The business of buying social

It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that the social juggernaut of our time decided to move into eCommerce.

Facebook said earlier this week it would partner up with some retailers, including Victoria’s Secret and Fab.com, to start its online commerce program. Basically, people can press the “want” button on Facebook, share that information with their friends, and then actually buy the products after being directed to the retailer’s website.

It’s no big revelation. Earlier this year a developer unveiled a piece of code suggesting Facebook would be doing exactly this, and analysts have seen it coming from a mile away.

(Also, as an aside, it takes more than a few hints from Pinterest, which should be a nice validation for the “other” social network.)

Of course, the move doesn’t just represent an attempt on Facebook’s part to boost its revenue and arrest a falling share price. It also signals a change in how businesses should think about social commerce.

Last week, Forrester released some research showing only 1% of online sales could be attributed to social media.

That’s a very low number. Now, it excludes small business, which would probably see a higher amount of sales, and it also excluded some important variables. But 1% is still a very low number.

Local expert Sam Yip, from research house Telsyte, made a point that contradicted the survey – social networking leads to sales, but not necessarily in a direct way. It builds brand awareness that eventually feeds its way through to your bottom line.

It’s an excellent point, but the main thought here is that social networking doesn’t necessarily convert sales in a direct way.

Facebook’s decision may change that. If you can create a system where people buy products through social networking, then it will lead to more sales, depending on your strategy.

Right now, Facebook’s program is restricted to a few retailers, and it won’t be opening up to small business any time soon, but it makes a key point – managing your ROI on social media is something that will only become more important, not less.

How you do that is up to you, but if you’ve built a prominent social media presence, then you need to start experimenting with sales. Using social media to refer certain products, or offer discounts, isn’t a bad idea if you can determine just how much traffic you’re getting through your Facebook or Twitter presence.

Even asking a question like, “How did you find this product?” at the end of a transaction can give you some key insight.

Facebook’s announcement doesn’t mean much for SMEs – at least, not right now. But it does show that social commerce is going to transform business and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t get a head-start.

You can follow Patrick Stafford on Twitter @pdstafford. Story by Patrick Stafford, story source: www.smartcompany.com.au

Top 5 Social Media Scams

We’re wired to be social creatures, and sites like Twitter and Facebook have capitalized on this to great success. According to its COO Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook draws 175 million logins every day.

But with this tremendous popularity comes a dark side as well. Virus writers and other cybercriminals go where the numbers are -- and that includes popular social media sites. To help you avoid a con or viral infection, we’ve put together this list of the top five social media scams.

5. Chain Letters
You’ve likely seen this one before -- the dreaded chain letter has returned. It may appear in the form of, "Retweet this and Bill Gates will donate $5 million to charity!" But hold on, let’s think about this. Bill Gates already does a lot for charity. Why would he wait for something like this to take action? Answer: He wouldn’t. Both the cause and claim are fake.

So why would someone post this? Good question. It could be some prankster looking for a laugh, or a spammer needing "friends" to hit up later. Many well-meaning people pass these fake claims onto others. Break the chain and inform them of the likely ruse.

4. Cash Grabs
By their very nature, social media sites make it easy for us to stay in touch with friends, while reaching out to meet new ones. But how well do you really know these new acquaintances? That person with the attractive profile picture who just friended you -- and suddenly needs money -- is probably some cybercriminal looking for easy cash. Think twice before acting. In fact, the same advice applies even if you know the person.

Picture this: You just received an urgent request from one of your real friends who "lost his wallet on vacation and needs some cash to get home." So, being the helpful person you are, you send some money right away, per his instructions. But there’s a problem: Your friend never sent this request. In fact, he isn’t even aware of it. His malware-infected computer grabbed all of his contacts and forwarded the bogus email to everyone, waiting to see who would bite.

Again, think before acting. Call your friend. Inform him of the request and see if it's true. Next, make sure your computer isn't infected as well.

3. Hidden Charges
"What type of STAR WARS character are you? Find out with our quiz! All of your friends have taken it!" Hmm, this sounds interesting, so you enter your info and cell number, as instructed. After a few minutes, a text turns up. It turns out you’re more Yoda than Darth Vader. Well, that’s interesting … but not as much as your next month’s cell bill will be. You’ve also just unwittingly subscribed to some dubious service that charges $9.95 every month.

As it turns out, that "free, fun service" is neither. Be wary of these bait-and-switch games. They tend to thrive on social sites.

2. Phishing Requests
"Somebody just put up these pictures of you drunk at this wild party! Check 'em out here!" Huh? Let me see that! Immediately, you click on the enclosed link, which takes you to your Twitter or Facebook login page. There, you enter your account info -- and a cybercriminal now has your password, along with total control of your account.

How did this happen? Both the email and landing page were fake. That link you clicked took you to a page that only looked like your intended social site. It's called phishing, and you've just been had. To prevent this, make sure your Internet security includes antiphishing defenses. Many freeware programs don't include this essential protection.

1. Hidden URLs
Beware of blindly clicking on shortened URLs. You'll see them everywhere on Twitter, but you never know where you're going to go since the URL ("Uniform Resource Locator," the Web address) hides the full location. Clicking on such a link could direct you to your intended site, or one that installs all sorts of malware on your computer.

URL shorteners can be quite useful. Just be aware of their potential pitfalls and make sure you have real-time protection against spyware and viruses.

Bottom line: Sites that attract a significant number of visitors are going to lure in a criminal element, too. If you take security precautions ahead of time, such as using antivirus and anti-spyware protection, you can defend yourself against these dangers and surf with confidence.

