This week in social media…
Social Moms
ROI research site Performics released its “Social Media Moms Summary”—a study of almost 3000 women who accessed at least one social media site regularly, to better understand women’s media attitudes and behavior. The study found that mothers were 34% more likely than other women to recommend companies and brands via social networking sites. The study also revealed that moms are more inclined to engage with the brands themselves– through liking, following, and commenting on the company’s social media posts. And one specific that stuck out– more than three-quarters of mothers said they have either already participated in company/brand contents or sweepstakes (53%), or plan to do so in the future (24%). The study does not conclude why moms are more likely to buy into brand’s social media, but if you have ever been to Park Slope Brooklyn, then you know that Mommy Bloggers are the first people ever to parent, and its important that we know.
Emotional Intelligence
There is an emerging cultural discussion happening about the emotional aspects of social media. AdAge recently held its 2012 AA Digital Conference, which included Jonah Peretti (CEO of Buzzfeed, the laugh-a-minute site for people with short attention spans) among its speakers. Peretti talks about how emotional intelligence is the real driving force of content sharing on social media sites, and how industry leaders need to move away from the algorithmic mindset that drives search. We’re likely to learn more about this topic, especially as it converges with hard science.
Maybe It’s Time To Get Cable
Hulu will begin luring in ad buyers by promising that they only pay for Hulu ads that are watched in their entirety. Hulu showed more ads than any other website or service in the U.S (1.5 billion in February, compared with Google’s 1.2 billion). The move will cost Hulu, but the company’s banking on higher rates resulting from competition for fewer available spots. What Hulu did not factor in is that ad time correlates exactly with the time it takes to boil water for that boxed-mac-n-cheese dinner (what ads?).
LinkedIn Upgrades
LinkedIn is now offering “upgrade” packages to its users (perhaps you received an email), and from the looks of it, the “upgrade” includes a lot of features most people assumed were already free. There are three upgrade options offered by LinkedIn which increase your ability to contact people with in-mail messaging, view full profiles of people outside your network, and view unfiltered search results. The plans range from about $20-$80 per month, but even with the priciest “Executive” plan (intended for sales professionals), users can only send 25 in-mail messages per month. For company’s that use databases or social media for recruiting, the new LinkedIn “upgrade” seems like a drop in the bucket. And for the rest of us, it’s a steep price when you could just (direct) message through other social media sites. The packages are just one of the many changes at LinkedIn, along with putting a ceiling on the number of connections, and requiring an email address for some potential invites.
Google Attempts TV Metrics
Google announced this week their version of a TV-like measurement metric that aims to make marketers feel more comfortable allocating money to online advertising. The “Brand Activate” initiative (working title), seeks to make marketers feel more comfortable allocating money to online advertising, and become the industry standard in a post click-through era. A “viewed” impression will now count only if it is at least 50% viewable on the screen for at least one second. The second component of the plan, the metrics part, will estimate how many people saw a given ad and for how long, and allow advertisers to react in real-time. Confused? Watch Google execs tell you more to some very cheesy music:
Millenial Breakdown
Last week we reported on a new study that claimed consumers in their 20’s switch media 27 times an hour! This week Marketing Charts released a more dimensional report conducted by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) that widened the age range to encompass Millenials (aged 16-34), and suggests some positives of their constant media use. Millenials are more adapt at using technology—that’s a no-brainer. As a result they are much more likely to multitask. They also contribute user-generated content such as product ratings, videos, images, and blog entries, at a higher rate than others. And they use mobile information services in noticeably larger numbers (88% to 57%). The study identified 6 specific types of Millenails, with some interesting demographic details on each, including income status, gender, race, education, and even charitableness. While these types of studies do tend to have similar conclusions (young people are hip to technology), they are getting increasingly more specific, and having direct impact on marketing.
