Feedback Friday: Weekly Social Media Round-Up. Facebook is getting smaller, and other social media developments.
Last week we
mentioned a study that showed mothers, more than others, had the most
brand influence in social media. This seemed in line with the general consensus that middle-aged women in the 45-54 age range, specifically,
dominate social media (they are known to use social media more than any other
group to stay in touch with friends, and are also strong contributors to consumer
reviews).
But new data by Netpop
Research suggests the landscape is changing. Age, not gender, is driving social media.
Looking at those who used the following social media sites in the past week--Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia, Twitter, and Yelp-- men, ages 18-34 lead
the pack in 4 out of 5 (Facebook is evenly used by all, and often). On average, younger Facebook users have two
times more friends that older users, but there is virtually no difference
between men and women. The 18-24 age group
also spends the most time using social media per week of all age groups (25%). And while it is clear that younger people are trailblazing
social media, it’s not clear just what they are gaining -- according to the study younger women spend the least amount of time
(among the four age groups) using social media to find information. Come on, girls!
Social Media
gaming powerhouse Zynga announced this week a plan to start using real money
in some of its gaming apps. Zynga is the maker of Farmville and Words With
Friends, to name a few. How big could
the idea be? Zynga is projecting a $5
billion annual revenue, 30% of which would go to Facebook (because they clearly
need more money). And Zynga is also in
talks to pair up with Nevada-based casino developer Wynn Resorts. Zynga will have some major hurdles in its path, mainly
compliance with online gambling laws that vary significantly from state to state. And if Zynga does get into the real-money scene they will have to be regulated scrupulously.
This is sure to be a precedent in the intersection of law and social
media- updates to follow.
Not
shockingly, cell phone behavior between men and women differ, but could it
impact the evolution of mankind? A new study published in Scientific American draws some big conclusions about how men and women interact with each other, and the intensity of these
relationships over time. The study looked at the calling patterns of 1.95 billion calls, and reveals female
relationships change with biological priorities (suggesting that women drive
the evolutionary fitness of humans!) In one's 20s and 30s, men and women's “best friend” happens to be
someone of the opposite sex and of a similar age.
Things change at age 50 though—where the preference for a romantic partner
peters out in both men and women in favor of companionship. The real reveal of this study might be that
they found 1.95 billion people who use their phone as a phone.
Uh oh—is
Facebook headed towards Friendster zone? According to Forbes, Facebook is
getting smaller. Its revenues declined
%6. Facebook shrugged the concern, claiming the drop correlates with
advertising (its biggest revenue source), which typically slows down in the
first quarter. Forbes doesn’t buy it,
citing the following reasons why they believe Facebook is shrinking: the novelty has worn off; it’s a time-waster;
job-seekers and the employed alike can’t risk losing employment over something
on their profile; and frustration with so much Facebook advertising. We could make a case for the opposite on
almost all of these points, none of which by the way really address the financial decline.
A closer look
at the 2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report reveals some interesting
differences in the way B2B Marketers use social media compared to their
consumer-focused counterparts. Of 1,900
B2B marketers, over %93 are using social media to market their business. The group also cited a huge lag in being able
to develop a loyal fan base, as well as disappointment in seeing their social
media marketing efforts correlate with increased sales (a problem of inadequate
Social ROI). And of the platforms
available to B2B marketers, LinkedIn will likely see the biggest increase in
use. Beyond social media, B2B marketers
appear to be more creative, embracing SEO, event marketing, and webinars at a
higher rate than consumer-based markers.
Lastly, our
obsession with the TV show “The Pitch” takes an interesting turn, with digital
advertising company Undertone deciding to run a pair of spots during the Sunday
night show that will critique online ads. That’s right, a company that makes online ads will
now blast their competitors on a television show. Is your head spinning yet? Undertone
announced the new ads on their Facebook page, coinciding with a video
“campaign” they’ve created called “What’s the last ad you remember seeing
online?”-- in which people on the street give some mumbled responses. Shouldn’t a company whose expertise is
online ads, you know, run its ad online?
by Karelisa Falkner Liqui-Site Designs Experience our commitment to you, from our very first conversation.™
Feedback Friday: Weekly Social Media Round-Up. Generational differences in social media.