Copyright (c) 2010 Studio One Networks. All rights reserved.

Source: Norton Anti Virus

Blogger told to take Speedos off porn site

There is a lesson to be learned for all companies in the following story, as Internet marketing consultants, we are constantly advising our clients to ensure they have secured all variations of their domain names, and given the very cheap cost of these valuable pieces of on line real estate, you would think it would be one of the first marketing tools they would secure.

However a lot of companies do not understand the value of a domain name and do not secure them.

They only have themselves to blame for this, so now you have been told, get online and make sure you own every variation of your trademark or domain name, it’s a very small price to pay for securing that this type of problem does not impact your company or brand.

You can check wether your domain names have been secured by checking our Really Cheap Domains registration web site! 

 

“A NSW man has been ordered to shut down several pornographic websites featuring Speedo swimwear and using the company's trademark.

Speedo Holdings took Central Coast blogger Dave Evans to court claiming he had used the trademark under aliases and without the company's consent.

The company claimed the websites and the use of the company's trademark as part of his domain names could damage the "valuable reputation and goodwill associated with the name and trade mark Speedo".

In the Federal Court of Australia on Thursday, Justice Geoffrey Flick ordered Evans to stop operating and registering any domain name containing the name Speedo.

He was also restrained from operating websites featuring any sign of the Speedo trademark.

Evans, who didn't appear in court, was ordered to transfer the domain names to Speedo within 21 days.

If Evans doesn't comply, a registrar of the court will be appointed to transfer the domain names and Evans will liable for substantial damages to the company.

He was also ordered to pay the swimwear company's legal costs.”

Story source: www.ninemsn.com.au

Older Facebook Users Click More, Like Less

While propensity to click-through on Facebook is positively correlated with age, propensity to like is not, according to data released in August 2011 by Facebook marketing consulting firm SocialCode. Age has a strong positive effect on whether a user will click, but has a less pronounced opposite effect on the likelihood of them becoming a fan of a page.

Fifty-plus-year-old users, the oldest segment in the study, are 28.2% more likely to click through and 9% less likely to like than 18-29-year-old users, the youngest group observed. Compared to the rest of the younger population, 50-plus users see a 22.6% higher CTR and 8.4% lower like rate.

CTR Rises More Directly than Like Rate Falls

Interestingly, CTR by age rises much more directly than like rate by age falls. CTR rises almost continuously as user age progresses, rise in an almost direct line as users age, with a minimal plateau inside the 30-39-year-old age bracket.

However, the like rate shows some strong fluctuation before plummeting once the user enters the 50-plus bracket. Among 18-to-29-year-olds, the like rate is about 39.5%, and then dips to about 38.5% in the 30-t0-39-year-old demographic.

However, the like rate jumps back to its highest point of slightly more than 39.5% among 40-to-49-year-olds. It then dramatically drops to slightly more than 36% in the 50-plus group of Facebook users.

Women Click More, Men Like More

Overall, women are 11% more likely to click on an ad than men. Like rates, however, are almost even for men and women, with men actually 2.2% more likely to like an ad than women.

In addition, when broken down by age, age has a much more pronounced effect on CTR for women than it does for men, whereas for men there is a stronger effect on like rate than for women.

For women, CTR is 31.2% higher for the 50 plus age group compared to 18-29-year-olds, whereas men only see a 16.2% difference. Compared to all age groups, 50-plus women’s CTR is 22% higher, compared to a 16.4% difference for males.

However, the oldest male segment has an 11.7% higher like rate than the youngest segment, and 9.5% higher like rate than all age groups. Women only see 7.2% and 7.9% differences, respectively.

trendwatching.com: ‘F’ is for F-Factor

Consumers are tapping into their networks of friends, fans, and followers to discover, discuss and purchase goods and services in ever-more sophisticated ways, according to an August 2011 advisory from consumer trends firm trendwatching.com. As a result, trendwatching.com advises it’s never been more important for brands to make sure they too have what it calls the “F-Factor,” with “F” standing for friends, fans and followers.

trendwatching.com identifies five key ways the F-Factor influences consumer behavior:

1. F-Discovery: How consumers discover new products and services by relying on their social networks.
2. F-Rated: How consumers will increasingly (and automatically) receive targeted ratings, recommendations and reviews from their social networks.
3. F-Feedback: New ways in which consumers can ask their friends and followers to improve and validate their buying decisions.
4. F-Together: How shopping is becoming increasingly social, even when consumers and their peers are not physically together.
5. F-Me: How consumers’ social networks are literally being turned into products and services.

Merchants Split on Groupon Satisfaction

Even when local merchants make money, many remain unhappy with deals

The long-term profitability of participating in daily deal promotions remains an open question for local businesses, even as services like Groupon remain popular and more businesses jump on board with deal offers.

July research from UK-based Cooper Murphy Copywriters found that nearly two-thirds of US businesses that had run a Groupon promotion said the particular promotion had been profitable for them. While a few were unsure, only 35% said they did not make money off the deal itself—an early worry among many businesses due to the deep discounting offered for such programs.

Yet businesses remained unsatisfied. Fully 82% were unhappy with the level of repeat business their Groupon promotion brought in, and nearly as many said Groupon users were more price-sensitive than the average customer.

In the end, a slight plurality of respondents said they would not advertise with Groupon again.

Other research into merchant satisfaction with daily deals has indicated a similar ambivalence. According to a Rice University study, businesses reported that as of May 2011 just 20.4% of customers who came in because of a Groupon offer became repeat visitors, and that less than half of the businesses were interested in another such promotion. But consumer-based research from ConsumerSearch.com and The About Group found that more than two-thirds of daily deal users said they returned to businesses at which they had previously redeemed a deal.

