Snapshot Of A Twitter User

Yesterday, we provided information on who the average Facebook user is.  Today, we’ll take a look at the world’s number two social network – Twitter.  Twitter is rapidly becoming a mobile-first social entity.  By utilizing Twitter, you can connect with engaged followers where ever they might be.

• Twitter nearly 130 million active users

• One-third of Twitter users are over the age of 45

• Over half of Twitter users utilize the network via mobile device

• Over one-third tweet at least once a day

• Nearly 60% of Twitter users are female

• The average Twitter session last 14 minutes

What Does This Mean To You

Social media give you the ability to connect with a great consumer base with
high household incomes.
In the next 12 months in Metro Orlando, Social networkers are:

• 15% more likely to buy furniture

• 13% more likely to buy an appliance

• 17% more likely to buy a home

• Nearly 50% more likely to buy a mobile device

• Nearly 25% more likely to buy a vehicle

Social consumers are active buyers, for more information on leveraging these valuable consumers, 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: OnlineMBA.com; Kalena Jordan, SearchEngineCollege.com; sitepronews.com; The 2012 Scarborough Report, Release 1

Parents And Teens Online

Parents and teens have always had differences in their choices of music, clothes and food.  Surprisingly, today’s parents and teens have similar behaviors when it comes to internet enabled devices.  A new study has come out that looks at the time parents and teens spend online and the devices they use.

• Laptops were the devices used most often by both teens (37%) and parents (35%) to access the internet.  Desktop devices were second, teens (30%) parents (32%)

• Parents (15%) spent slightly more time
online with smart phones than teens (14%)

• More evidence was shown that gaming is not just for kids . Teens spent 6% of their time online with gaming consoles, adults spent 7% of their online time with consoles

• Teens (5%) spent more internet time with tablets than their parents (4%)

What Does This Mean To You

Both teens and their parents spend a large amount of time online using mobile devices.  Its further evidence proving that mobile web use will overtake standard access in short order.
We’ve recently showed research about how many companies currently have a mobile solutions and the amount that will be soon getting into mobile. Is your business currently optimized for mobile?
If not, why?  Mobile is the way many consumers find local businesses.  It also gives your message a conduit to active consumers.  Many consumers don’t just rely on their mobile devices, they are addicted to them.  By not utilizing a mobile solution, you are putting revenue at risk.
If you have a mobile solution, how current is it?  Is your staff well-versed in your mobile offerings? How well does the site operate?  These are questions that you need to ask because they have a direct bearing on if consumers will use it.  If shoppers do not have a good initial user experience, they will likely move on to another site.  A bad mobile experience can create a loyal customer for one of your competitors.  For more information on using mobile to create 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; McAfee

Email Delivers Success

Email marketing maybe considered old-school digital engagement, but it is still extremely successful.  It doesn’t matter whether you are using house or prospect lists, newly released data shows that email is delivering better results now than in the recent past.

• Two-thirds of marketers worldwide said that email was their most successful marketing tool

• From 2010 to 2012, the open rate for house email lists jumped 13% -the current open rate for house lists is at 22%

• During the same period, the email open rate for prospect lists increased slightly, from 11.2% to 11.4%

• The click through rate for house lists increased 17% from 2010 to 2012 and the CTR for prospects jumped 86%

• Email has the highest return on investment of any direct marketing effort
at 28%

What Does This Mean To You

Email is a great tool for creating one to one digital connections. Through advances in audience targeting techniques and automation tools, email has become more effective.  The key to any successful email campaign starts with your target audience.  Delivering offers they find valuable will elevate your image with consumers.  Creating generic offers or not targeting specific messages for specific segments might get your communication classified as SPAM in consumers mind.  There are many legal caveats to marketing via email.  Consulting with an email specialist will help ensure your company doesn’t violate any laws and keeps your business in a positive light.  For more information on how you can develop loyal customers and get great results with email, 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; CMO Council; Direct Marketing Association

Top Mobile Shopping Activities

Nearly 85% of U.S. adults own a mobile phone, one in four own a smart phone. Mobile devices have become fixtures in our everyday lives. A new report details just what mobile shopping activities consumers take part in during an average month. Knowing the types of activities they participate in can help you create or modify your current mobile strategy and reach your goals.