Social Moms
ROI research site Performics released its “Social Media Moms Summary”—a study of almost 3000 women who accessed at least one social media site regularly, to better understand women’s media attitudes and behavior. The study found that mothers were 34% more likely than other women to recommend companies and brands via social networking sites. The study also revealed that moms are more inclined to engage with the brands themselves-- through liking, following, and commenting on the company’s social media posts. And one specific that stuck out-- more than three-quarters of mothers said they have either already participated in company/brand contents or sweepstakes (53%), or plan to do so in the future (24%). The study does not conclude why moms are more likely to buy into brand’s social media, but if you have ever been to Park Slope Brooklyn, then you know that Mommy Bloggers are the first people ever to parent, and its important that we know. Emotional Intelligence There is an emerging cultural discussion happening about the emotional aspects of social media. AdAge recently held its 2012 AA Digital Conference, which included Jonah Peretti (CEO of Buzzfeed, the laugh-a-minute site for people with short attention spans) among its speakers. Peretti talks about how emotional intelligence is the real driving force of content sharing on social media sites, and how industry leaders need to move away from the algorithmic mindset that drives search. We’re likely to learn more about this topic, especially as it converges with hard science.
Maybe It's Time To Get Cable Hulu will begin luring in ad buyers by promising that they only pay for Hulu ads that are watched in their entirety. Hulu showed more ads than any other website or service in the U.S (1.5 billion in February, compared with Google's 1.2 billion). The move will cost Hulu, but the company’s banking on higher rates resulting from competition for fewer available spots. What Hulu did not factor in is that ad time correlates exactly with the time it takes to boil water for that boxed-mac-n-cheese dinner (what ads?). LinkedIn Upgrades LinkedIn is now offering “upgrade” packages to its users (perhaps your received an email), and from the looks of it, the “upgrade” includes a lot of features most people assumed were already free. There are three upgrade options offered by LinkedIn which increase your ability to contact people with in-mail messaging, view full profiles of people outside your network, and view unfiltered search results. The plans range from about $20-$80 per month, but even with the priciest “Executive” plan (intended for sales professionals), users can only send 25 in-mail messages per month. For company’s that use databases or social media for recruiting, the new LinkedIn “upgrade” seems like a drop in the bucket. And for the rest of us, it’s a steep price when you could just (direct) message through other social media sites. The packages are just one of the many changes at LinkedIn, along with putting a ceiling on the number of connections, and requiring an email address for some potential invites. Google Attempts TV Metrics Google announced this week their version of a TV-like measurement metric that aims to make marketers feel more comfortable allocating money to online advertising. The “Brand Activate” initiative (working title), seeks to make marketers feel more comfortable allocating money to online advertising, and become the industry standard in a post click-through era. A “viewed” impression will now count only if it is at least 50% viewable on the screen for at least one second. The second component of the plan, the metrics part, will estimate how many people saw a given ad and for how long, and allow advertisers to react in real-time. Confused? Watch Google execs tell you more to some very cheesy music:.
Millenial Breakdown
Last week we reported on a new study that claimed consumers in their 20’s switch media 27 times an hour! This week Marketing Charts released a more dimensional report conducted by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) that widened the age range to encompass Millenials (aged 16-34), and suggests some positives of their constant media use. Millenials are more adapt at using technology—that’s a no-brainer. As a result they are much more likely to multitask. They also contribute user-generated content such as product ratings, videos, images, and blog entries, at a higher rate than others. And they use mobile information services in noticeably larger numbers (88% to 57%). The study identified 6 specific types of Millenails, with some interesting demographic details on each, including income status, gender, race, education, and even charitableness. While these types of studies do tend to have similar conclusions (young people are hip to technology), they are getting increasingly more specific, and having direct impact on marketing.
by Karelisa Falkner Liqui-Site Designs Experience our commitment to you, from our very first conversation.™
Social Media Examiner released their 2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, a survey of more than 3,800 marketers. So what’s changed? Well, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, and YouTube continue to be the power-five in social media tools used by marketers, in that order. This year saw significant decline in use and interest in social bookmarking sites, forums, and geo-location services like Foursquare. Google+ is the breakout star of 2012, with 70% intending to “learn more,” a testament to Google’s brand hold. The driving question most participants wanted answers for regarding social media was time—how to get the most out of social media for the least amount of time. People between the ages of 20 to 29 are committing the most hours per week to social media, followed by those 30-39. (Note- 72% of people who took the survey identified as being in their 30’s, so maybe they hang out with a younger crowd.) And does experience matter? Apparently those with more social media experience (1-3 years) are putting in more hours. So it appears that small businesses will have to start paying that social media intern (or wait for that social media robot to be invented). Read the report here.
