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Archives for August 2013

U.K. Consumers Choosing Social Media over Search Engines to Find Content

Nearly one in two U.K. internet users between the ages of 18 and 24 choose to use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to search for online content rather than search engines like Google. More than one out of three U.K. internet users between the ages of 35 and 44 choose social media over search engines, and nearly one in four between the ages of 35 and 44 choose social media over search engines to find online content.

Those are some extremely interesting statistics, and while younger U.K. internet users are more likely to choose social media sites to search for content rather than using a search engine, that doesn’t mean older U.K. internet users aren’t starting to make a similar shift. More than one in ten U.K. internet users between the ages of 55 and 64 choose social media over search engines when they need to find content.

This data comes from a May 2013 study by Blinkx, a video search technology company. Following are the specific results from the study that quantify just how big the shift away from search engines to social media sites for finding online content really is:

  • Age 18-24 = 43% choose social media over search engines to find online content
  • Age 25-34 = 34% choose social media over search engines
  • Age 35-44 = 23% choose social media over search engines
  • Age 45-54 = 13% choose social media over search engines
  • Age 65+ = 5% choose social media over search engines

The data is so compelling, that eMarketer predicts the share of digital ad spend that goes to search will start to decline in 2014 as a result of the user shift from search engines to social media. In 2013, 58.9% of U.K. digital ad spend went to search, but by 2017, eMarketer forecasts that the share of digital ad spend that goes to search will drop to 53.3%. Instead, those advertising investments will go to display, particularly video.

Of course, this prediction doesn’t mean that search advertising spending will plummet soon after 2017, but user behavior is changing. Brand advertisers are going where their customers spend time, and they’re spending more and more time on social media sites every day. It remains to be seen if performance will warrant shifting even more digital ad spending away from search or not.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the future of search advertising.

B2B Social Media Marketing Strategies

speed-response
While B2C organisations are adopting social media marketing strategies at a fast pace, much of the B2B world is being left behind, with many of these companies believing that their potential customers do not spend time connecting with brands on these kinds of websites.

However, Forrester found that 100 per cent of business decision-makers are using the likes of LinkedIn and Facebook for work purposes, with the vast majority reading brand blogs, watching videos and listening to podcasts.

It is, therefore, becoming increasingly crucial that B2B companies integrate this marketing strategy to increase their global reach. Using social media also allows a brand to create a more personal relationship with clients, which can generate leads and translate into better sales.

Social media presence

When implementing a social media marketing strategy, B2B organisations must first think about the audiences they want to connect with and the brand qualities they want to portray, as this will allow them to better recognise which platforms should be adopted.

It is inefficient to simply create profiles on every social media site – better results can be achieved by focusing on delivering content on the most relevant channels. FedEx, for example, communicates selectively through its blog, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

Interaction is key

One look at the messages FedEx leaves to its customers and prospects on these profiles, shows an approach focused on interaction rather than advertising. Clients follow these feeds not to be barraged with promotions.

The company uses its pages to form conversations with commenters, and as a customer service platform. Engaging with those who ask questions or mention the brand is a great way to humanise and get people talking positively about the company.

Tell a story with content marketing

Many B2B organisations with successful social media strategies are using these channels to promote unique content that puts a personal and interesting slant on company operations. UPS, for example, shared stories from its happy clients in order to draw attention to its services in an engaging way.

Businesses can also use content marketing to share industry news with clients and prospects, giving them the opportunity to build a good reputation. This is a particularly valuable strategy for B2B brands, which has customers who are sure to be searching for this type of information.

Establishing a company as a useful source is a great way to encourage customers to connect – they will not willingly sign up to receive a brand’s adverts or irrelevant content. Using a variety of media, such as videos, blogs and infographics, can be the most effective and valuable technique.

Communicating frequently and appropriately

The need to stay up-to-date and communicate frequently is part of the reason why focusing on certain social media platforms is so crucial. In order to attract users, a brand must first understand them and engage them in a way that is relevant.

For this reason, a brand should Tweet far more frequently than they blog, and should attempt to network with other companies through the likes of LinkedIn as opposed to YouTube. Responding quickly, whether to client questions or industry news, is necessary to staying ahead in this fast-paced world.

This article was posted on behalf of Kommando, a leader in experience marketing.

Online Moms in 2013 – Mobile, Influential, and Crucial to Brand Marketing

mother laptopResearch has shown again and again that women make or influence the vast majority of purchase decisions, and mothers who spend time online have become a coveted target audience that brand marketers are trying hard than ever to reach. However, messages and campaigns are still missing the mark.