• 38% of consumers compared prices via mobile web while shopping in a store

• 38% also browsed products through websites or apps

• Nearly a third read product reviews online

• One in four searched for coupons online

• 22% made a purchase through a mobile device

• Over 20% scanned a QR code for product or price information

• One in six used location based services

 

What Does This Mean To You?

Mobile devices are used in nearly every part of the buying cycle. From research to purchase, mobile has become a tool for shopping. When was the last time you took a good look at your online presence through a mobile device? Does your company have a mobile site? It’s important that your site be easily read and navigated across all mobile platforms. Don’t just look at how it displays on an Android or iPhone device, check how it looks on a Blackberry. Also, what is the point of your mobile offerings. Mobile sites and standard sites are used in different ways. Refine your mobile strategy so it’s focused on specific objectives. If you are trying to do too much with your mobile site, it will probably not offer the best user experience. For more information on mobile strategies for success, please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Supervisor
407-420-5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com

Source: Nielsen; The 2011 Scarborough Multi-Market Report, Release 1

Just Who Are Social Networkers?

Across the US, 45% of all adults are engaged in social networks.  As more and more social networks develop and companies get involved in social media, knowing just who social users are is very important.  A recent study from Nielsen shows us who is using social networks.

•       There are more women on social media than men – 53% of social networkers are female

•       There are more seniors on social networks than teens – Over 30% of social networkers are age 50+.  The majority of social networkers are 18-34 (27%) and
25-49 (28%)
Less than 15% of those involved in social networks are under 18

•       Nearly 80% of social media users are white, 12% are Hispanic and 10% are African-American.  3% are Asian or Pacific-Islanders .

•      Over 40% of adults social media users have household incomes of $75,000+.  More than one in four have househ9ld incomes of $100,000+

•       One-half of social networkers have children in their homes.  Adults who use social media are 25% more likely to have children

 

What Does This Mean To You?

There are over 800 million Facebook users and there it is estimated that they could reach 1 billion members this year. Twitter is on pace to have 500 million total users and 250 million active users by year end.  Google+ is still growing and Pinterest has recently burst upon the scene.  There is no doubt that social networks have given consumers new ways of learning about, recommending and reviewing products.  Just having a social presence is not enough.  Successful brands on social networks interact with their users and provide them content.  Unique content and promotions are the reasons why people follow brands in the first place.  Social Media also means that customer service is even more important.  Consumers now have the ability to tell everyone all at once about poor customer service and sub-par products.  Developing a robust social media strategy is incredibly important.  You need to think about how you interact with consumers & followers and negative comment response mechanisms.  The bright spot is that consumers can also tell everyone about positive experiences and recommend you to all their friends.  These virtual testimonials are worth their weight in gold.  For more information about winning social media strategies and reputation management, please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Supervisor
407-420-5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com

Source: Nielsen; The 2011 Scarborough Report, Release 1, Facebook; All Things Twitter

Targeting For Mobile Success

Creating engagement and addressing consumers needs are two things that are pivotal to any successful marketing campaign.  Targeting is a great way to connect and engage prospective customers.  There is a new study out that tells us how important targeting is with mobile advertising.

• Editorially aligned mobile ads have a click-through rate five times that of non-aligned ads

The top targeting strategies for mobile ads are:

• Geographically – 65%
• Keyword/contextual – 64%
• Behavioral  – 54%%
• Age – 47%
• Gender – 41%
• Handset/Device – 35%
• Retargeting – 25%
• Current location – 24%
• Time of day – 20%

What Does This Mean To You?

Content = Engagement.  It’s as simple as that.  Consumers are more likely to spend time with wanted content and attaching your message ad to that content will drive more consumers to you.  Also, targeting people by where they are, what they are looking for or what they are interested in are very effective ways to make your message more “sticky”.  For more information on pairing your message with valuable content and targeting consumers, please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Supervisor
407-420-5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com

Source: EMarketer; Kontera; JumpTap; Digiday

Social Media In 2012

Yesterday’s post talked about what initiatives Chief Marketing Officers planned to increase doing. Social Media was their top answer. The number of people engaged in social media continues to climb and the number of networks is growing as well.

