Most Social Shoppers Trust SocNet Reviews

A majority of social shoppers trust user reviews and recommendations on social network sites more than other sites, according to a study released in October 2011 by Performics and conducted by ROI Research. Data from the “2011 Social Shopping Study” indicates that among participants who use social networks at least occasionally during the shopping process, 58% trust the recommendations they find on social networks more than other sites. Shopping sites (57%) and deal sites (53%) follow closely as trusted sources of product recommendations. According to the study, about one in 2 social shoppers are positively influenced by favorable reviews and recommendations. This compares to roughly 45% of social shoppers adversely influenced by negative reviews.

Shopping Sites Most Important During Process

Almost three in 4 (72%) social shoppers consider shopping sites to be an important part of the purchase process, about 25% more than those who report deal sites (58%) to be an important factor. Just four in 10 (41%) find social networks to be a significant part of the shopping process.

1 in 5 Use Sites Daily to Find Deals

Among active social networkers, nearly one in 5 (19%) turn to deal sites to find specials, coupons, or deals on a daily basis. Social networks (18%) and shopping sites (17%) follow closely as deal sources. While 15% of social shoppers use social networks daily to learn about new products, only one in 10 use social shopping sites on a daily basis for other key stages of the shopping process, including to research product information, read product reviews, compare products, and find product availability.

Shopping Sites Most Popular Before Purchase

Although social networks are most frequently used to learn about new products, the vast majority of social shoppers (87%) turn to shopping sites while searching for a product, while 83% use these sites right before committing to a purchase. This compares to roughly two-thirds of social shoppers who frequently use social networks or deal sites prior to purchasing a product. After the purchase, however, the focus shifts to social networks: almost six in 10 (59%) frequently share their experiences on social networks after the purchase, compared to 57% for shopping sites and 51% for deal sites.

Other Findings

• Almost seven in 10 (69%) social shoppers visit Amazon at least once a month, making it the most popular shopping site, ahead of eBay (53%) and retailer websites (52%). Search sites fare less well: just 27% visit Google shopping on a monthly basis, followed by Yahoo shopping (23%) and Bing shopping (13%).
• Close to half of social shoppers (47%) have a Groupon account, far more than those with a Living Social (27%) or Eversave (15%) account.

Nielsen: SocNet Users Most Trust Info from Consumers

Social network users are most likely to trust product and service information provided by other consumers, according to data released in October 2011 by NMIncite and The Nielsen Company. Sixty-three percent say consumer ratings are a preferred source for product information, while 62% say consumer reviews are a preferred source. Company websites come in a distant third, preferred by 50% of social network users for product and service information. Call center (47%) and email (45%) closely follow. Interestingly, company Facebook page (15%) and company Twitter (7%) are among the least preferred product information sources.

About the Data: The Performics survey was conducted among 1000 participants who were required to have an active social network account and use social networks at least occasionally in the shopping process. The online survey was in field from 9/27/11 to 10/4/11.

'We should never block social networks'

Suppressing social networks or mobile phones at times of unrest is 'unacceptable', the UK Foreign Secretary has told a global summit on cyber-crime.

Human rights such as privacy and freedom of expression should apply as much online as they do offline, William Hague said.

His remarks appear to rule out any clampdown of Twitter or Facebook during riots, an idea briefly considered following the disorder in English cities earlier this year.

They are in stark contrast to Prime Minister David Cameron's comments to Parliament in August, when he said: 'When people are using social media for violence we need to stop them.

'So we are working with the police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality.'

But Mr Hague told delegates: 'Human rights are universal. Cultural differences are not an excuse to water down human rights, nor can the exploitation of digital networks by a minority of criminals or terrorists be a justification for states to censor their citizens.

'We reject the view that government suppression of the internet, phone networks and social media at times of unrest is acceptable.

'In fact we would go further, and boil this concept down to a single proposition: that behaviour that is unacceptable offline is also unacceptable online, whether it is carried out by individuals or by governments.'

The Foreign Secretary also warned countries who fail to understand the risks of web-based attacks could be exploited by other states.

