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Research Shows Consumers Want Online Video from Brands

online video brandNew research from Digitas and Harris Interactive reveals that 46% of U.S. online video viewers are at least somewhat likely to look up a brand or product when it’s mentioned in an online video they’re viewing. Similarly, 49% of people who follow brands on social networks are at least somewhat likely to watch videos published by those brands to learn more.

According to Stephanie Sarofian, managing director of Digitas’ brand content unit, Third Act, “Investing in online video is no longer optional. Consumers are hungry for online content and ready to take this journey with brands. Today’s viewer isn’t just passively sitting and watching — they’re sharing, talking, clicking, and testing.”

The March 2012 survey of 2,211 Americans 18 years and older also revealed that 63% of respondents have viewed online content while they’re watching television. However, just 27% have actually looked at online content related to a show they were watching while they were watching it.

Still, that’s nearly one out of every three respondents and reflects a growing trend in viewing diverse content on multiple screens simultaneously. For example, consumers watch television while using their smartphones or tablet devices. Just last week, I published an article here on the Corporate Eye blog that discussed results from a recent Nielsen study that showed just how far this trend has already grown in terms of stealing eyes from television commercials.

Despite the willingness to watch online video from brands that consumers have demonstrated, brands are still struggling to create the right kind of video content. The Digitas survey found that consumers are looking for entertaining and informative online video content. One out of two respondents to the survey claimed that they usually share online videos that they like with at least three of their friends and online connections. This is a powerful word-of-mouth marketing opportunity that brands which are creating online video content that adds value to consumers’ lives are seizing.

The study also found that while online video viewing and sharing is still more common among younger audiences, the 55+ audience is not lagging as far behind as you might think. However, women in the 55+ demographic are far more likely to watch and share branded online video content then men in the same age range.

It’s safe to assume that these statistics will continue to increase. Has your brand leveraged online video content to connect with consumers yet? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: Digitas Photos

Facebook Helps Brands Drive Growth in Emerging Markets [Infographic]

facebook hqIn a new infographic, SocialBakers visually explains the opportunity that Facebook offers brands to connect with a global audience, particularly in emerging markets. According to the data in the infographic, of the 901 million Facebook users, only 157 million are located in the United States.

That means 83% of the people who use Facebook are not from the United States. They’re from countries around the world, which makes Facebook a truly global online destination that brands want to turn into sales opportunities.

Here is a breakdown of the ten countries with the most Facebook members:

  1. United States: 157 million people (51% population penetration)
  2. Brazil: 47 million people (23% population penetration)
  3. India: 46 million people (4% population penetration)
  4. Indonesia: 42 million people (17% population penetration)
  5. Mexico: 33 million people (19% population penetration)
  6. United Kingdom: 31 million people (49% population penetration)
  7. Turkey: 31 million people (39% population penetration)
  8. Philippines: 27 million people (27% population penetration)
  9. France: 24 million people (38% population penetration)
  10. Germany: 24 million people (29% population penetration)

The top brands on Facebook vary from one country to the next as you can see in the infographic pictured below.

Facebook brands infographic

Popular brands on Facebook that are successfully engaging consumers, as depicted in this infographic, come from a variety of categories. The apparel, technology, food and beverage, and automotive categories are the most prevalent, but this diversity shows that your brand doesn’t have to operate in a specific category, local market, or niche to successfully engage consumers on Facebook. If a 2011 study by SocialCode is correct, and each Facebook Page fan can be valued at $9.56, the top brands on Facebook are going to reap the rewards of their social media efforts.

It’s also interesting to compare the top ten list from this infographic to similar lists from prior years. In 2011, Ignite Social Media put together a list of the top 50 branded Facebook pages. Back in 2010, Visibli put together a list of the most engaging brands on Facebook while TheNextWeb.com compiled a list of 28 branded Facebook Pages with the most likes. Take a look at those lists and you’ll see some of the same brands that appear on the infographic from SocialBakers for 2012.

Facebook is available in 70 languages, and as the SocialBakers infographic shows, global use of Facebook keeps on growing. Which brands do you think are the most engaging on Facebook? Are you using Facebook to increase the global reach of your brand? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: Marco Paköeningrat

Consumers Engaging with Brands on Google+

google plusGoogle+ isn’t even a year old yet and Brand Pages have only been around since November 2011, but already, brands are seeing user engagement on Google+ according to research by comScore. That means many of the companies that encourage consumers to interact with their brands on Google+ through following, commenting, +1ing, and sharing content are already seeing positive results.