These stats do not necessarily disagree. Consumers polled about their behavior indicate they returned to at least one business after using a daily deal, but may have redeemed many other deals at businesses they never returned to.

Furthermore, many merchants are satisfied with the level of business daily deals bring in; a MerchantCircle survey of small businesses found that, contrary to the Cooper Murphy study, 77% of them would run another daily deal promotion after their first experience.

Books, Clothing Top Planned Online Purchases

Global online consumers say that books and clothes are the items they most plan to purchase in the next six months, according to analysis of Nielsen Company global data by My Coupon Codes. Forty-four percent of global online consumers say they will buy books online in the next six months, while 36% plan to buy clothing.

Other top planned near-term online purchases include airline tickets (32%), electronic equipment (27%) and airline reservations (26%).

East Beats West in Online Spending

Comparing global online spending in the Western hemisphere compared to the Eastern hemisphere, it becomes clear that consumers in the East perform more of their monthly shopping online than their Western counterparts. For example, 51% of Western consumers spend less than 5% of their total monthly expenditures online, 27.5% more than the 40% of Eastern consumers who spend this small amount online per month.

While 28% of both Eastern and Western consumers perform 5-10% of their monthly spending online, the real differences occur in the rates with which they perform 11-25% and 26-50% of their monthly spending online. Nineteen percent of Eastern consumers perform 11-25% of their monthly spending online, 36% more than the 14% of Western consumers who do so.

The discrepancy is even larger among consumers who perform 26-50% of their monthly spending online. Nine percent of Eastern consumers spend this amount, 80% more than the 5% of Western consumers who do so. Spending beyond this level online is rare for consumers in both hemispheres.

9 in 10 Asia-Pacific Consumers Have Shopped Online

Almost nine in 10 (87%) consumers in the Asia-Pacific region have shopped online. Rates online shopping among consumers in Europe (85%), North America (83%) and South America (81%) are relatively similar. However, only 53% of consumers in the Middle East, Africa and Pakistan region have shopped online.

Asia-Pacific Consumers Most Critical

In addition to being the most active online shoppers, Asia-Pacific consumers are also the most critical, with 49% of reviews from consumers in this region being negative. Consumers in Europe (32%) are least critical. Fifty-seven percent of online consumers consider customer reviews prior to making a consumer electronics purchase; other items with a large percentage of online consumers checking reviews include cars (45%) and software (37%).

BzzAgent: Brand Advocates Share Info

Consumers who are brand advocates, meaning they habitually share information about products they use, are far more likely to share product data online than non-advocates, according to research released by marketing network BzzAgent in May 2011. This includes using social media, email, e-commerce websites, and online feedback mechanisms.

Brand advocates (28%) are four times as likely as non-advocates (7%) to share information about products, brands, sales or stores via online feedback mechanisms than non-advocates. They are also roughly twice as likely to share information via social media (58% compared to 27%) and e-commerce websites (43% compared to 22%). A smaller, but still significant discrepancy exists in the use of email (53% compared to 39%) for sharing product information.

In-stream Online Video Boosts Brand Recall

Pre-, mid- and post-roll best video ads for brand marketers

Interactive marketers can’t help but look to online video to take advantage of branding potential richer than that for previous online display ad formats. But like its static display counterpart, banner ads, online video advertising can appear in numerous ad sizes, placements and creative types, making it difficult for marketers to decide where to start.

Research from Yahoo! indicates certain video ad units are better at boosting advertiser and brand recall than others, providing marketers a tentative roadmap for increased online video advertising success.

In Yahoo!'s study, video viewers recalled seeing pre-, mid- and post-roll ads more often than any other display ad type. More than half (53%) of respondents who recalled seeing some advertising remembered viewing these in-stream ads.

However, the pervasiveness of an ad unit type can still have a large influence on recall. For example, 35% of viewers were able to recall seeing static banner ads, one of the most common display ad types. In contrast, only 13% of viewers remembered seeing seemingly more eye-catching video banner ads.

This seems counterintuitive when comparing the dynamic nature of video to static creative. But users are much more commonly exposed to standard banner ads than online video banner ads; users can hardly recall ads they rarely or never see.

The concept of exposure influencing recall is also echoed in the fact that in-stream units like pre-roll ads—the most recalled ad unit types—are also the most used video units by US marketers, according to Break Media.

Viewers not only remember seeing these in-stream units, they also recall the ads’ subjects. Almost half (47%) of respondents said they remembered the brand or product advertised after viewing a pre-, mid- or post-roll video ad. This is not surprising given the often mandatory—and interruptive—viewing nature of these units.

Worth noting is the ability of expandable video banners and pop-up video ads to prompt user action: 39% of respondents reportedly acted after viewing an expandable video ad, compared to only 20% of pre-, mid- and post-roll video ad viewers.

Expandable and pop-up video ads were also more likely to aid users in purchase decisions than any other display ad type. Such findings hint at the potential use of these video ad units for direct response-related campaign objectives.

As the industry continues to mature and new formats undoubtedly emerge, video advertisers will be presented with new ways to engage viewers and enhance their brands. For now, brand marketers are best served leveraging the use of in-stream video ads and investing in the creation of professional, branded content to boost brand recall.

LinkedIn Seen as Most Important SocNet

While Facebook has the highest engagement rate of the “big five” social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube), the highest percentage of online consumers think having a LinkedIn account is important, according to an April 2011 study from ROI Research and Performics. Data from “S-Net: A Study in Social Media Usage and Behavior” indicates 59% of online consumers rate having a LinkedIn account 4 or 5 on a five-point importance scale, compared to 53% giving this level of importance to having a Facebook account.

