Posts Tagged ‘Marketing’
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.
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.”
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.”
Socialo Media is about buzz and excitement or is it
Brand marketers want consumers to follow them to build buzz and engagement, but social media users often desire something in return. What they’ve come to expect is a good deal, but many consumers—including the most active users of social sites—are also interested in deeper engagement.
A December 2009 MarketingSherpa survey indicated that learning about specials and sales was the top motivation of those who friended or followed a brand online, supporting the results of earlier surveys. But looking for savings was followed closely by learning about new products, features or services.
Reasons for Friending on Social Sites
Users described as “max connectors”—those with at least 500 social connections—were less interested than average in getting deals. Instead, they cared about new products and company culture, demonstrating the deeper engagement expected by social media power users.
An earlier study, by Razorfish, also found that exclusive deals and offers were the primary motivation of US Internet users following brands on Twitter.
Reasons US Internet Users Follow a Brand
Respondents who friended a brand on Facebook or MySpace responded similarly, though they were more likely to become a fan because they were a current customer (32.9%) than were users of Twitter.
Sharing interesting content that users care about, along with the deals and discounts they have come to expect, will both keep them engaged and spur them to pass along marketing messages.
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.
Yellow Pages Directory
Though 2009 was a tough year for some Yellow Pages directory publishers, the industry is entering 2010 with “fresh optimism,” according to Neg Norton, president of the Yellow Pages Association (YPA), who noted that small businesses are beginning to show signs of recovery and growth. At the same time, publishers are diversifying their business models to incorporate more online offerings and more interactive capabilities.
In a blog post on Search Engine Land, Norton recently shared his top-four market trend predictions that will likely affect small businesses looking to harness local search.
The top local search predictions for 2010:
1. Mobile will drive local search growth: Last year, BIA/Kelsey predicted that mobile local search ad revenues will grow to $130 million by 2013, and that mobile local searches will increase to 35% of all searches by 2013. Amid this growth, the Yellow Pages industry is seeing significant innovation on the mobile front, from new Yellow Pages iPhone apps to mapping technologies that deliver relevant local information to users on the go.
Norton added that in 2010, advertisers will be faced with a growing set of options, and many will have limited knowledge of how to break through. The providers that will do well will be the ones who can make sense of this quickly changing platform and deliver programs that offer quality sales leads to advertisers.
2. Local search providers will vie for social: Though no one yet “owns” social local search, all of the major players in the space have their eye on this prize. This is because, according to Nielsen, ad spending at top social media sites increased 119% over the last year, and the share of social media ad spending to total online spending doubled to 15% in 2009.
Because of the significant trust that exists within online social communities and the fact that social networks have become a crucial way in which consumers relate to one another, players in the local search industry will seek to find ways to tap into those networks to serve local business information to consumers in search of it.
3. Local print advertising will decline but won’t disappear: Though many industry watchers have been predicting the death of print media for a long time, Norton doesn’t think it will disappear anytime soon. Instead, he points to the fact that usage is changing. Media fragmentation is causing a gradual decline in the quantity of print Yellow Pages references, for example, although the quality of those references is still very high. Norton added that the “perception of usage decline in the printed Yellow Pages far exceeds the reality of what is actually happening.”
“For advertisers, this shift in usage means taking a close look at advertising spending and evaluating investment in print,” Norton said. “Those who are too quick to abandon it may see a reduction in qualified sales leads, while those who aren’t open newer platforms might be missing opportunity.”
4. A hybrid marketing approach will win: A good deal of Yellow Pages industry discussion this year has focused on the hybrid model that has been deployed in many sales teams. Yellow Pages sales representatives, for example, are now armed with portfolios of options ranging from owned products to partner products. In this way, the reps are positioned as advertising consultants to small businesses.
To take advantage of such resources, advertisers need to devote some time to thinking through their options and devising a strategy that spans the appropriate media for the business. “It’s more important than ever to consider a hybrid approach because today’s consumers get information for a multitude of places before making a purchasing decision,” Norton said, adding that this fragmentation will only continue to grow in 2010 and beyond.
Facebook Social Network Site
Here’s a story as featured on ninemsn.com.au today and I thought you would find it interesting:
Notions of privacy have radically shifted due to the popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook, according to its founder Mark Zuckerberg.
The 25 year-old Facebook CEO, who was speaking at an awards ceremony in San Francisco, said that privacy was “no longer a social norm” and that “people have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people”.
According to a report in the Guardian newspaper, Zuckerberg’s comments are “not surprising” considering massive changes in Facebook’s privacy settings that affected many of the site’s 350 million users.