President Obama launched a Pinterest account, (maintained by his 2012 re-election campaign), which has since spurred at least 5 knock-off accounts (among them http://pinterest.com/fakebarackobama/, which “Ann Romney” re-pinned from!). Obama’s inspiration boards include recipes, pets, and ObamaArt. Pictures of Portuguese Water Spaniel, Bo, made a splash, along with the Obama family chili recipe (hopefully it meets Michelle’s new calorie guidelines). For the record, President Obama already has Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook and Foursquare accounts. Check out Obama’s imposters here. And speaking of imposters, AGBeat reports that at least 33 copycat sites have emerged since the release of the hugely popular image curration site, with a few finding success. Reviews for the iPad 3 are streaming in, while New York City continues to reel from the chaos that ensued at Apple’s Grand Central flagship store. The main draw of iPad 3 is the enhanced screen display (9.7 Retina Display) along with a A5X processor and a 5MP camera. TechRadar and others have noted the iPad 3 is actually heavier, and reviewers claim iPad 3 gets too hot if a gaming app is left open for long periods of time. iPad 3 starts at $500 for the16 GB wi-fi version and goes up to $829 for the 64 GB, 4G enabled. At that cost you could buy 4 Kindles. Path app is the newest social media phenomenon—entering the social media world with the tagline “The smart journal that helps you share life with the ones you love” or “the anti-Facebook” to those in the know. Early reactions included “Is anyone on this thing?” Path is a combination of Twitter and Facebook, allowing users to provide up-to-the-minute updates on what they’re doing, where they are, whom they are with, and even what they’re listening to. There is no TV share button at the moment, so users will have to spell out that they are watching MadMen. Path users report liking the design and interface, and its functionality for immediate sharing. Path is available for iPhone and Android. Get the app here. Reports of social media innovation poured in following SXSW, with CNN stating, “this year’s South by Southwest Interactive may be remembered just as much for what happened outside the halls… as what happened in them.” And Radian6 has the data to prove it with the release of their SXSW 2012 Social Media Buzz Report, which monitored the panels, parties, and buzz around the 5 day spectacle. Of note—the surge of new mobile apps for social media connecting and networking. A few apps stand out: Highlight, Kismet, Glancee, Sonar, and Ban.jo. (more on these coming soon). You can read the report here. And of course, Facebook made Timeline mandatory for all pages, causing headaches throughout the business world. Was the hype worth it? Certainly not for people who adopted it as far back as December, 2011. Users are trying to make it their “own”, looking for loopholes to customize and stand out. Bloggers are already calling timeline “boring”, and the color scheme is being referred to as “hospital blue.” Timeline is going to force individuals and businesses alike to think more creatively as profiles can no longer have a customized landing page. Follow ReadWriteWeb’s suggestions for Timeline customization. Regardless of whether or not you like timeline, from a design perspective it certainly makes you wonder who’s making the decisions at Facebook. Have something to say? Liqui-Site Designs wants to hear your feedback! Tell us about the social media moments that caught your interest this week, or your thoughts on any of the latest social media trends and products. Leave a comment below, tweet @Liqui_Site , or leave a comment on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Liqui.Site. For more information on Liqui-Site Designs visit us at http://www.liqui-site.com
by Karelisa Falkner Liqui-Site Designs Experience our commitment to you, from our very first conversation.™
So Facebook acquired hipster photo-sharing app Instagram for 1 billion dollars (cheap skates) and people went wild with the news. Facebook is on a spending spree—they recently gobbled up a load of patents from IBM, the staff behind the webcam eye-tracking software startup GazaHawk, and the staffs from Momentus Media and Caffeinated Mind. Instagram had about 30 million users at the time of purchase, who are reportedly uploading five million new photos to the service each day. Some Twitter followers lamented the end of Instagram’s “cool" factor”, while others raised questions over security. It remains to be seen wheat Facebook will do with so many ironic photographs. For a laugh, watch The Daily Show’s take on the buy-in. Secretary of Sass Similar to the Ryan Gosling “Hey Girl” meme that swept the internet a few months back, TextsFromHillary -- a Tumblr of fake and hilarious text messages Secretary of Sate Hillary Clinton would send, caught everyone’s attention. The blog saw 83,000 shares on Facebook, 8,400 Twitter followers, over 45K Tumblr