Twitter, YouTube Also Beat Facebook

Twitter (58%) and YouTube (55%) also had a higher percentage of online consumers ranking them as important. Interestingly, although MySpace is widely regarded as having lost significant importance to consumers in the last several years, its importance percentage tied Facebook’s (53%).

LinkedIn Jumps in Importance Since 2010

In 2010, only 41% of online consumers gave LinkedIn a four- or five-point importance rating, meaning this figure has grown 44% in one year. Twitter has grown 45% in this rating, from 40% to 58%. MySpace appears to be rebounding in perceived importance, as 39% of online consumers in 2010 but 53% in 2011 giving it a four- or five-point rating, a 36% increase.

Meanwhile, the percentage of consumers rating Facebook as important dropped 5% year-over-year, from 56% to 53%.

Facebook Dominates Engagement

When it comes to engagement, Facebook is the unquestioned leader. Ninety-seven percent of online consumers visit Facebook at least weekly and 70% visit at least daily. These figures are close to double those of LinkedIn in terms of weekly visitation (50%) 3.5 times higher in terms of daily visitation (20%).

The only other social network with a visitation rate even close to one of Facebook’s is YouTube, with 86% of online consumers visiting at least once a week (11% lower rate).

LinkedIn, MySpace Visit Frequency Declines

Although both LinkedIn and MySpace saw significant improvement in the percentage of online consumers considering them important, both saw their visit frequency decline from 2010. In 2010, 67% of online consumers visited LinkedIn at least weekly, a figure that dropped 25%. Daily visits dropped 10%, from 22% to 20%.

Meanwhile, the percentage of online consumers visiting MySpace at least weekly dropped 41%, from 76% to 45%, and the percentage visiting at least daily dropped 44%, from 41% to 23%. Twitter’s daily visitation rate stayed flat at 44% but its weekly visitation rate declined 14%, from 81% to 70%.

Visitation figures for Facebook and YouTube underwent minimal changes.

Facebook Surges in 2010

Social networking category leader Facebook continued its momentum as it amassed millions of new users and people spent more and more of their time on the site during 2010, according to a February 2011 white paper from comScore. “The 2010 US Digital Year in Review” indicates that Facebook accounted for 10% of US page views in 2010, while three out of every 10 US internet sessions included a visit to the site.

Although MySpace maintained its hold on the number two ranking in the social networking category with 50 million visitors in December 2010, its audience declined 27% and total time spent on the site declined 50%.

LinkedIn emerged as the third-largest site in the category with 26.6 million visitors in December 2010 Meanwhile, number four Twitter climbed to 18% to 23.6 million visitors in December 2010 (not counting third-party app or mobile usage).

About the Data: In April 2011, ROI Research and Performics conducted an online survey of 2,997 consumers age 13 and older who access at least one social network regularly.

NBN rolled-out on mainland

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has switched on a glimpse of the future in Armidale, the first mainland community to receive national broadband network (NBN) services.

The NBN roll-out in the northern NSW city will ultimately bring super-fast broadband to 4882 premises, including the University of New England, but the first to benefit are the Presbyterian Ladies College Armidale and seven others.

'This is a transformative infrastructure for our nation's future,' Ms Gillard told a ceremony at the private girls' school on Wednesday.

'It stands to radically change the way we live, the way we work, the way we study, especially in rural and regional Australia, which has so often been forced put up with second best.'

Of the Armidale premises taking part in the NBN program, 88 per cent have agreed to a connection but not necessarily to a paid service.

The NBN is already operating in the Tasmanian towns of Smithton, Scottsdale and Midway Point.

Another connection is being rolled out in a growth corridor of Adelaide.

The Armidale service will give users access to internet speeds of 100 megabits a second, five times faster than existing ADSL2 copper connections.

'Unlike the old copper-based internet service, slow connections will be a thing of the past,' Ms Gillard said, adding the NBN would be a boon for teaching in rural and regional areas.

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said the Armidale launch was a landmark moment for the nation.

'It is a significant milestone in our vision to deliver affordable high-speed broadband to every Australian home, school and business,' he told the ceremony.

Independent MP Tony Windsor, whose electorate of New England includes Armidale, said the NBN had plenty of critics, but the project would reduce the gap in living standards between cities and regional areas.

It had the capacity to overcome the disadvantages of distance and remoteness that country Australians had lived in for many decades.

'Distance will be irrelevant in terms of education, health, aged care, business opportunities, location.'

But not everyone is impressed with the planned $36 billion fibre-optic network.

Opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull said there were cheaper ways to deliver fast broadband across Australia.

Mr Turnbull said it would be cheaper to bring fibre within a kilometre of homes and use the existing copper network to bridge the gap.

'You can deliver very, very fast broadband for at least half the cost, if not more, of fibre-to-the-home,' he said.

Nationals senate leader Barnaby Joyce suggested the Armidale NBN roll-out was political payback for Mr Windsor's support of federal Labor's minority government.

But Ms Gillard rejected the suggestion, saying the decision was made by NBN Co.

'What they wanted to do was to have release sites of different types around the country so they could learn some lessons about the broader roll-out,' she said.

Online Moms Use Facebook, Email

Facebook and email are the two dominant forms of online communication used by US moms, according to data collected in January 2011 by Lucid Marketing.

Results of “How US Moms Share and Spread Information” indicate slightly more than nine in 10 moms use Facebook (93%) and email (91%) to communicate.