'It is increasingly clear that countries with weak cyber-defences and capabilities will find themselves exposed over the long term; at a serious strategic disadvantage given the apparent rise in state-sponsored attacks,' he said.

His speech follows a No 10 adviser's admission that China and Russia - both countries with representatives attending the London conference - are suspected of carrying out attacks to steal secrets from other countries.

Baroness Neville-Jones, who is Mr Cameron's special representative on cyber-security, said Beijing and Moscow were 'interested in this kind of activity'.

The head of GCHQ, the Government's 'listening' agency, Iain Lobban, said the Foreign and Commonwealth Office computer system was targeted in a 'significant' attempt to extract information earlier this year.

Representatives from 60 nations have gathered for the conference which will also hear from Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and Facebook's policy director for the UK, Europe and Middle East, Richard Allan.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has been forced to cancel her speech as her elderly mother is unwell.

Story source: www.bigpond.com

Twitter stalks the wrong Alan Joyce

Qantas is the talk of the town on social networking sites after CEO Alan Joyce took the unprecedented step of grounding the airline's domestic and international aircraft.

Twitter account holders have been looking for the businessman's personal account, taking the search for Alan Joyce to the fourth most popular trend topic in Australia on Sunday.

Unfortunately, many homed in on an Alan Joyce of Stanford, California.

The American Mr Joyce acquired more than 300 extra Twitter followers over the past 24 hours after tweeters confused him with the Qantas boss.

'Oh dear,' he tweeted around 11am AEDT on Sunday.

'I think Australia is waking up again ... time to prepare for another deluge of tweets.'

Mr Joyce later tweeted that Qantas had contacted him 'with a graceful apology', which could indicate not all his new followers were friendly.

Also making an appearance on Twitter was a fake Alan Joyce, whose account described the tweeter as 'leading Qantas Airway to its biggest disaster yet and then on to the next'.

The fake Joyce was quickly acquiring followers, up from about 300 on Saturday evening to almost 2000 on Sunday afternoon, as he racked up more than 470 tweets.

Qantas itself was also a major topic on Twitter, with many tweeters expressing their disappointment with the airline's action.

Among them was NSW federal Labor MP Mike Kelly, who tweeted his followers: 'Finding it increasingly difficult 2 accept credibility of Alan Joyce. Worried we will see the flying roo give way 2 the flying pig emblem.'

Facebook Usage Beats TV During Work Hours

Boomers still prefer TV during workday

Facebook is gradually attaining parity with TV as a mass medium. During working hours, the social network has already beaten the boob tube in consumer media time spent.

The Frank N. Magid Associates Generational Strategies study surveyed consumers of various ages about how they spend their media time throughout the day. Between 9am and 5pm, more consumers surveyed reported using Facebook than watching TV. This was true for each age group broken out from ages 15 to 46. Among the youngest consumer group, 8- to 14-year-olds dubbed “iGens,” 16% logged on to Facebook during those hours, the same percentage who said they tuned in to TV.

Baby boomers were the only exception. Those surveyed preferred TV over Facebook at all hours. But these older folks still aren’t ignoring Facebook—26% of those surveyed used the social network between 9am and 5pm.

Millennials were the most stalwart Facebook users during the work day. Thirty percent of teen millennials (ages 15 to 17) spent time on the social network, vs. 24% who spent time with TV. Among adult millennials, 44% said they went on Facebook (presumably while at work or school) during the 9am to 5pm period, while 28% watched TV.

For marketers interested in testing social media ads, daytime is prime for engaging a large swath of Facebook users, particularly millennial users. As Matt Britton, CEO of Mr. Youth, a boutique agency which specializes in marketing to millennials, told eMarketer: “Facebook is not necessarily a strategy anymore. It’s sort of like ground zero in terms of reaching [the millennial] audience.”

But the evening hours, including primetime, remain the best time for TV ads as audiences of all ages begin to lose interest in Facebook and pay more attention to television. Each age group, though, has its own quirks about TV vs. social media usage during those hours.

The iGens are perhaps sneaking a little Facebook check-in while mom makes dinner since 41% said they use the social network between 5pm and 8pm. But significantly more (59%) are viewing TV during that daypart.