• Two-thirds of U.S. Internet users are expected to use social networks in 2012 – that’s an increase of 10 million consumers
• The number of Hispanic social networkers is expected to grow. In 2012, 68% of Hispanics are projected to use social networks
• The percentage of Asians who use social networks is predicted to grow to 68% as well
• African-American participation in social networking is project to climb to 67%

What Does This Mean To You?

Targeting prospective customers is important. If you are ignoring some ethnic segments of consumers because you think they may not be social networkers, you could be missing potential revenue. There is also evidence that older consumers are also using social networks and are more open to ads on social media. Your company’s social identity is important. It can deliver new customers and strengthen loyalties with existing ones. For more information on how to optimize your social presence, please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Supervisor
407-420-5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com

Source: Emarketer

Older Online Video Users Are More Responsive

In 2011, it’s estimated that nearly 160 million internet users across the U.S. will have watched online video. Almost 40% will watch between one and five hours worth during an average week. Older users tend to be much more responsive to online video than their younger counterparts.

• Overall, 18% of online video viewers took some kind of action after seeing an online video ad
• While 87% of younger users (18-34) may watch online video, just 9% of males in that group and 15% of females visited an advertisers web site or purchased the product after seeing the online video ad
• Nearly half of adults age 55-64 and 30% of those age 65+ viewed video ads
• Among adults age 55+, 26% of males and 19% of females took action after seeing an online video ad

What Does This Mean To You?

Online video is not just for younger users or for ads targeted towards younger consumers. Online video ads deliver a great response and in an earlier post we showed how they also generate higher product recall. Online video gives you a great method to target older viewers and move products designed for them. For more information on how you can better target the senior set, please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
407-420-5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com

Source: Emarketer; Constant Contact, CMB; Compete

Mobile Social Networking Continues To Grow

There are some things in our lives that we wonder how we ever lived without.

Air Conditioning
Microwaves
WiFi
Starbuck’s Iced Lemon Pound Cake

Mobile devices are now solidly on that list.  They truly have become integral parts of our lives.  Mobile devices are so prominent that even other things that some people can’t live without – social networking – are becoming mobile-centric.   In the past year, over 70 million people have accessed social networking sites or blogs via mobile devices, that’s up 37% year over year.

Mobile growth across social networks:

• FaceBook: 57.3 million mobile users per month –
  50% growth year over year
• Twitter: 13.4 million mobile users per month –
  75% growth year over year
• LinkedIn: 5.5 million mobile users per month –
  69% growth year over year

How mobile users access social network platforms:

• Mobile Browser: 42.3 million – 24% growth year over year
• Application: 38.5 million – 126% growth year over year

What Does This Mean To You?

How involved is your organization in social media? What is your company’s mobile strategy?  The combination of social media & mobile give consumers an even more powerful position. It also gives you, as a business, a unique way to connect with consumers.  If you do not have a strategy for both mobile and social media, it’s something that you need to get into place.  Take advantage of these
technologies and use them to grow your business, reach your target audience and create awareness of your good & services.  For more information on how mobile and social campaigns can create new revenue streams, please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
407-420-5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com

Source: Comscore; Marketing Profs

Twitter Followers Mean Business

There are many studies available detailing how important FaceBook
“Likes” can be and the consumer behaviors that “Likers” engage in.
Now, there is a new study that outlines how Twitter followers
can impact your business.

• 60% of Twitter followers recommend brands to
  friends after they begin to follow them
• 50% of brand followers are more likely to
  purchase from that brand
• Just 21% of Twitter users follow a brand and nearly 80%
  of those who follow a brand follow less than 10 brands
• 75% of respondents claimed they have never un-followed  a brand
  on twitter ( A prior study showed a figure of 41% have un-followed a brand)

What Does This Mean To You?

Social media can be a powerful tool in marketing your business,  But it also can be very hard to correctly manage your brand socially.  The viral nature of social networks can magnify any mistakes you make and one bad customer service experience can lead to a huge social media migraine.  Also – how are you going to get people to follow your brand? Well, three-quarters of people who “like” a brand on FaceBook did so because of advertising.
You can’t expect to start a Twitter feed or put up a Facebook page and expect to gain tons of followers.  You need to utilize all your marketing options to publicize your social offerings and benefits that your followers will receive.  For more information on how important social media management is, contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group Representative or:
Al Fiala
407-420-5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com

Source: Constant Contact; Chadwick Martin Bailey;
Mashable; Compete