 

1 in 3 Moms Tweet, Blog

 

A little more than one in three moms use Twitter (36%) and personal blogs (34%). The only other online communication technology used by more than 20% of moms is social network MySpace.

Almost All Moms Check Email Daily

A near-universal 98% of moms with email accounts check them at least once a day. Other online communication technologies with high daily usage rates by moms include Facebook (84%) and news websites (60%). Interestingly, the good old-fashioned telephone has a 60% daily usage rate among moms, as well.

Moms Learn from Email

A high percentage of moms often use email as an educational tool. Eighty-three percent of moms said they often learn new things through email, the highest response rate for any means of communication covered by the survey. Facebook ranked second (76%), while non-technological face-to-face meetings came in a close third (73%).

Other popular educational tools among moms include blogs (66%) and TV (65%).

Moms Share Learnings via Face-to-Face, Email

When it comes to sharing things they have learned, the largest percentages of moms either often eschew technology and do it face-to-face (84%), or employ email (also 84%). Close to 80% use the phone.

Facebook is the only other medium often used by more than half of moms to share learnings, with 69% using “share” and 67% using “like.”

Significant Others Get Most Info

Who receives all this information that moms are sharing? Unsurprisingly for anyone in a relationship with a mom, 94% share information with their significant other. Ninety percent share with their best friend(s), and slightly more share with close family (such as a mother or sister).
The other two groups of people in a mom’s life most likely to get information from them are girlfriends (86%) and other parents (78%).

BabyCenter: Moms Love Smartphones

American moms are more likely than overall women own a smartphone, according to previously released data from BabyCenter. The “21st Century Mobile Mom Report” indicates 53% of moms say they purchased a smartphone as a direct result of becoming a mom. This makes moms 18% more likely than overall women to have a smartphone, and smartphone adoption by moms has grown 64% in the last two years.

Facebook Most Satisfies SMBs

 

Facebook is the social network with the highest rates of satisfying small-to-mid-sized businesses (SMBs), according to a Q1 2011 survey conducted by Borrell Associates. Data from “SMB Survey – Wave 3″ indicates that a total of 76.5% of SMBs are somewhat or very satisfied with their Facebook pages.

MySpace Least Satisfies SMBs

In contrast, only about 6.6% of SMBs are very or somewhat satisfied with their MySpace pages, and 78% do not use MySpace. Facebook’s non-usage rate is only about 2%.

Twitter follows Facebook with about 38% of SMBs very or somewhat satisfied with their Twitter page, and another 37% not using Twitter.

2/3 of SMBs Use SocNets for One-to-One

About two-thirds (67%) of SMBs use social networks to communicate one-on-one. Twenty-eight percent do not perform one-to-one communication via social networks, and 6% don’t know.

1/3 of SMBs Contacted for Mobile Ads

A little more than one-third (36%) of SMBs have been contacted by an advertiser to conduct mobile-based advertising/marketing campaigns in the past 12 months. Fifty percent have not, and 13% don’t know (total equals less than 100% due to rounding).

Majority of SMBs Haven’t Gone Mobile

A solid 85% majority of SMBs say they have not conducted any mobile advertising/marketing campaigns in the past year. About 12% say they have and 3% don’t know.

More Than Half of SMBs Not Likely to Go Mobile

Looking forward, a smaller 54% majority of SMBs are either not very likely (30%) or not at all likely (24%) to incorporate mobile into their advertising and marketing efforts this year. Another 22% are somewhat likely, with only 12% saying they are very likely to use mobile advertising/marketing, the same percentage who don’t know.

Janrain: Facebook Eclipses Google for SSI

Facebook has eclipsed previous social sign-in favorite Google as the leading social sign-in (SSI) site among users of the Janrain Engage social connection service. During Q1 2011, Janrain recorded a preference for Facebook SSI among 35% of Engage users, compared to 31% who preferred Google.

SSI allows users to sign into a restricted access site using existing sign-in data, rather than having to create a new account.

Most Marketers Keep Social Media In-house

Roughly seven in 10 (72%) marketers who engage in social media marketing efforts do not outsource those efforts, according to the “2011 Social Media Marketing Report” from SocialMedia Examiner. However, SocialMedia Examiner notes the number of those who are outsourcing social media efforts has doubled since 2010, from 14% to 28%.

Design/Development Most Often Outsourced

Among marketers who do outsource social media marketing efforts, the most commonly outsourced task is design/development, which 17% say they outsource. MarketingCharts observes that the other most commonly outsourced tasks, such as content creation (10%) and analytics (10%), can also be considered “behind the scenes” functions. “Real time” functions such as community management (4%) and live tweeting (3%) are less likely to be outsourced.

8 in 10 Social Marketers Use Email

The study asked social media marketers what other types of marketing they were participating in. The top three included email marketing (81%), search engine optimization (68%) and event marketing (64%).

SocialMedia Examiner analysis indicates B2B marketers were significantly more likely to employ search engine optimization (71% B2B compared to 65% B2C) and event marketing (70% B2B compared to 58% B2C). Organizations with 1,000 or more employees were more likely to participate in event marketing (73%).

In addition, social media marketers with three or more years of experience were more likely to participate in search engine optimization (80%) and event marketing (79%) than the overall respondent group.

9 in 10 Marketers Use Facebook

Nine in 10 marketers (92%) use the Facebook social network as a marketing tool, according to other study results. Data indicates Facebook is the most popular social network among marketers by a wide margin. The second-most-popular social network among marketers, Twitter, has an 84% adoption rate, meaning Facebook is almost 10% more popular than its closest competitor as a marketing tool.

