Super Social Activity

There is still a lot of conversation about the Super Bowl, most of it centering on how big a part social media played.  Social entities were proved how big a promotional tool it could be for advertisers and real-time connection point between fans.  The amount of social activity that place is simply astounding; here are just some of the numbers.

•  Half of all Super Bowl commercials featured a hash tag

• Total social activity during this year’s Super Bowl came it at 52.5 million interactions – that’s three times higher than last year

• The biggest social spike during the game did not happen during blackout – it happened at half time. The spike happened at 8:23, there were over 350,000 social interactions during that minute

• 88% of all social activity during the game came from mobile devices and 56% of social participants were men

• Super Bowl advertisers, on average, see a 20% increase to their sites on Super Bowl Sunday and the traffic remains above normal for a week

What Does This Mean To You?

In yesterday’s post, we looked at the impact social media can have on the awareness of your brand and how you can take advantage of everyday opportunities.  Ignoring social media would be a huge mistake.  You may not
the budget that Coke, Audi or Budweiser has but your business needs to
create awareness and reinforce value just like they.  By actively promoting
your business through social media and leveraging a good social reputation, you can develop more loyal customers. But just having a social presence is not enough, you need to engage and interact with people on social media – hence the social part.  Give them reasons to return to your social sites, incentivize them to share your message, utilize your social presences as customer service tools.  Companies that succeed aren’t just lucky, they prepare to take advantage of opportunities and have a sound media strategy.  For more information on how to make your business more social, please your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Manager
407.420.5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com
www.orlandosentinel.com/mediakit

Source: Trendrr; Mahable; Kantar

Social Media’s Impact on Brand Awareness

While the Big Game maybe over, its impact will be felt for a long time to come.  Joe Flacco might have been the MVP, but the big winners of the night were really Audi, the Budweiser Clydesdales and the SuperBowlLights twitter feed (You can probably add Stevie Nicks as well – you know that Landslide is going to be racking up the downloads from kids just discovering it).  Audi’s “Prom” & Budweiser’s “Clydesdale” spots scored big with fans and caused a ton of social media buzz. The blackout gave social media a huge lift and extended the campaigns of many advertisers.  Both Oreo and Tide had great social campaigns up within minutes and the @SuperBowlLights account had over 12,000 followers inside of 10 minutes. Many companies found that social media can be an useful tool in generating attention during the big game, now new research is out that shows how effective social media can in creating awareness in general.
•  44% of use consumers think that social media keeps them in the know about brands & products

• Women are 20% more likely than men to learn about products through social media

• Nearly two-thirds of adults under 35 feel social media keeps them informed about brands and products

• The affect of social media is felt more by those who are in higher income brackets – 46% say social media keeps them in the know about brands

• Social media can also help with B2B messaging.  Businesses owners and senior executive decision makers are much more likely to be influenced by social media

What Does This Mean To You?

Yes, it’s much easier to create a social buzz when it’s backed up by a $4 million commercial and an audience of over 111 million people.  But social media can help nearly every business connect with potential customers and create awareness.  It comes down to taking advantage of opportunities.
The Super Bowl blackout is a great example.  Everyone from electricians and contractors to anyone who sells batteries and light bulbs could have taken advantage of the unique situation.   Start by promoting your social media entities in your existing messaging.  Encourage people to “like” you on Facebook,
follow you on Twitter and join your circle on Google+.  The Big Game only happens once a year, but there are things that happen every day that you can
use to increase your awareness through social media.  For more information on how to create a social buzz, please your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Manager
407.420.5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com
www.orlandosentinel.com/mediakit

Source: Ipsos; Huffington Post; The Nielsen Company; Mashable

Making a Super Huge Impact

The Super Bowl is a more than just a game of football.  It’s an iconic annual event that packages, sports, entertainment and, last but not least, advertising into an experience that draws record numbers of people.  In fact, last year over 111 million people watched the Super Bowl.
While Super Bowl advertising is out of reach for most companies, there are
many activities peripheral to the event you can use to create engagement with your business.

