and releasing new brand insights and tips with the goal of making marketing professionals that Follow brands on the Brand Satisfaction platform the smartest people in the room about the brands they care about on Facebook.”
Eligibility for the Brand Satisfaction Top-20 list requires that the brand page have at least 50,000 Fans and a minimum of 300 completed surveys on the brand.
For more information and to sign up for a private Beta invitation, visit www.BrandSatisfaction.com.
Tags: Adobe Photoshop, ALDI USA, Duncan Hines, facebook, Google, LoudDoor, most loyal fans, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Starbucks, top 20 brands, Walt Disney World, Xbox
Posted in Facebook, social media, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 6th, 2013
 Two-thirds of U.S. adults online use Facebook, but many of them take breaks from the site and 20 percent of online adults not using it now once did. This shows that while Facebook is the dominant social networking site in America, it’s user base is fluid, says the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.
Have you taken long breaks from using Facebook? It’s clear to us that a number of our friends do. They disappear from our news stream periodically. We frequently take breaks ourselves when work or weekend activities interfere, but we’re seldom gone more than a few days. Even that will adversely affect your scores on measures of your social media activity, such as a Klout score, if you care about such things.
Among Pew’s findings:
- 61% of current Facebook users say that at one time or another in the past they have voluntarily taken a break from using Facebook for a period of several weeks or more.
- 20% of the online adults who do not currently use Facebook say they once used the site but no longer do so.
- 8% of online adults who do not currently use Facebook are interested in becoming Facebook users in the future.
Pew asked the 61% of Facebook users who have taken a break from using the site to tell us in their own words why they did so, and they mentioned a variety of reasons.
 The largest group (21%) said that their “Facebook vacation” was a result of being too busy with other demands or not having time to spend on the site. Others pointed toward a general lack of interest in the site itself (10% mentioned this in one way or another), an absence of compelling content (10%), excessive gossip or “drama” from their friends (9%), or concerns that they were spending too much time on the site and needed to take a break (8%).
We’ve seldom noticed a lack of compelling content on Facebook. Quite the contrary. It can be more interesting than more pressing duties, like washing the dishes or doing the laundry or writing that article. Since social media marketing is part of our job (as it is to most people in the media), we have to use multiple social networks, and it does become a job in and of itself keeping up with them.
How about you? Experiencing Facebook fatigue?
(Comments by TechJournal Editor Allan Maurer)
Tags: breaks, dominant social network, facebook, Pew Internet
Posted in Facebook, Internet/New Media, social media, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 5th, 2013
 Bill Gates Who are the most influential ultra high net worth people globally with the most powerful social and professional networks? Wealth-X has put a value to the social graph of the top ten, which includes one former president of the U.S. and only one woman on the list.
Bill Gates tops the list with his social graph worth an estimated US$261 billion, which is approximately four times his net worth. Coming in second is former US President, Bill Clinton , whose circle of influence is valued at US$227 billion. Last of the top 50 is Paul Gardner Allen , Chairman of Vulcan and co-founder of Microsoft Corporation, with a social graph value of US$82 billion.
| Rank |
Name |
Value of Circle of Influence (US$ billion) |
| 1 |
William Henry Gates III |
261 |
| 2 |
William Jefferson Clinton |
227 |
| 3 |
William Albert Ackman |
194 |
| 4 |
Eli Broad |
148 |
| 5 |
Warren Edward Buffett |
146 |
| 6 |
Peter George Peterson |
145 |
| 7 |
Michael Terry Duke |
136 |
| 8 |
Keith Rupert Murdoch |
133 |
| 9 |
Thomas Boone Pickens Jr. |
132 |
| 10 |
Linda S. Wolf |
131 |
Of the top 10, there is a lone female representative, Linda S. Wolf , director of Wal Mart Stores, whose social graph is worth an estimated US$131 billion. The full top 50 list sees female representation at 10%.
American UHNWIs form 72% of the top 50 most influential list. Russian ultra wealthy individuals are second at 12%, followed by Mexican and Chinese UHNWIs at 8% and 4% respectively.
Wealth-X CEO, Mykolas D. Rambus said, “Knowledge of the value of such networks allows business development professionals, who engage with these UHNWIs, to leverage on interconnected individuals to grow prospect and engagement lists, with a clear idea of what connections amount to in a financially measurable sense.”
“For all the talk surrounding social and professional networks, this list represents a trailblazing quantification of the value of social and professional networks that UHNWIs possess,” he added.
For the full list and supplemental analysis, please visit: http://www.wealthx.com/articles/2013/the-50-most-influential-networking-tycoons
Posted in People, social media, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Monday, February 4th, 2013
 Small and medium size businesses are embracing social media as a key strategy in their marketing programs internationally, according to SocialMediopolis.com, a website for social media marketers.
“While most people think of major consumer marketers as driving the growth of social media venues such as Facebook, Twitter Pinterest, Google+, YouTube, Twitter and other platforms, the reality is that many more small and medium size businesses are now successfully driving social media marketing programs,” said Michael Crosson, who publishes the site.
Crosson states that a key venue leading this increase is LinkedIn.com, which recently passed the 200,000,000 member mark. “We have seen a significant increase in companies from one to 100 joining the Social Media Marketing group over the previous year. More importantly, these companies have expanded their use of social media into other services besides Facebook and Twitter. We have seen incredibly strong growth in Pinterest, Instagram, Google+ and Tumblr, for example.” Said Crosson.
The survey can be seen in its entirety here: http://www.SocialMediopolis.com/resources/research
Some of the highlights from this study include:
- The U.S. represents 65.7%, and the rest of world is 34.3% of responses. (Infographic #1)
- Independent consultants and Small/Medium Size Businesses (up to 100 employees) comprise the large bulk of the responses: 80.4%. (Infographic #2)
- The various social media venues such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and others are fairly even divided, but MySpace continues to lag far behind at 4%. (Infographic #4)
- 54.7% are primary decision makers. (Infographic #4)
“This survey is a good snapshot of the international social media playing field at the moment. Members of our Social Media Marketing group on LinkedIn.com, which has over 500,000 members, participated. The group is growing by an average of 1,100+ new members every day, and we poll them annually,” continued Crosson. The full results of the survey are available at http://www.SocialMediopolis.com/resources/research
Tags: facebook, Pinterest, SMBs, social media marketing, Tumblr, twitter
Posted in Facebook, LinkedIn, Marketing, social media, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
|
|
|