The professional networking site LinkedIn comes in third with 71% marketer adoption. Rather than a specific network, blogs follow with 68% usage, and YouTube/other video sites are used by 56% of marketers.

There is a substantial dropoff of more than 50% between the marketer adoption rates of YouTube/other video sites and their closest competitor, social bookmarking/news sites, used by only 26% of marketers. MySpace comes in last with only 6% adoption as a marketing tool.

NBN Co suspends tender over value

The builder of the national broadband network has suspended its construction tender following concerns about value for money.

NBN Co head of corporate services Kevin Brown said the company would not build the network 'at any price'.

'We have thoroughly benchmarked our project against similar engineering and civil works projects in Australia and overseas and we will not proceed on the basis of prices we are currently being offered,' Mr Brown said in a statement on Friday.

'NBN Co is confident it can secure better value for money by going a different route.'

Mr Brown said NBN Co had open the option of continuing negotiations at a later stage.

The government proposes to build a $36 billion optic fibre broadband network to 93 per cent of Australian homes, businesses and schools.

Mr Brown said NBN Co would change tack in arranging a builder for the broadband network.

'Today we are commencing discussions with an alternative different party about how to get the job done,' he told ABC.

Mr Brown said the prices on offer from a final list of five bidders was dearer than the NBN Co was prepared to pay.

'It was double digit above what we were expecting,' he said.

'It is our view that having done extensive benchmarking about what a fair price is, we believe there is another way to get there.'

Opposition broadband spokesman Malcolm Turnbull said NBN Co had no option but to suspend the tender process because putting optic fibre into every house in Australia was enormously expensive.

'I imagine they had no choice because the cost of this exercise appears to be well above even their high-end cost estimates,' Mr Turnbull told ABC Radio.

That explanation was more likely than bidders trying to rip off the NBN Co, he said.

'It's easy to say price gouging, but what does that mean?

'It's a competitive market (and) there's a number of contractors that have been contacted.

'Normally competition gets you the best price.'

Mr Turnbull said it wasn't necessary to run fibre into every home to ensure fast broadband access.

Story source: www.ninemsn.com.au

Harvey Norman raises white flag in online fight

Electronics and furniture retailer Harvey Norman will launch anonline store “within weeks,” signalling it will cease its public battle with the government over internet shopping, according to sources knowledgeable in the matter.

The insiders confirmed a News Ltd report that Gerry Harvey, the retailer's managing director, would soon unveil a "sizeable internet presence”.

“My heart's beating very strongly on whether we make any money out of it," he told News. "I haven't got any choice. I've got to cannibalise our stores."

The rise of online shopping has put pressure on Australia's so-called bricks and mortar retailers who face higher costs for staff, distribution and real estate than their internet rivals. The rising value of the Australian dollar has supercharged the trend of local consumers shopping online from retailers based in the US, UK and elsewhere.

That squeeze helped send store-based retailers REDgroup - owner of Borders and Angus & Robertson book shops - into administration last month. Owners of clothing retailer Colorado said today they would have to place the company into administration after a recovery plan was rejected by creditors.

Harvey Norman declined multiple requests for comment on the plans. The retailer extensively upgraded its website in late 2009, adding many needed functions for online sales  - except the ability for consumers to purchase directly.

Back down

Harvey Norman's decision to compete for internet sales comes after Mr Harvey set off a firestorm of in November when he singled out the federal government for allowing consumers to buy online merchandise valued up to a $1000 from overseas without paying GST.

The retailer later said he would create on offshore website that would skirt paying GST by shipping to consumers directly from China. Rival retailer Myer has already embarked on a similar plan.

Harvey Norman's planned move online is understood to be under the Harvey Norman brand name. It's also understood a compromise was reached between Harvey Norman and its franchisees to divide online revenue based on customer locations.

The electronics retailer's franchise model and extensive property holdings were long considered stumbling blocks to Harvey Norman's entry into the online market, industry sources said.

Southern Cross equities retail analyst Paresh Patel said the online move was an acknowledgment of the shifting retail environment.

In addition to eroding traditional sales, the shift may also put pressure on commercial property values, he said.

“If sales online take off then what does it mean for the store and the rents they can demand for the store owners?” said Mr Patel.

The structural shift in the way retailing works in Australia wasn't just an issue for Harvey Norman but for big property owners Westfield and Centro, as well, Mr Patel said.

eBay Australia head of communications Daniel Feiler welcomed Harvey Norman's move online.

“From eBay's perspective having more Australian retailers come online is a good thing because we think e-commerce is growing quickly and it's just going to grow the pie more quickly,” Mr Feiler said.

Story by Chris Zappone www.smh.com.au

Facebook Has Big Lead in Avg. Monthly Minutes

While Facebook.com trailed Google in unique US monthly audience during February 2011, the average Facebook user spent substantially more time on the site than any users of any other sites, according to new data from The Nielsen Company.

Google had a unique audience of about 147.9 million, 13% more than Facebook’s unique audience of about 130.8 million.

Time is On Facebook’s Side.

 

The average Facebook user spent about six hours and 36 minutes on the site during February 2010. That is roughly triple the average monthly time of two hours and 10 minutes on Yahoo, the site with next-highest average minutes total. Google ranked fifth at one hour and 15 minutes.

Multi-category, Map Sites Dominate Travel Category

Map and multi-category sites remain the most popular type of travel websites; Google Maps led the way with 67.3 million unique US visitors in February 2011, followed by MapQuest (24.7 million) and Yahoo Local (13.1 million). Despite the shorter month, both MapQuest and Yahoo Local saw slight increases in the average time visitors spent on their site.

