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Friday, December 21, 2012

Ho Ho To All!

A Warm Thanks To All Of Our Readers 




Wishing You All Health & Prosperity In The New Year!



Monday, December 17, 2012

Social Marketing Forecasts for 2013

emarketer looks at 2013

Facebook and social media management technology top marketing dollar investments for 2013

With two-thirds of the US internet population expected to belong to a social network by the end of 2013, according to eMarketer estimates, the majority of brands are now actively using social media to manage their digital presence.
Q3 2012 findings from media buying and solutions provider STRATA showed 91.9% of those surveyed were using social media. The vast majority (82.4%) of US agencies reported using Facebook for clients’ social media campaigns, nearly double or more the number using the popular platforms YouTube (41.9%), Twitter (36.5%) and LinkedIn (23%).
Emerging platforms Google+ and Pinterest saw significant growth in reported quarter-over-quarter usage with roughly one in four US agencies likely to use each of these networks for clients’ social media campaigns.

Additional findings from engagement advertising firm SocialVibe showed the necessity of ensuring social media coverage on Facebook and the value of expanding coverage to Google+. The engagement advertising firm found 77% of US internet users connected with brands via Facebook in October of this year; 14% did so using Google+—more than did so on YouTube (13%) or Twitter (6%).

Financial investment in Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest marketing programs is likely to increase through 2013, according to a Q4 2012 survey from Strongmail. The marketing solutions provider found 39.6% of business executives worldwide planned to boost Facebook marketing spending next year, 23.3% planned to spend more on Twitter, and 14.9% on Pinterest.

Beyond increased investment specifically to social networks, a good portion of business executives reported plans to boost spending on tools and technology used to measure and manage social media programs. About 27% reported plans to increase spending to social media management technology, and 14.8% said the same for listening platforms, reflecting the importance of not just maintaining brand presence on social networks, but measuring the effects of that presence.
eMarketer estimates US social network ad spending will account for nearly one in 10 US digital ad dollars in 2013.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

New Opportunities Or Missing The Mark?

As broadcast advertising people for close to 30 years, we are seeing a rapidly developing new trend in media planning (how you distribute your message):
The future is internet video. Yes the web is as full of clutter as broadcast and cable, but it's a distribution means that can work as well as broadcast if you're willing to truly open your mind to a new paradigm. It is true that broadcast and cable still work a bit quicker and extremely well, the rub is that in today's economy many businesses simply can't afford the media placement needed to be effective. Those that do invest in it consistently come out ahead. Bear in mind that these same businesses also integrate a strong online presence in their marketing video mix.
But, for those that cannot afford television the internet can provide solid platforms for marketing success. The point is that even the companies we produce television for are also integrating web encoded versions on a consistent basis. This should tell you something about how the Big Boys got that way. If they are doing it maybe you should take a cue and get on board. No, grabbing your I-phone and posting the results on You Tube won't cut it...... The point is that a little spent on good production value can be distributed for a fraction of what it cost to consistently reach new eyeballs just a few years ago. If your content is good and you develop your media platforms in a unified fashion you are at very least in the game! It isn't just a nice goal to strive for someday.  The time to engage is right now!
As it's been said, "Just Do It". We guarantee you will be very glad you did!

Friday, December 7, 2012

Interesting Cyber Monday Stats 2012 vs 2011...Think Mobile!

From David Moth/Econsultancy

Cyber Monday conversion rates were higher on tablet than desktop

  • Stats from Monetate show that conversion rates on the iPad on Cyber Monday were over 6%, more than 2% higher than any other day during the Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday period.
  • Furthermore, tablet conversion rates (5.84%) actually exceeded conversion rates on desktop (5.51%). 
  • In 2011, the numbers were 5.48% on tablet and 5.98% on desktop.
Tablet vs. traditional (desktop) conversion rates on Cyber Monday

Nielson's Report Shows Soaring Social Media Marketing Growth

A recent segment on Social Media Today states soaring growth in social media marketing.

Nielsen’s social media report for the third quarter shows some amazing growth in the use of social media. The report indicates that two factors are driving the change: more people are using mobile phones and tablets to access the networks and the proliferation of new social platforms. Two areas where social media is evolving: the phenomenon of multiple screening setting up what Nielsen calls the global living room and the use of social media as a customer care channel.
The numbers show some interesting trends:
  • More people are connecting to the internet for longer periods of time. The highest increase? Use of mobile apps—up 85% from last year.
  • Mobile apps also account for the place where minutes on the internet have increased the most.
  • Even though PCs still account for the majority of time spent on social media networks (61%), the use of mobile apps has climbed to claim 34% of the total time spent on social networks.
  • A look at the top networks? Facebook down 4% and Pinterest up a whopping 1,047%. Google Plus also making significant gains in the last year—up 80%. Twitter up 13%. However, to temper that news, Facebook still dominates the number of total minutes people spend online.
  • The Pinterest audience has some unique audience characteristics: dominantly white females in the U.S.
  • Weirdest stat: nearly 1/3 of those ages 18-24 social network in the bathroom.
  • Sentiment stat to watch: 76% of social users feel more positive after their social networking experience. Could this be where people are going to get their motivational fix?
  • Twitter has emerged as the key drive of social TV interaction.
Looking at the numbers, there are a few keys questions your business need to ask:
  1. Are we using responsive web design that automatically optimizes our content regardless of how people access our information? This is now a requirement of doing business on the web.
  2. Do we have a social presence on channels that match our customer demographic? Social media is following the cable TV trend—specialization. For example, if your product is specialized to young mothers in the U.S., you should probably consider Pinterest. If you are advertising on TV, you might want to consider being on Twitter.
  3. Have you considered diversifying your content to include location-based campaigns if you are a walk-up retailer or have events? Promotions that take advantage of mobile access might be worth considering.

Quotes Of Note


  "Nothing is new, only that which has been forgotten". 
                                                      
                                                                   Pablo Ferro


"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember what you said".
                                                       Mark Twain

Just some food for thought. Give these quotes some consideration when developing your marketing messages...ther'es more to them than you might guess at first blush!
Have a great weekend!