New research from Burst Media reveals that the powerful “online moms” audience is more savvy and decisive than ever. Citing statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, Burst Media reports that 40% of all U.S. households with children under the age of 18 are led by mothers who are either the sole or primary source of income for the entire family.

Furthermore, Baby Center has reported that 81% of U.S. moms own smartphones and 52% own tablets with 68% of them using their smartphones while they shop. In other words, the “mother” market segment has evolved over the years, and old marketing tactics need to evolve along with the target audience.

Burst Media shared a number of key findings from its research that can help brand marketers better understand how the audience of online mothers is using the internet to make and influence purchase decisions. Some of the highlights are included below. Follow the link above to access the full report.

Usage

  • 91.9% of moms go online daily for personal use.

Mobility

  • 61.5% of U.S. moms frequently use smartphones or tablets to access websites and social networks.
  • 87.6% of mothers with household incomes of $100,000 or more frequently use smartphones or tablets to access websites and social networks.

Brands

  • 43.5% of moms have published a review, comment, or question about a specific brand online.
  • 60.8% of moms who have published a review about a brand online, published those reviews on social networking sites, including Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest.
  • Moms are most likely to publish reviews, questions, or comments on social networks (62.2%) followed by shopping/retail sites (55.9%) and blogs/independent sites (32.4%).
  • 56.1% of moms share or post product coupons and sales incentives on social media sites.

Purchase Decisions

Moms are “very involved” in most household purchase decisions. For example, they make or influence purchase decisions as follows:

  • Furniture = 83%
  • Travel and family vacations = 81.9%
  • Large household appliances = 80%
  • Home repairs and remodeling = 79.1%
  • Banking, financial, and retirement products = 77.1%
  • Automobiles and auto repairs = 75.8%

Moms are also turning to the web to make purchase decisions in greater numbers than ever. When asked their primary information source for researching products and services, the results broke down as follows:

  1. Web = 41%
  2. Friends and family = 19.4%
  3. Brochures and product materials = 15.1%
  4. Social networks such as Facebook and Pinterest = 4.6%
  5. In-store displays = 4.1%
  6. Magazines = 3.9%
  7. Television shows = 3.5%
  8. Newspapers = 2.3%

Based on the results from this study, are you targeting online moms appropriately? Do your messages, social media activities, and content distribution strategies match what online moms are looking for and where they’re looking for it in 2013? Leave a comment and share your thoughts about marketing to online moms.

Image: Alicja Stolarczyk

New Honda Tagline Focuses on Relationship Branding

honda civicHonda is rolling out a new tagline in the United States that urges consumers to “Start something special.” Mark Rechtin of Automotive News reports that the new tagline is intended to build deeper relationships between consumers and the Honda brand, and it will be used across all advertising beginning in the fall.

Ads rolling out later this year will focus on the reasons why owning a Honda is “special” with a reliance on audience psychographic data rather than solely on demographic data.

The slogan seems appropriate for the Honda brand, which is known for its reliability and trustworthiness. Many people who purchase Honda vehicles in the United States keep them for a very long time, and when they do decide to replace their cars, they choose a Honda again. This loyalty is very valuable for the Honda brand, and the “start something special,” tagline is a logical extension of the brand promise — a special driving experience that continually grows through a consumer’s long relationship with the brand.

The obvious question is whether or not this slogan does enough to position the Honda brand against one of its top competitors in the United States—Toyota. Both brands are positioned as the reliable and trustworthy brands, but there is little differentiation between them. If Toyota owns “reliable” then what word does Honda own? You could swap the two brand names in that question and it would still make complete sense.

Similarly, you could apply the “Start something special” tagline to a number of automotive brands (as well as brands in completely different industries) and it would still work. It’s not the worst tagline, but it seems a bit watered down (i.e., a victim of decision-by-committee disease).

Of course, battling over market share between Honda and Toyota would likely require a bigger marketing investment than it would to try and steal market share from competitors that occupy distinctly different positions in consumers’ minds. Shifting consumers from the “less reliable” brand with the less-than-special-relationship to Honda is likely a better investment.

It’s important to note that Honda isn’t replacing its global tagline with this new tagline. Furthermore, Honda isn’t placing any long term dependence on this new tagline. According to Rechtin’s report, if the slogan doesn’t catch on following the fall advertising push, it will be replaced. Only time and consumer reactions will tell whether or not this new Honda slogan is truly the start of something special.

What do you think?