Map sites account for four of the 10 most popular travel sites, while multi-category travel sites – led by Expedia, account for half of the top 10. Southwest Airlines, at sixth, is the sole airline represented in the top 10 during February 2011.

Multi-category travel sites TripAdvisor and Orbitz were the only other two among the top 10 to see an increase in the average amount of time (16.7% and 10.9%, respectively) visitors spent on the site compared to the longer January 2011 month.

Overall MOM Web Usage Down

Month-over-month unique audience and average time spent figures were down, in some cases by more than 10% (and approaching 20% for certain travel sites), for all the top 10 web brands and six of the top 10 travel sites. Overall US web usage figures for February 2011 demonstrate these trends follow the norm.

For example, in February, the average US web user had 54 sessions, down 8.4% from 59 the prior month. Domains visited dropped 8.1%, from an average of 99 to 91 per person. There were also declines in month-over-month average per person figures for web page views, PC time, duration of web page viewed, and active digital media universe. The current digital media universe stayed virtually flat at a little less than 300 million.

Google, Yahoo UA Down, Facebook UA Up from Feb. ‘10

While February being a short month is likely a reason for at least some of the generally decreased topline statistics compared to the prior month, a year-over-year comparison of Nielsen data shows Google had more visitors in February 2010. Google also held the largest unique web audience in February, but at almost 154 million it was about 5% higher than Google’s February 2011 audience.

Meanwhile, Facebook, ranked third among web brands in February 2010, grew its year-over-year unique audience 10%, from 118.8 million to 130.8 million. This allowed it to switch places with February 2010 number two Yahoo, which lost about 6% of its unique audience of 134.1 million, recording about 126.5 million in February 2011.

Facebook’s Diversification Drives Continued Growth

Site evolves into all-purpose web destination for messaging, video-sharing, gaming and more

 

Facebook, the largest social network in the US as well as the world, has been adding members at a rapid clip for the past two years. While that growth will moderate now that the social network is reaching a saturation point among many age groups, it will continue to gain audience for the foreseeable future.

eMarketer estimates that 132.5 million people in the US will be users of Facebook this year; by 2013, that number will increase to 152.1 million.

“Facebook’s recent successes—and its future prospects—are intrinsically connected with the site’s diversification,” said Paul Verna, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, “Facebook Users: The Juggernaut Rolls On.” “What started out as a pure-play social network has evolved into an all-purpose destination that is beginning to replace email, instant messaging, video sharing, gaming and other activities that were otherwise scattered across unconnected venues.”

This growth will be driven primarily by increased Facebook use among older boomers and seniors. At the same time, teens and young adults will remain the site’s most active and engaged age groups. Compared with other age groups, they show extremely high penetration rates, spend more time on the site and have more friends in their networks.

The 18-to-44 age segment represents the largest demographic slice, 56.7% of Facebook users, and is a key target for marketers.

“With so many options to promote their brands on Facebook and its partner sites, marketers have little choice but to formulate a cohesive social media strategy,” said Verna. “Whether they advertise on Facebook, seed viral content on the site, build their digital presence through branded pages, use the ‘like’ button in their own content or mine data from users’ newsfeeds, marketers have a wealth of methods for monetizing the massive Facebook audience.”

How Well Is Social Media Fitting into the Marketing Mix?

Budgets are rising, but integrating social media into overall strategies is still a challenge

 

Over the next several years, social media spending will become a bigger percentage of companies’ overall marketing budgets. Yet CMOs report there are still challenges when it comes to integrating social media into their overall business strategies.

The American Marketing Association and Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business surveyed more than 400 top marketers for the February 2011 CMO Survey. They reported that over the next 12 months, social media spending will jump to 9.8% of marketing budgets, up from the current level of 5.6%. In the next five years, that percentage will increase to 18.1%.

Service companies are planning the biggest increases, as both B2B and B2C service companies have a higher percentage of their budgets set aside for social media than their product-focused counterparts. They also plan to have bigger percentages looking ahead both 12 months and five years.

This is a remarkable difference from the August 2010 CMO Survey, when service companies were decreasing spending and future projections of spending, while product companies were seeing increases. In this survey, the results are flipped, with service companies seeing increases and product companies seeing decreases.

Social media is no longer brand new, and many product companies have been experimenting in the space for some time. The current challenge for companies is to figure out the balance of marketing that works for them, and that includes a focus on product development and traditional advertising. Service companies are also realizing they must be on the cutting edge to gain clients, which includes being savvy when it comes to social media.

Yet while these CMOs are setting aside more of their budgets for social media, they are still working on integrating this newer form of communication into overall business and marketing strategies.

CMOs are more confident in the integration of social media into marketing strategies, as 10.5% feel social media is very effectively integrated into those efforts. But when it comes to companies’ overall business strategies, 25% of CMO respondents said social media is not effectively integrated at all.

As social media becomes a bigger budget line item, CMOs and their companies must face the challenge of integrating it into overall business and marketing strategies. Not only is it more cost-effective to incorporate social media into marketing and overall strategies, but it also makes marketing more effective overall.

Skies Brighten for Cloud Storage

Access to mobile devices and broadband have made the average consumer more connected to the internet than ever and new cloud computing-based online storage models have become real options for the mass market, according to a new study from Deloitte. Data from “State of the Media Democracy” indicates that most Americans own a device that allows them to easily connect to the Web; 85% of US consumers own a desktop computer, 68% own a laptop/netbook computer and 41% access the internet on their mobile phone.