• Nearly 85% of people surveyed plan to watch the game at home – just 16% planned on viewing at a bar or restaurant

• Over half those surveyed said that the key to a great Super Bowl party was the quality of the television

•  More than a quarter of men said the top reason they would watch the game at home was so they had control of instant replay through a DVR

• 36% of people responded that they were going to use other media devices to supplement their game viewing experience

• Of those using other devices, over 40% said they will check sports apps for behind the scenes content and scores

• One third of 18 to 54 year old adults will log into social media during the game

What Does This Mean To You?

The average spot for the Super Bowl is between $3.5 million and $4 million for 30 seconds.  That equates to over $116,000 per second – a little higher than the ad budget for most organizations.
The activities that people take part in with the game give you an opportunity to capitalize on it.

Since so many people plan on either watching the game at home or going to someone’s house to view it, creating a promotion with a Super Bowl party pack is something that would be a valuable prize.

The uses of mobile devices during the game give you a great chance to promote your business or product line.

Social media will be a huge connection point for the entire event, not just the game.  Utilizing twitter for an in-game conversation, having a Facebook post contest or even inviting users to pin pictures of their Super Bowl spread to your Pinterest board are great ways to create social awareness.
While the Super Bowl only happens once a year, there are sports events, to a lesser extent, that you can monetize or benefit from. March Maddness, The Daytona 500, Baseball opening day are just a few coming up in the next couple of months.  For more information on expanding your influence through sports events, please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Manager
407.420.5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com
www.orlandosentinel.com/mediakit

Source: Mashable; Century 21, The Nielsen Company

Frequency of Mobile Social Activity

Last week, we learned that social activity is becoming mobilized.  While nearly all social networkers may access sites from a desktop, the frequency of access on mobile devices is astounding.  Knowing how often social media users visit networks on their mobile devices can definitely help shape winning social tactics.

• Six in 10 smart phone owners access social sites from mobile devices on a daily basis

• That is up 11% from last year

• 14% access on a weekly basis and 7% visit monthly

• 16% of smart phone owners have never accessed a social site from their device

• Social networkers who own have visited a site from a mobile device tend to be younger, have higher household incomes, are more likely to work in White-Collar occupations and have children in their household

What Does This Mean To You?

Mobile social networkers are very active in accessing social presences.  Their demographics also suggest they make a great target audience for many different types of businesses.  How do you get them to become more socially engaged with your business?

• Incorporate QR codes into your point of sale and other marketing material – Link that QR code to your social presence and provide an instant discount for “liking”, following or checking in

• Deliver mobile coupons to your followers

• Create presences on native mobile social sites – Develop Twitter feeds, promote Instagram tags & generate bvadges for FourSquare

• Engage users – This is important, don’t forget the social part of social media.  When someone checks in, tweets or updates their state status indicating they are at your location – Recognize them and thank them for their patronage

Mobile & social are not things that are going away. Everyday more people are adopting mobile and engaging social networks. Adopting strategies and creating tactics to optimize and monetize these activities is a wise investment for the future.  For more information on making more revenue with mobile and social functions, please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Manager
407.420.5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com
www.orlandosentinel.com/mediakit

Source: eMarketer; Google; Ipsos; The 2012 Scarborough Report, Release 1

Social Media Moves Toward Mobile First

Social media has evolved from a small niche platform to a mainstream force that businesses need to understand to be successful.  The way people access social media is also evolving.  It started as a desktop activity but the rise of mobile adoption has changed that completely.  More social presences are being designed as native mobile functions and existing social sites are rapidly moving toward being more of a mobile entity.  A new report is out that shows how and where social networkers are accessing these sites.

• Over 90% of social users have accessed a network on lap top or desktop devices, but that number has fallen year over year.

• In 2012, 46% of social networkers visited a site on their mobile phone

• Visitation via mobile phone rose 24% year over year

• The biggest jump came from tablet visitation.  Nearly one in six social media users accessed a site from a tablet in 2012

• From 2011 to 2012, the number of social networkers who visited a presence from their tablet increased by over 400%

What Does This Mean To You?

Mobile technology has brought social media from the home to into your business.  From earlier posts we know that consumers are using their devices in store.  Besides “showrooming”, this activity gives them the ability to make comments on your business through your company’s social presence as well as their own.  It can put negative information on your organization in full view of potential shoppers.  But, it also can give positive information, such as “likes” and encouraging comments the same publicity.  Including social reputation into your marketing strategy is something to strongly consider. Why?