Of course, the data collected so far isn’t staggering — Google+ is new for both consumers and brands. As eMarketer explains, “As marketers start to become more comfortable there, it will be interesting to see whether active brands can bring more active users, or whether usage must improve on Google+ before it becomes a significant channel for brand communication.”

Let’s take a look at some of the stats gathered by Simply Measured, which has been tracking the Top 100 Brands (based on financial performance according to Interbrand) to try to determine the extent that brand name influences purchase decision as well as to measure the strength of the brand. The company did this by tracking and analyzing each brand’s Google+ activities between November 2011 through March 2012. Here are some of the key statistics collected:

  • 60 of the Top 100 Brands according to Interbrand had verified accounts on Google+.
  • Wednesdays were the most active days for brands to post content on Google+ and for users to engage with those posts. In fact, 21% of all brand posts were published on a Wednesday during the tracking period. Mondays were the second most active day. Weekend activity was significantly less for both brand posts and engagement (approximately 75% less active than the least active weekday, Friday).
  • Mornings are the most active time for both brand posts to be published and users to engage with those posts with 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. local time being the most active hour for both (when many people are just sitting down at their desks to begin work). 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. local time was the second most active hour for both brand posts and user engagement. 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time is the least active time for both brand posts and engagements (when people are likely to be commuting home from work and eating dinner).

What’s most interesting about this data is how frequently people engage with brands on Google+ during work hours. The sweet spot for brand posting and engagement is 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. local time on a weekday. Of course, that’s just a small part of the Google+ marketing puzzle. Brands need to learn what kind of content and conversations the Google+ audience is most willing to engage with, talk about, and share.

With Google+ becoming more and more important to Google search results in a variety of ways, brands need to have a presence on on the site. However, the recipe for success is still unknown.

What do you think about Google+? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: West McGowan

Consumer Engagement is on the Rise for Google+ Company Pages

google-plusGoogle+ introduced Company Pages in November 2011, just a few months after the social network rolled out in full to the public. Emarketer explains that it’s been estimated that fewer than 10% of the U.S. consumer population has a Google+ profile, far less than its social networking competitors like Facebook, but that hasn’t stopped brands from creating Company Pages and trying to engage with consumers via those pages. Given the fact that Google+ is already affecting social search on Google, having a Company Page is an essential part of many marketing plans. However, Google+ still fails to drive the deep levels of engagement that brands want.

Simply Measured studied the Google+ Company Pages for Interbrand’s top 100 global brands and found that 64 have verified pages. More Google+ members are starting to add Company Pages to their circles, too. Here are some highlights from the Simply Measured report (data as of May 7, 2012):

  • Approximately 5,000 people had added 35% of the brands from Interbrand’s top 100 companies with verified Google+ Company Pages to their circles (up from 21% in February 2012).
  • 22% of brands had been circled by more than 100,000 people (up from 13% in February 2012).
  • Video posts were the most popular content on Google+ Company Pages with 115,000 +1s, comments and shares during the second quarter of 2012 (up from 66,000 during the first quarter of 2012).
  • Automotive brands have been doing the best on Google+ in May 2012 (2.7 million users have added an automotive page to their circles). Luxury and Internet services brands are also doing well on Google+ now. This is a shift from February 2012 when electronics and beverage brands were in the most user circles.

The study found that people are participating far less frequently on Google+ than they do on Facebook and other social networking sites. As of May 9, 2012, the industries that were in the lead in terms of fan engagement on Google+ among Interbrand’s top 100 brands in the world (based on number of circlers) were:

  1. Automotive = 2.7 million circlers
  2. Electronics = 1.9 million circlers
  3. Luxury = 1.3 million circlers
  4. Internet services = 1.1 million circlers
  5. Beverages = 1.0 million circlers
  6. Apparel = 0.7 million circlers
  7. Restaurants = 0.6 million circlers
  8. Sporting goods = 0.2 million circlers
  9. Business services = 0.02 million circlers
  10. Computer software = 0.01 million circlers
  11. Media = 0.01 million circlers
  12. FMCG = 0.008 million circlers
  13. Financial services = 0.006 million circlers
  14. Diversified = 0.004 million circlers
  15. Transportation = 0.002 million circlers

As a social network, Google+ has a long way to go, but brands can’t ignore it. The relationships between Google+ and Google’s other products, particularly Google search, are simply too important to ignore. Is your brand on Google+? What has your experience been so far? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: Fabrizio Van Marciano

Hyundai Ranks #1 in Brand Loyalty

hyundai elantraAccording to research by Experian Automotive (reported by Motor Trend), Hyundai took the top spot in terms of corporate brand loyalty among American car buyers for the second quarter of 2011.