 

In addition, 44% of US households subscribe to cable broadband internet access and 39% subscribe to broadband DSL.

Consumers Need, Want Accessible Online Storage

The survey further reveals that 51% of Americans have experienced a computer or hard drive failure that caused them to lose photos, movies, or other digital content. Moreover, Deloitte data indicates that 32% of respondents stated a desire to have an online media storage service they could access from any device. In addition, 43% of respondents said they want the ability to move content to any device and platform easily and effectively.

Cloud Storage May Hold Answer

 

Deloitte analysis indicates that given these statistics, cloud storage, which stores data in a web-based “cloud” that does not rely on any physical hardware or software, could provide an avenue for greater consumer access to content and greater portability. Cloud computing has been recently growing in popularity among business users but is still relatively rare for consumer use.

“With the majority of consumers aware of the risk of permanently losing their content due to hard drive failures, new methods to both store and gain greater access to digital content are beginning to take shape,” said Phil Asmundson, vice chairman and technology, media and telecommunications industry leader, Deloitte LLP.

“And, while consumers may not fully understand cloud computing, their concern about storing digital content on their PCs is raising awareness and opening up new opportunities for cloud-based storage models aimed at the consumer.”

Millennials More Likely to Own Portable Gadgets

 

Millennial consumers (age 18-34) are more likely to own laptop computers and other portable gadgets than older consumers, according to a recent study from Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. Data from “Generations and Their Gadgets” indicates that Millennials in particular have driven recent overall growth in laptop ownership.

Internet running out of IP addresses

The internet is running out of addresses.

With everything from smartphones to internet-linked appliances and cars getting online, the group entrusted with organising the web is running out of the 'IP' numbers that identify destinations for digital traffic.

Google engineer Lorenzo Colitti says one solution is to switch to a standard called IPv6 which would allow trillions of internet addresses, the current IPv4 standard only provides about 4 billion.

He says the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, has been calling for a change to IPv6 for years.

Google, Facebook and other major internet players will add IPv6 addresses to their systems in a one-day trial run on June 8 to let all parties involved check for trouble spots.

Protect Your Online Security When Using Wi-Fi Hotspots

Whether you’re heading home for the holidays or simply escaping to a warmer clime for a little sunshine, you’ll probably want to stay connected while you’re traveling from point A to point B. Public wi-fi access is everywhere—in cafes and even in the friendly skies.

Here are some tips to protect your online security when you use public wi-fi.

A public hotspot is a wireless network set up for shared Internet access. The hotspot host buys a wireless access point, connects that device to the Internet, and broadcasts its signal within a public place. Anyone with a wireless card within range of the host’s access point can access its network and use the Internet.

Most proprietors make it quick and easy for customers to use their hotspots. But by minimizing login requirements and avoiding encryption compatibility issues, they disable much of the security built into the wireless device.

This is a notable tradeoff. Without encryption, your plain text data passes unprotected through the air as radio signals. Those signals can be intercepted by anyone with a receiver and some basic, widely available tools.

When the hotspot you’re on doesn’t use encryption, someone who intercepts your data can read whatever you’ve sent--whether it’s a private email or a user name and password combination.

Beware of Cybercriminals

Although it’s unlikely that nosy hotspot neighbors will put your privacy at risk, you should be on the alert for the most serious hotspot danger: a cybercriminal.

These technically savvy hackers have the tools, skills, and patience to work around the limited protection measures some hotspot hosts take.

For example, some cybercriminals have learned to use social engineering methods to con hotspot users into divulging sensitive information. By wi-phishing, a cybercriminal can pre-empt a hotspot’s wireless signal with one of his own, spoof the legitimate network name, and replace the sign-up page with a look-alike. You’ll end up supplying your information to this evil twin, not the hotspot provider.

Once you’re on the spoofed hotspot, you may be redirected to other fraudulent or virus-laden Web sites, or even be tricked into setting up a “new account” and providing credit card numbers or other identifying information.

Tips to Keep Yourself Safe at Public Hotspots

With these security dangers lurking, protecting yourself at public hotspots becomes your own responsibility. Here are some things you can do to keep yourself safe:

• Be aware of your surroundings. Make sure no one is peering over your shoulder when you log into your operating system, email, IM, or other accounts.
• Never leave your laptop or handheld device unattended—not even for a moment.
• Don’t allow your wireless card to automatically join the nearest network. Instead, manually select the hotspot when you connect.
• Make sure you’re on a legitimate hotspot by checking with the host to confirm the network name and connection process.
• Turn off file sharing when you’re using a hotspot, and try to minimize the amount of sensitive, personal data you store on your laptops and mobile devices. You can usually turn off file sharing from your operating system’s network settings menu.
• Don’t do your online banking or trading at a public hotspot. Save it for a more safe and controlled environment.
• Limit email and IM to casual communications. If you use IM or email at hotspots, never send anything that should not be made public. Consider setting up an extra Web-based email account to use at hotspots.
• Don’t surf Web sites you wouldn’t want a stranger to know you’re viewing.
• Turn off your wireless card when you’re not using it.
• When you’re on a public hotspot, you have no idea what infections other connected computers might have, or whether there may be a hacker prowling the network. Norton Antivirus or Norton Internet Security--both from Symantec--protect you from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and dangerous intruders.
• Make wise computing decisions. Always avoid using hotspots for important communications or transactions.

Conclusion

Public wi-fi hotspots can be both friend and foe during your travels, unless you take precautions. It’s up to you to protect your computer, your data, and your privacy with good tools and cautious computing habits. We hope the tips we offered in this article help you to do just that.

Story source: Norton article library