• Consumers tend not to shop at stores with negative information on social presences

• Social media users are more likely to share both negative and positive experiences

• Shoppers are relying on social media as a customer service function

• Social reputations influence in-store and online shopping behaviors

Social reputation management can help you clean up negative, incorrect or misleading information about you on social presences.  It also should address how to deal with positive comments and how you are going to promote them.  Look at positive comments as virtual testimonials.  To encourage them, you need to reward them. For more information on how to improve your social reputation, please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Manager
407.420.5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com
www.orlandosentinel.com/mediakit

Source: eMarketer; Nielsen

Children Who Are Social Networked

The terms of service for most social networks state users must be 13 or older. But that doesn’t stop many kids from logging in.  One of the main reasons kids are on Social networks is for games.  New research has come out that looks into the social behaviors of kids from 6 to 12 years old.

• Over 40% of children from 6 to 12 years old have visited a social networking site

• 30% of kids in that age group have their own profile page

• Over 90% of those who children who socially network are on Facebook

• Close to 60% of children 6 to 12 use social networks to see what others have posted or to play games.

• 54% have “liked” something

• 43% of kids between 6 and 12 years old have posted an update and 39% have posted a picture

• Nearly 30% have checked email on a social network

• Fewer than one in five kids have shared a video and 16% shared a link

What Does This Mean To You?

Yesterday’s post talked about how children have access to mobile tools.
Digital engagement likely starts with their parents.  Over 60% of adults with children between 6 and 11 have used a social network in the past 30 days – that’s 22% more likely than the average adult.

Connected kids influence their parents purchasing decisions.  Getting your message to them can help you derive more revenue.  Social media can help you create brand awareness among tomorrow’s consumers.  For more information on how to increase your potential buying pool through digital tools, please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Manager
407.420.5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com
www.orlandosentinel.com/mediakit

Source: eMarketer; NPD; Ipsos; The 2012 Scarborough Report 2012

Maybe They’re Just Not Into Your Social Brand Anymore

The relationship between consumers and brands may be just like any other relationship. They have ups & downs and sadly, sometimes they end (Believe it or not, some recent studies found that consumers might be more loyal to the brands they follow than their significant others). The reasons these social brand relationships end are very similar to real life relationships as well.
The brand may get too clingy, the brand might not be who the consumer thought they were or maybe they brand and consumer just grew apart. Like real relationships, knowing where things went wrong can help you make better decisions in the future.

• Nearly 40% of online adults say they have rarely ended connections with brands on social media. 24% say they have never ended a social brand relationship

• The top reason that consumers have ended a relationship with a brand on social networks do so is too many updates. One in three consumers who ended a relationship indicated this

• 22% said the brand’s value was different from the initial perception

• One in five consumers who ended a social brand relationship didn’t see any value in staying connected

• Less than 10% signed up after seeing an ad but didn’t want to stay socially connected with the brand

What Does This Mean To You?

Breaking up might not be hard to do on social media – it’s as easy as clicking a button – but it can be expensive to your company. 17% of adults who follow a brand on social media check their updates on a daily basis; nearly one in four did so at least once a week. That is a great deal of potential sales that your company could be losing.
It all comes down to value and targeting. A consumer may say that they are getting to many updates – but they are often saying they are getting to many updates that they really have no interest in.
The top reason consumers follow brands is to receive discounts and offers – so leverage that to get more information. After they “like” or follow you, offer them a significant discount if give you more information. This will allow you to tailor information to their wants and needs . It will help ensure that your social message to consumers is not “spammy” and that you are continually bring value to them.
Without sounding like Dr. Phil, the most important thing is not to take advantage of the relationship. By giving the consumer what they want, you will continue to get what you need. For more information on how to maximize you brand through social means, please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Manager
407.420.5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com
www.orlandosentinel.com/mediakit

Source: SocialVibe; eMarketer

Why Consumers Are Using Social Media For Holiday Shopping

Recently, we posted information on ways consumers are using social media during gift buying.  Today, we’ll look at the specific social media functions social networkers are using when making gift decisions.

