Posts Tagged ‘Business’
Nearly one-fifth of marketing dollars will go to social in five years
Social marketing budgets are constantly going up, according to “The CMO Survey” from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and the American Marketing Association (AMA).
Marketers were already planning on upping spend in August 2009. They have continued to increase outlays since then, with respondents in February 2010 claiming they will devote nearly one-fifth of their marketing budgets to social media in the next five years.
Percentage of marketing budgets spent on social media
Looking across sectors, business-to-business (B2B) spending is nearly in line with business-to-consumer (B2C), except in the lagging B2B products category. While B2C services were behind the game in August 2009, spending in that area has caught up and will remain in line with other outlays for the next several years. B2B product marketers will remain behind the curve over the next five years.
Social media marketing spending by B2B and B2C marketers
Notably, spending plans for every sector were higher in February 2010 than they had been just six months earlier.
Growing B2B spending on social media lines up with the general goals of B2B marketers: customer relationship management and brand-building, which respondents claim will be the highest growth areas in the next year. Social marketing, with its strength in boosting brand engagement and loyalty, is an effective medium for both purposes.
A difficult economy has helped spur small businesses to adopt social media marketing in greater numbers, according to “The State of Small Business Report” from Network Solutions and the Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business. Social media usage increased to 24%, from 12% the year before.
The most common usage of social media among small business was a company page on a social networking site, followed by posting status updates.
Social Media Tactics used by US Small Business
Small businesses’ expectations of social media seem roughly to be in line with their experiences, although they are not quite as successful as they had hoped. Respondents’ top accomplishments were customer acquisition and placing their own businesses within the market, but did not meet expectations fully. Social media’s capabilities for staying engaged with consumers and collaborating with other businesses, however, were more in line with businesses’ expectations.
Performance of social media tactics by small business
Most small businesses say they are just breaking even with their current usage of social media, but a solid one-fifth find it profitable already. Businesses are positive about the potential as well: Nearly one-half believe it will make them money in the next 12 months, and another 39% think they will break even on it. Just 9% think social marketing will continue to be a losing proposition.
Impact of social media marketing on small business
Overall, 58% of respondents felt social media lived up to their expectations. One-half felt it took up more time than they realized, but only 6% claimed negative comments on social media had hurt their business.
“Social media levels the playing field for small businesses by helping them deliver customer service,” said Janet Wagner, director of the Center for Excellence in Service, in a statement. “Time spent on Twitter, Facebook and blogs is an investment in making it easier for small businesses to compete.”
Previous research on small businesses and social media use revealed a somewhat rocky relationship. A Citibank study indicated social media was not working well for small businesses’ lead gen efforts, but other data showed small companies would be upping spending in the channel.
Marketers seeking to promote products and services to the “Baby Boom” generation would do well to remember that Boomers are still vital and evolving even as they approach retirement age, according to Dr. Bob Deutsch of marketing firm Brain Sells.
Three Basic Life Structures of Boomers
Deutsch recently released a list of suggestions for how to best target the Boomer marketplace. The Baby Boom generation is classified as people born between 1946 and 1964, meaning the oldest Baby Boomers turn 65 this year. Deutsch says understanding the following three basic life structures is critical to capturing the Boomer market:
Identity – Optimism and Adaptation to Power Diminished
The developmental history of Boomers casts them as characters that possess a self-expansive nature primarily devoid of cynicism. For the most part, the Baby Boom generation embodies a vitality that makes them survivors, even if they can’t always be thrivers.
Territoriality – Space Contracts and is Re-Articulated
As Boomers age, home range will become more important, and getting settled in new spaces, such as a smaller, closer-to-town abode or a move to a warmer climate, will require adaptation to new interpersonal and larger social arrangements.
How they will develop new networks, digital and face-to-face, will provide new opportunities for marketers. The same is true for how Boomers will develop requirements for new types of mundane services, particularly in the domains of finance, healthcare, and personal care.
Time – Perceptions of Past, Present and Future
A people age their nostalgic yearnings grow, making them more receptive to advertisers and marketers use of what researchers call a “longing for positive memories of the past.” Moreover, nostalgia can make Boomers feel that not so much time has passed between then and now, making them feel young again. Nostalgia should be considered as one marketing aesthetic to attract Boomers because it telescopes time and brings it more under each individual’s own emotional orchestration.
Points to Remember When Marketing to Boomers
- Boomers are at a time in life when they really don’t want to compromise their authenticity.
- For Boomers, process is at least as important as the end result. They want “the ride.”
- Boomers like to inspire others. Help them feel helpful.