Zuckerberg said that when he started the site in 2004 for fellow Ivy League students, notions of privacy were vastly different.
He said people were less likely to want to share personal information with strangers on the web, but in the last “five or six” years the explosion of personal websites and blogs had redefined our privacy boundaries.
But the question remains whether notions of privacy have changed due to Facebook pushing users to be more open, with initiatives such as the introduction of the ‘news feed’ in 2006 — or whether the rise of other tools such as blogging has led to internet users becoming more relaxed with sharing information.
Marshall Kirkpatrick, of the technology industry blog ReadWriteWeb was quoted in the Guardian as saying that Facebook has been “complicit in ….changing the way people think about online privacy.”
Technology expert Om Malik had previously described changes in Facebook’s privacy settings as creating an equivalent of a “quasi-White Pages of the Web.”
Generation-Y women discover new brands and get most of their style inspiration and product recommendations from blogs and social media, according to a recent research report from PopSugar Media and Radar Research.
The “Why Y Women” report (pdf), which examined both the sphere of influence and generational differences between Gen X and Y women also revealed that two-thirds (67%) of Generation X women say that Generation Y women make up the most influential age group when it comes to defining trends in popular culture.
Y Women ‘Major’ Force
According to PopSugar Media, study results suggest that Generation Y women are a major force in determining cultural trends and setting the pace for style. An overwhelming 92% of Gen Y women consider their generation to be the trend leader.
Gen Y women are also influential brand advocates, the research found. When they discover a brand they love, 61% say they “share it with as many friends as possible,” and they are likely to share it across a spectrum of platforms, including email, social networks, online reviews, blog comments, SMS/MMS, phone, and face-to-face. They are twice as likely to use online social networking sites to share their recommendations than Gen X women (28% vs. 15%).Survey results also suggest that Gen Y women are more brand loyal than many may assume. The research found that Gen Y and Gen X on virtually on par in this area (79% vs. 84%), though the level of brand loyalty varies by category.
Gen Y women trust on line reviews and blogs
Peer Group Redefined
How Gen-Y women define their peer group also is a significant change from previous generations. The study found that it not only includes their “real-life’ friends but also online friends, blog writers, anonymous reviewers, Twitter followers, and other participants in online communities – many whom they may have never met. As a result, this generation has a wider network of connections than Gen X women.
Blogs and Social Media as Cultural Influencers
Blogs and social media, rather than traditional media, have emerged as key trusted and inspirational sources for Gen Y to discover brands and products, the research found. Nearly twice as many Gen-Y women than Gen-X women say they rely on blogs to influence their decisions to buy a product (28% vs. 16%). Twice as many Gen Y women than Gen X women report they discovered a new brand or product from a friend’s status update on a social networking site (42% vs. 22%).
Consumption of new media, such as blogs, reinforce Gen Y women’s perception of themselves as more individualistic than earlier generations. This generation of women cites blogs as being more accessible, more likely to be honest, on the cutting edge, and more likely to know about trends first. They also believe the “commentor community” on blogs is very important. Gen-Y women say they often find new ideas about websites and products from other readers’ comments on blogs.
Context is Vital
Not surprisingly, Gen-Y women are very media savvy and conscious of attempts to market to them and are not easily swayed to action by advertising, either offline or online. While they aren’t likely to click on an online ad, they are influenced by advertising messages and are highly aware of brand messages online, such as in online magazines, search engines, blogs, social networking sites, and even ads. When asked if they’ve ever discovered a new product via an online ad they saw but didn’t click on, almost two in five (38%) reported they did.
The study’s findings, according to PopSugar, demonstrate that context is vital when it comes to brand perception and advertising and largely determines trust in a brand.
“The results of this study underscore how much marketers must think and act differently when addressing this generation of women online. It shows they want to be addressed as individuals, they can be skeptical of marketing messages, and they are inundated by media and advertising,” said Brian Sugar, founder and CEO of Sugar, Inc. “As this study and our experience proves, it’s crucial for brands to create a trusted relationship and earn their loyalty through honest dialogue about their brand. Once they have a personal connection to a brand, Gen Y women will be passionate advocates and ambassadors. Our goal has been to work closely with brands to help facilitate that relationship.”
Sugar added that context matters a great deal to Gen Y women, and recommended that marketers be very selective about the sites they advertise on and avoid mass-reach network buys they cannot control.
Moreover, because Gen-Y women rarely click on online adds, using click-through as a metric of campaign success is not effective. Instead, Sugar suggests using multiple digital touch points that are interactive but non-intrusive, to offer opportunities to engage with brands. These might be contests, games, custom integrated content, and discounts and incentives for attention.
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