Suffice it to say, Hyundai has come a long way in the past decade — from the cheap brand with even cheaper quality to the #1 brand based on loyalty. But that’s not all. Hyundai’s Kia brand ranked well for individual brand loyalty with three Kia brands landing in the top 10.

Keep in mind, Hyundai didn’t change its brand image overnight. It took a long time for Hyundai to catch up to other corporate auto brands and finally oust brands like General Motors and Ford that led the brand loyalty list for years. During those years, Hyundai successfully changed its image by altering its brand promise from “cheap” to “good quality at a good price.” It’s a brand promise that is nearly always sure to appeal to many consumers (particularly during an economic downturn) and works as long as the brand consistently delivers on that promise.

Hyundai hasn’t just talked the talk about good quality and good prices over the past decade. The company has walked the walk and proven its commitment to its brand promise. For example, by offering one of the first 10-year, 100,000 mile warranties, Hyundai differentiated its brand from its competitors. Many of those competitors copied the Hyundai warranty, but most couldn’t part with their lucrative extended warranty products. Hyundai put its brand promise on the line by communicating its belief in its promise of good quality at a good price. The 10-year, 100,000 mile warranty was the perfect way to prove the company meant what it said. This is the type of program that attracts new buyers, encourages repeat purchases, and is a public relations dream come true.

Unlike other car brands that have touted good prices and good quality, Hyundai has not gotten complacent. The company realizes that what’s good today, most likely won’t be good enough tomorrow. With that understanding in mind, Hyundai continues to introduce innovative new designs, products, and promotions. Not long ago, ads hyping a new kind of return policy on Hyundai car purchases got people talking (and buying). The ads told consumers that they could buy a Hyundai with less worry because if a buyer lost his job in the next year, he could return his Hyundai!

In 2011, Hyundai is reportedly on track to sell more cars in the United States than ever, and its market share in the U.S. market has more than doubled over the past 10 years since its brand repositioning plan began (via NPR). Furthermore, Hyundai ranked 61st in Interbrand’s list of the Top 100 Global Brands of 2011.

Clearly, Hyundai’s efforts are working. What do you think of the Hyundai brand turnaround? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: Flickr

What Do Consumers Want When They Scan QR Codes?

Last week, I wrote a post on the Corporate Eye blog about the skyrocketing growth of QR code scanning, and this week, I want to share some more statistics that reveal what consumers want to get when the scan QR codes.

In a survey of smartphone users conducted earlier this year by MGH, 32% of respondents claimed that they have scanned QR codes — a much higher number than previous studies revealed. Furthermore, respondents cited the following reasons why they scan QR codes (via eMarketer):

  1. To get a coupon, discount or deal = 53%
  2. To get additional information = 52%
  3. To enter a sweepstakes = 33%
  4. To sign up to receive more information = 26%
  5. To access a video = 24%
  6. To make a purchase = 23%
  7. To interact with social media properties = 23%
  8. Other = 11%
  9. Don’t know = 2%

But what’s even more interesting in the MGH study is the finding related to what respondents plan to do in the future related to QR codes. 70% of respondents stated that they plan to use a QR code (either again or for the first time) in the future. In terms of future use, respondents cited the following reasons for wanting to scan QR codes in the future:

  1. To secure a coupon, discount, or deal = 87%
  2. To enter a sweepstakes = 64%
  3. To access additional information = 63%
  4. To make a purchase = 60%
  5. To sign up to receive more information = 53%

There is no doubt that QR code usage is growing quickly and brands that offer QR code experiences that add value to consumers’ lives are performing best. Today, offering coupons, discounts, contest entries, and deals through QR codes is a viable marketing option that can deliver positive short-term results. In the future, the desire to make purchases through QR codes will undoubtedly grow.

Your business needs to be looking ahead when it comes to QR codes, because this opportunity will evolve very quickly. Start testing now, so you’re not left behind tomorrow. For inspiration, check out the QR code to help clean up the Gulf of Mexico shown below, which was created by ScanLife and added to the Reuters billboard in New York City’s Times Square last summer following the BP oil spill.

And don’t look at QR codes with blinders on. According to the MGH study, 72% of smartphone user respondents stated that they would be likely to recall an ad with a QR code in it. In other words, QR codes can also positively effect advertising recall. Not bad for a little 2-D barcode.

What do you think? Are you using QR codes to market your brand yet? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.