Image: Simon Cataudo

Email Marketing Open Rates Down Since Gmail Tabs Launch

email marketinhg networkThe new Gmail Tabs feature, which rolled out to all users last month, appears to be having a negative impact on email marketing open rates. That’s according to research from MailChimp and is the opposite of what research from Return Path found. However, there is a reason for the discrepancy. Let’s take a closer look.

The Return Path study looked at email open rates during the week after Gmail Tabs rolled out fully. The MailChimp study looked at email open rates after the first week that Gmail Tabs launched in order to account for “shiny new toy syndrome.” You can follow the preceding link to learn about the Return Path study results. Following are some interesting details about the MailChimp study. Keep in mind, neither study can factor in the adoption rate of Gmail Tabs, so the data is limited in that respect.

MailChimp analyzed every delivery to a Gmail inbox over the past year from its database (12.5 billion emails with more than 2 billion unique opens) to identify open rate trends. Next, the data was narrowed to six weeks around the Gmail Tabs launch, which equated to 1.5 billion emails. Finally, the analysis of open rates was done by Matt Grove of MailChimp as follows:

“Gmail published their blog post about the tabbed inbox on May 29, which was the 22nd week of 2013. The week after that announcement, we actually saw increased open rates. Everyone likes a new toy, and the added attention that changing the inbox brings probably skewed results that week. To compensate, I skewed my concept of the “event” to the week after the attention died down. That’s when I saw a small but definite drop.”

As you can see from Matt’s explanation, his research corroborates the Return Path research, which saw open rates increase after the launch of Gmail tabs. However, a week later, open rates dropped. Matt explained his findings as follows:

“Before the tabbed layout, open rates to Gmail had been above 13% for 15 weeks. They never dipped below that threshold unless there was a specific holiday. The open rates stayed down for three consecutive weeks. From looking at a year and a half’s worth of data, I can say that kind of behavior isn’t normal.”

MailChimp is continuing to monitor how Gmail tabs are affecting open rates. In the meantime, they suggest that convincing the people on your email marketing lists to move your messages to the Primary Tab in Gmail is the best way to get there. The MailChimp team has tried a variety of tactics to get email marketing messages to automatically go to the Primary Tab but they’ve had no luck so far. They also suspect that if promotional email messages do end up in the Primary Tab by bypassing Google’s methods of flagging them as promotional, Google will respond quickly by modifying their methods and ensuring those emails aren’t missed in the future.

Bottom-line, it’s not surprising that Gmail tabs are negatively affecting email open rates for brand marketers. However, brand marketers have to create amazing, relevant, and meaningful content. Be useful and timely with your email marketing messages, and you might just motivate Gmail recipients to move your messages to the primary tab.

Image: Sergio Roberto Bichara

Facebook Ad Performance Up in 2Q 2013

mouse click facebook ad conversionsThe second quarter of 2013 was a good one for Facebook advertisers. That’s according to data from Kenshoo Social which compares Facebook advertising performance trends between the first and second quarters of this year based on a global analysis of a representative sample of 75 billion Facebook ads. The analysis showed an improvement in every key metric tracked in the study.

The analysis by the Kenshoo Social team identified the following performance improvements in Facebook advertising:

  • Click Through Rate (CTR):  Up 18.5%
  • Cost Per Click (CPC):  Down 15.9%
  • Click Volume:  Up 16.4%
  • Conversions:  Up 56.9%
  • Advertiser Revenue:  Up 28.3%

Todd Herrold of Kenshoo Social explains the two factors that were found to be driving the improvement in Facebook ad performance as follows:

  1. Better ad targeting products from Facebook designed specifically to increase conversions such as Partner Categories, Custom and Lookalike Audiences, and Facebook Exchange (FBX)
  2. Better use of tools by advertisers to target their ads and manage their advertising programs

For Facebook, this report is extremely important. In fact, any report that shows Facebook advertising can drive tangible results through conversions is an important one for Facebook, which must prove the worth of its ad platform to advertisers. The Kenshoo Social report defined conversions as offsite sales, likes, shares, comments, app installs, game plays, and other Facebook actions. Based on the findings in this report, these types of conversions were up nearly 60% during the second quarter of 2013 (over first quarter 2013 conversion rates).

If this growth is sustainable, Facebook might have a really good chance to prove that Facebook advertising is a viable direct response marketing investment rather than just a brand awareness investment. For brand marketers, this performance improvement for Facebook ad conversion rates provides another way to justify budget dollars for Facebook advertising. Of course, creating the right campaigns and effectively targeting them are critical to leveraging Facebook advertising for direct response marketing. With that said, the opportunities certainly appear to be growing.

Are you testing Facebook advertising as a direct response marketing tool for your brand yet? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: Ariel da Silva Parreira