followers, as well as news stories from round the world. But unlike the "Hey Girl" meme which dragged into exhaustion, the duo behind TextsFromHillary ended on a high-note (like Seinfeld) and pulled the plug when Hillary Clinton herself (with a help from her staffers) chimed in: “Sup Adam. Nice Selfie Stace :-)” “ROFL @ ur tumblr! G2g-Scrunchie time. Ttyl?” Guess the ruse is up! Generation Multitask Nope, it’s not a headline from The Onion—a new study actually reports that Young Consumers Switch Media 27 Times An Hour. The study, which was commissioned by Time Warner Inc. and conducted by Boston's Innerscope Research, claims consumers in their 20’s (aka "digital natives") switch media an average 27 times in a non-working hour. All participants in the study wore biometric belts that monitored their physical responses as they used media throughout more than 300 hours' worth of nonworking time. They also wore glasses with embedded cameras that kept track of what platform they used, and for how long. AdAge reported on the study along with comments from some very frantic and concerned advertising execs about the future of youth marketing engagement. But commentators acutely point out that the study only had 30 participants, and is in no way conclusive of young adult media behavior. Twitter vs. The Man Twitter had a power-to-the-people moment when it refused to hand over the Twitter account information of a Occupy Wallstreet Protestor by the name of Jeffrey Rae. Rae was one of several hundred activists arrested during a March 1 OWS demonstration in New York City. Twitter was subpoenaed by the New York D.A’s office seeking Rae’s account activity during the OWS protest, despite the fact that Rae was guilty of minor charges including disorderly conduct and blocking traffic. And even stranger, most of the data sought by the DA was publically available. Go Twitter. Google Doodle Cubicle workers got a pick-me-up on Monday morning upon opening Google, when they spotted a Google Doodle celebrating legendary British photographer Eadweard J. Muybridge. Google put its signature colors on the stop-action video sequence of a running horse that Muybridge produced in 1887, by using multiple cameras to take photographs of the animal in motion. Watch this delightful video here. Show Me The money The countdown to Tax Day usually has people on edge and in a foul mood, so you wouldn’t expect a tax company to be making (positive) waves in social media. But tax site Intuit (the makers of Turbo Tax) launched a 2-part social media campaign to get people excited about doing their taxes. AdAge reports that Intuit created a charity app (pledging toys if visitors took a quiz), and a poll asking people what they would do with their tax refund. Intuit now has over 34,000 followers on its Facebook page. What’s even more interesting is that Intuit was able to generate this amount of buzz almost entirely for free. Other sites are sure to look to Intuit for inspiration. SEO Guru We also came across a web series called “Manta Minute”, where Manta SEO Manger, Reuben Yau, discusses 5 tips to improve SEO when redesigning your website. Short, effective, and to the point, Manta’s message in a nutshell is: list your top landing pages and search phrases; make a list of old URL’s and new URL’s; don’t overwrite the robots.txt file; don’t skimp on testing; and consider hiring an SEO pro. Get enlightened: The Rise of Pinterest Last Friday we reported on the release of Media Examiner’s “2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report”, which listed the top 5 social media sites as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, and YouTube, in that order. In just one week, Pinterest has climbed to the #3 spot, outranking LinkedIn, based on American users. The Daily Mail reported the change, citing Pinterest’s 104,415,903 unique visitors last month alone. And Experian has also reported that in Alabama, Oklahoma, Kansas, Utah and Missouri Pinterest is actually more popular than Facebook and Twitter—who knew? The Pitch And lastly, while not exactly social media news, AMC previewed a new series called “The Pitch” Sunday night, about 2 competing advertising agencies vying for a contract. The first episode saw ad firms McKinney, and Los Angeles-based WDCW battle it out for a deal with Subway to promote the chain’s new breakfast menu. This show is absolutely fascinating—we so rarely get insight into the creative processes behind huge ad campaigns. The team that won (spoiler alert) won by capitalizing on the trend of finding an up-and-coming YouTube sensation and creating a faux-organic commercial. Sure, letting your consumers know that you’re hip with the latest social media trends is a positive—but does it really take that many people and that much money to do a Google video search for “breakfast sandwich”?
by Karelisa Falkner Liqui-Site Designs Experience our commitment to you, from our very first conversation.™
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