- Boomers have been around long enough to know there are few absolutes, little is black or white.
- Accentuate personal style over rote action or blind ritual.
- Boomers are oriented to the human dimension, that’s the only real thing. They can see the humor in most situations.
- What Boomers really dislike is felling put upon by arbitrary power, feeling trapped, conned, boxed-in, and being thought of as one of the masses.
- Boomers are both creative and conservative (”A beautiful garden is wild and tended”).
- Boomers go for what gives voice to things they are thinking and feeling, but haven’t fully worked out yet.
- Boomers respond to what stands out by its presence, not its loudness; and what shows them it really listens and, therefore, understands.
Boomer Preferences Reflect Broader Cultural Trends
Several Boomer preferences Deutsch refers to are also emblematic of the desires of the general population, according to consumer insights firm trendwatching.com.
In its recent list of Top 10 Consumer Trends for 2010, trendwatching.com identified several trends that closely match with Boomer trends. These include a need for companies to be transparent and honest about their efforts to conduct environmentally sustainable business practices and genuinely collaborate with their customers rather than try to dictate to them. In addition, consumers are increasingly using social networks as part of everyday life and respond well to products and services which have a charitable component.
2010 looks brighter for digital media
The digital media industry should look toward this year with cautious optimism, according to comScore.
As part of its 2009 US Digital Year in Review, comScore highlighted a number of likely digital media trends for 2010. Although many companies sought opportunities in new markets during 2009, sustained increases in consumer demand will be necessary to drive continued growth in digital advertising.
Top Digital Media Trends for 2010
- Despite a significant drop-off in growth rates, e-commerce remains a relative bright spot for retailers. New buyers continue to enter the channel, and as average spending per buyer rebounds off its 2009 lows the ecommerce channel should return to healthy growth rates. The online media channel also continues to be an important driver of offline purchase behavior, so marketers in all industries need to retain a clear focus on having an online presence, where their consumers frequently begin the purchase process.
- Social networking and social media continue to drive much of the innovation occurring around the internet today. A critical challenge remains the ability to effectively harness the marketing intelligence inherent in the way people communicate and interact with one another through the digital medium and make it actionable. Even as new capabilities emerge that leverage the “social” value of the medium, this channel already delivers substantial reach for ad campaigns and despite low click-through rates, there is measurable view-through value from these ads.
- The U.S. search market saw significant innovation from the core engines in 2009, with Bing’s growth promising to make the market more competitive. The trends to watch in 2010 include increased integration of real-time (i.e., Twitter) and vertical-specific search results as the engines seek to both improve the user experience and move the consumer more efficiently down the decision funnel.
- Online video continues to capitalize on the continued increase in media fragmentation, consumer-generated content, and a rising generation of consumers very comfortable using their computers as primary or secondary entertainment devices. As this market has emerged, higher quality video and more seamless integration of video ads are emerging and adding value to the digital advertising market, to the benefit of both advertisers and publishers.
- The digital display advertising market is innovating on several fronts right now, including the emergence of new ad units that promote higher engagement, cutting edge ad targeting techniques, the development of niche audience ad networks, and the increasing popularity of online ad exchanges to buy and sell inventory. Each of these developments is contributing to the improved allocation and effectiveness of digital ad campaigns. Marketers must maintain a critical eye on the performance of their campaigns, in relation to how both digital media and traditional media components are performing.
- With so many new smartphone models reaching the market in 2009, this year promises a rapid increase in market penetration of these devices, which likely means a corresponding uptick in mobile web usage. As more consumers turn to their mobile devices for consuming content and managing their digital lives, there is significant opportunity for innovators to deliver new value to consumers in how they use these devices. The development of mobile applications across new platforms also presents new business opportunity and monetization potential for publishers and developers alike.
Marketers going after moms on social networks such as Facebook know by now that users rarely embrace ads in environments where they are focused on socializing with friends.
Data from lucid marketing and Lisa Finn shows that most mom Facebook users feel neutral about ads on the social network, compared with about 36% who actively disliked them. Only a tiny percentage of respondents reported liking ads on Facebook.
Attitudes of US mothers towards Facebook advertising
Moms were much more receptive to marketing in general, however—at least when done on their terms. Though most moms used Facebook primarily to keep in touch with friends and family, and only 10.4% said they focused on checking out companies or products, three-quarters were fans of at least one company or brand.
Reasons US mothers use Facebook
Further, some 16% of mom Facebook users followed more than 10 companies’ fan pages. Respondents named parenting-specific pages as their favorites, along with restaurant, grocery and entertainment pages—especially kid-oriented ones.