• Over four in 10 online consumers checked out reviews on social media when making a holiday purchase decision

• Nearly 20% looked at online wish lists

• Over 10% engaged in online discussions with social friends about things they may purchase

• Roughly one in 10 reviewed a gift recipient’s Facebook page for information or checked out photos the recipient may have placed online

• Less than 10% followed brands on social media to see what popular gifts might be, gone to pinterest to see things that the recipient might have “pinned” or looked to see what holiday gifts were trending on social media sites

• Other social media actions consumers engaged in were seeing what products had a lot of  “likes”, watched product demonstration videos or followed a gift recipient on Twitter to see what they might like as a gift

What Does This Mean To You?
Social media gives great insight into who consumers are and what they buy.  It also can be great to promote your offerings.  With competition as stiff as it is for the holiday dollar, what are you doing to leverage social media?  If product reviews are important to shoppers, odds are reviews of your business are important too.  If you haven’t  taken a social inventory yet, you need to.  If it’s been a while since you’ve looked at what people are saying about you online, it’s time to look again.
You may find that there are some good reviews that you can use as virtual testimonials.
You also may find negative postings, out of date information or unanswered questions.  While positive comments are hidden gems that can create new business, negative or out of date information can push shoppers away – possibly to your competition.  Unanswered questions may falsely portray your company as one that doesn’t care about its customers.  For more information on how to create a social reputation that will bring you business, please contact, your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Manager
407.420.5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com
www.orlandosentinel.com/mediakit

Source: eMarketer; ConsumerSearch

Social Media and Holiday Shopping

Social media has become a major influence on consumers. In yesterday’s post, we showed information on where consumers learn about holiday gifts – social media being one of those influences. Today, we’ll look at how consumers are using social media when making holiday purchases.

• Nearly half of all holiday shoppers use social media during the purchase process

• The top reason consumers used social media was to find discounts – 54% of consumers who used social media during the holiday purchasing did so to find a discount or offer

• Over half researched gift ideas

• 47% read reviews

• 43% checked to see what family and friends wanted as gifts

• Just over four in 10 browsed products

• Nearly 30% posted comments or shared links

• More than one in four visited a retailer’s fan page

What Does This Mean To You?

Your social networking sites are often the face of your business. Make sure that you promote your offers and discounts there as well as your desktop and mobile sites. For holidays, it may make sense to create special social network pages linked from your main page. This will give you the opportunity to create unique selling and messaging opportunities.
Nearly half of social consumers are looking at reviews and over a quarter make comments – these activities can have a direct bearing on whether the shoppers make a purchase from you. Customers pay attention to social reputations and a large percentage of consumers will not do business with a company who has unanswered questions or issues in their social feeds. Positive comments, on the other hand, serve as virtual testimonials and can help boost business. For more information on using social media to increase sales, please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Manager
407.420.5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com
www.orlandosentinel.com/mediakit

Source: Mobile Commerce Daily; Deloitte

Small Businesses Using Digital Marketing

Earlier this week, we shared a post on how small and medium businesses are increasing or maintain their digital investment, but not thinking about mobile.  Today we’ll look at how small and medium businesses  are marketing themselves and the number of channels they are using.

• Nationally, small businesses are using nearly 6 channels to create awareness and drive traffic

• Since last year, the number of different ways small and medium businesses are marketing themselves has increased by over 30%

• The top marketing channel for SMBs is Facebook

•Over 30% use the local newspaper, 27% are involved in community sponsorships and one in four use email marketing

• More than 20% are on Google Places, one in eight use web video and 14% utilize online banners

What Does This Mean To You?

Facebook maybe the preferred tool for small and medium businesses to get their name out, how effective is it?
Social media marketing is more than just creating a Facebook page.  To get the most out of social networks, your business needs a strategy.  Just some things to think about:

• Do your social sites have specific goals?

• What is your business doing to cultivate your ‘Likers” and followers?

• How are you turning positive comments into virtual testimonials?

• How are you dealing with negative comments?

• Do you create unique content, how often do you post it?

These are just a few questions to find out if you are fully optimizing your social offerings.  For more information on how to turn you social presence into a revenue,  please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Manager
407.420.5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com
www.orlandosentinel.com/mediakit

Source: eMarketer; BIA/Kelsey