The survey found mothers on Facebook savvy about marketing and skeptical of offers that seemed to good to be true. They expected companies to be straightforward and respectful of their time, and indicated a great interest in special offers and deals exclusive to Facebook, such as coupons they could send to their friends on the site.
“Facebook is fertile ground for marketers to engage mothers and drive sales, but it needs to be done on their terms,” said Kevin Burke, president of lucid marketing, in a statement. “They have no time for brands that don’t ‘get it,’ but they do embrace brands that play by their rules.”
Cybercriminals are turning their attention to users of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, according to a new report [pdf] from IT security and data protection firm Sophos.
Spam, Malware Attacks on the Rise
Sophos’ Security Threat Report: 2010 indicates criminals have increasingly focused attacks on social networking users in the past 12 months, with a dramatic rise in the use of spam and malware. Fifty-seven percent of social networking users reported being spammed in December 2009, a 70.6% jump from 33.4% reporting spam attacks in April 2009. Similarly, 36% reported social network-based malware attacks in December 2009, a 69.8% rise from 21.2% in April 2009.
Facebook is Most Feared
When asked what social network poses the biggest security risk, 60% of respondents said Facebook. Another 18% said MySpace, 17% said Twitter, and 4% said LinkedIn. Facebook is the largest social networking site, with an estimated 350 million users.
Despite Facebook’s perceived high risk, 49% of US firms allow employees unfettered access to Facebook at work. In addition, despite the low percentage of respondents saying LinkedIn poses the biggest security risk, Sophos advised that by publicly posting information on corporate structure, companies using LinkedIn can make it easier for criminals to launch targeted attacks on a corporate directory.
Enterprises Unprepared for SocNet Threat
Unchecked social network use poses a threat to enterprise organizations, according to research by Cisco. A recent Cisco global study indicates only one in seven of the companies that participated in the research notes a formal process associated with adopting consumer-based social networking tools for business purposes. In addition, one in five participants identified any policies in place concerning the use of consumer-based social networking technologies in the enterprise, and only one in ten respondents noted direct IT involvement in externally facing social networking initiatives.
Image via Wikipedia
Marketers will continue to shift dollars from traditional to digital media in 2010, but simply including online ad campaigns and social media efforts is not enough for an effective marketing mix. According to the Alterian “Annual Survey 2009” report, the maturity of digital and social media requires integration of marketing strategies. Marketers must move from a focus on siloed campaigns to an emphasis on listening to and communicating with consumers across channels.
More than one-half of marketers worldwide reported directing at least “a fair amount” of effort toward integrating their communication strategies to emphasize multichannel consumer engagement.
“The age of sending out silo campaigns is long gone,” according to the report. “The only communications tolerated by consumers are those that are appropriate, timely and relevant—regardless of channel.”
The majority of marketers surveyed recognized social media as increasingly important to the marketing mix, while 14% went as far as to call it critical for success. It is yet another channel to be incorporated into an integrated communication strategy, rather than addressed on its own. And it can provide unique insights into the consumers who can now use earned media to build brands alongside marketers.
Most marketers say they are at least “prepared enough” to take advantage of new techniques in digital and social media, but more than one-third felt minimally prepared. Staff education and training was a substantial concern.
The largest group of respondents said some of their marketing staff had the skills to implement new customer engagement strategies, but that knowledge was generally restricted to personnel in digital roles. Only 17% said most or all of their staff was prepared, although 37% planned further investments in the area.
“Engaging with customers is becoming paramount and the yardstick by which we measure those brands that survive and those that don’t,” said David Eldridge, CEO of Alterian, in a statement. “Marketers now need to appeal to the individual and engage with customers on a one-to-one basis.”
Fingers now walking on social media sites
Social media is playing an increasingly important role in the home repair and maintenance industry in the US, and it won’t be long before it starts to have an impact in Australia and that is why I am a very strong advocate of small business having a profile on social media sites. Research from the US has found that nearly 30% of higher-income consumers say social media influenced their choice of home maintenance or repair services, a markedly higher percentage than other income groups. This group also had notably high reports of recent maintenance services performed.
Across all demographics, positive and negative comments were the most influential types of social media, Ad-ology found.
For other online media types, ratings websites were the most influential, followed by contractors’ websites. The top-three influential traditional media types were newspapers, Yellow Pages, and direct mail.
“Some companies may be quick to dismiss social media as something that’s only used by young people, and not worth their effort,” said C. Lee Smith, president and CEO of Ad-ology Research. “In reality, social media usage is growing across all demographics and can clearly be a way to reach some very lucrative audiences.”
Other survey findings:
- Licensing/bonding was the most important factor in the choice of a service provider in the Northeast.
- Nearly 7% of respondents had home maintenance done because of the need for emergency repair.
- Of traditional media types, Yellow Pages had the most influence on consumers ages 65-74.
So maybe the saying of “I’m Not Happy Jan” could now be applied to social media.
Join Social Media College on Facebook
Social Media College now has our own dedicated Facebook fan page and we’d love for you to befriend os on oiur Facebook site. You’ll find lots of valuable information on social media as well as updates and advice for small business owners wanting to set up a social media strategy for their business.
To become a fan on Facebook please click the link, Social Media College Fan Page
Web 2.0 technology
The proliferation of consumer-based social networking throughout enterprise organizations is creating a significant amount of security risk that needs to be better understood and carefully managed before it’s too late, according to the results of a global study commissioned by Cisco, which revealed a widespread and growing need for more policies, processes and IT architecture.
The study, which was designed to assess how organizations use consumer social networking tools to collaborate externally and how such use is governed, found that the use of consumer-based social networking tools – such as Facebook and Twitter – as collaboration platforms is connecting organizations with the external world unprecedented ways.
But while these tools have the promise to better marry technology and business, link people and information, establish potential new routes to market, and enhance customer intimacy and brand awareness, the business world is still only in the early stages of identifying key challenges, such as the need for increased governance and IT involvement.
Key findings from the study are highlighted below.
Increased Use of Consumer-Based Social Networking
- Three-fourths (75%) of the organizations participating in the study identify social networks as the consumer-based social media tools they primarily use, while roughly 50% also identify extensive use of microblogging.
- Social networking tools are spreading into core areas of the value chain, including the marketing and communications, human relations, and customer service departments. Within marketing and communications, these tools have already become an integral part of the organizations’ initiatives, as marketing communications staff members have understood and acted on the shift from “broadcast” to “conversational” communications or rich interactions.
- Small and medium-sized businesses are actively using social networking channels to generate leads, but this remains a growth opportunity for larger companies, according to Cisco.
The Need for More Governance and IT Involvement in Social Media Efforts
- Only one in seven of the companies that participated in the research notes a formal process associated with adopting consumer-based social networking tools for business purposes. This indicates that the potential risks associated with these tools in the enterprise are either overlooked or not well understood.
- Only one in five participants identified any policies in place concerning the use of consumer-based social networking technologies in the enterprise.
- Within the respondent base, social networking governance typically involves more stakeholders than standard corporate initiatives, as these organizations have yet to define who “owns” external social media strategies. Without a single point of ownership within organizations, these initiatives are extremely difficult to control and manage.
- Because of the unstructured nature of social networking, companies continue to struggle with policy creation and adoption, as copying an established governance process from other, more structured areas (for example, information technology) often doesn’t work for social networking. Businesses also find difficulty in striking the right balance between the social and personal nature of these tools while maintaining some degree of corporate oversight.
- Only one in 10 respondents noted direct IT involvement in externally facing social networking initiatives. Although the IT department is typically not
involved as a primary decision maker, respondents did recognize the need for these tools to scale and properly integrate with existing business processes
to reap maximum benefits.
The Future of Social Networking and Collaboration Tools in the Enterprise
- Across the board, respondents recognized that consumer-based social networking and collaboration tools will continue to evolve, as will their complexity, and that these tools will continue to influence the way business is conducted. The key for organizations will be the way they adopt and integrate these tools into the enterprise IT environment.
- The following issues need to be addressed regarding the adoption, deployment and governance of social networking in the enterprise: when, how and what initiatives are to be launched (and not launched); how the enabling technologies should be managed; and how employee use of these technologies should be managed.
“The research findings spotlight an underestimation of the power and influence of social networks on businesses, and the transformation that companies need
to make, not only to protect themselves, but also to encourage and benefit from the collaboration these social networks and tools afford them,” said Evgeny Kaganer, Ph.D., lead researcher and assistant professor, IESE Business School. “Ignoring the increased usage and influence of social networking and Web 2.0 tools leaves organizations at the risk of misuse, potentially leading to the disclosure of information and misrepresentation of the company.”
A separate study from 2009 by Russell Herder and Ethos Business Law yielded findings that sync with Cisco’s. That study found that although 70% of US marketing, management and HR executives say they plan to increase social-media use at their companies, more than 80% say they are concerned about the risks, and many do not have policies or training in place to avert reputation mishaps or lost productivity.
Another study, by Nucleus Research, found that companies that allow their workers to access to Facebook during business hours lose an average of 1.5% in total employee productivity.
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