Around 40% of millennials surveyed say they continue to use Facebook into the evening hours, but a much higher percentage (between 43% and 51%) say they watch TV.

Gen Xers use Facebook at night too, but twice as many say they prefer TV at that time.

Fifty-four percent of boomers are watching TV between 5pm and 8pm, and that percentage balloons to 70% between 8pm and 11pm. Only 21% and 23% of boomer TV watchers during those periods, respectively, say they use Facebook during those time blocks.

Tablet users don't want to pay - study

Although tablet owners spend more time consuming news than poking around on Facebook, they're reluctant to pay for news content.

That's according to a study released on Tuesday by the Pew Research Center's Project for the Excellence in Journalism.

It found that 11 per cent of American adults own a tablet of some kind, and they spend on average 90 minutes a day using the device.

Consuming news is one of the most popular activities, up there with email and more popular than social networking. Only general web-browsing proved more popular on tablets than news and email.

Even so, just 14 per cent of those who consume news on tablets said they have paid for news content on their devices. Another 23 per cent, though, pay for a print subscription that includes tablet content. So in all, about a third of tablet news consumers have paid to access news on their gadgets.

'That is a much higher number than previous research has found more broadly of people paying for digital content,' the report says.

Nonetheless, a 'large majority' of people who have not paid for news are 'reluctant to do so, even if that was the only way to get news from their favourite sources', the report adds.

This is bad news for media companies hoping to boost revenue by charging for content on Apple's iPad and other tablets. Of the people who have not paid directly to access news on their tablet, just 21 per cent said they would spend $US5 ($A4.79) a month if that was the only way to access their favourite news outlet.

Apps, it turns out, are not the most popular way to access news content. Only 21 per cent of tablet news users said they get their news mainly through apps they have downloaded. By contrast, 40 per cent said they get their news mainly by way of a web browser, while 31 per cent said they use apps and the browser equally.

The study was conducted on landlines and mobile phones from June 30 to July 31 among 5014 adults in the US.

Story source: www.bigpond.com

6 in 10 Twitter Followers are Existing Customers

6 in 10 Twitter Followers are Existing Customers

 

More than six in 10 (64%) people who follow a brand on Twitter are existing customers of the company, according to [pdf] a study released in October 2011 by Chadwick Martin Bailey. Results from “10 Quick Facts You Should Know About Consumer Behavior on Twitter” indicate about six in 10 (61%) also want to be the first to know information about the brand.

No other reason for following a brand on Twitter is shared by more than half of followers. However, almost half (48%) follow to receive discounts and promotions. Another 36% want to gain access to exclusive content and 28% want to receive content and information to share and retweet with others.

6 in 10 Followers More Likely to Recommend

Six in 10 Twitter brand followers are either more likely to recommend many (18%) or a few (42%) brands as a result of following them. Another three in 10 (31%) are not more likely to recommend a brand they follow on Twitter and about one in 10 (9%) don’t know.

Twitter brand followers 35-49 are much more likely to recommend many brands they follow than those younger than 35. In the 35-49 segment, 33% are likely to recommend many brands and 14% are likely to recommend a few. Although a much higher percentage of followers younger than 35 are likely to recommend a brand overall (61% compared to 47%), only 14% are likely to recommend many brands and 47% are likely to recommend a few brands.

Interestingly, 33% of brand followers in both age groups are not more likely to make brand recommendations. The differentiator comes in the percentage who don’t know: 20% for those 35-49 compared to only 7% of younger followers.

Half of Twitter Users Go Online More than Once an Hour

Fifty percent of Twitter users go online more than once an hour, compared to 34% of Facebook users and 29% of overall online users. Facebook users are slightly more likely to go online once every couple of hours (46%) than Twitter users (40%) or overall online users (45%).

Meanwhile, 20% of overall online users go online once per day, compared to 17% of Facebook users and 7% of Twitter users. Only 5% of overall online users, and 3% of both social network users, go online two to six times per week.

Nearly Half of Twitter Users Been Tweeting Less than 1 Yr

Thirty-eight percent of Twitter users have been tweeting for six months or fewer and another 9% have been tweeting for seven to 11 months, meaning 47% have been tweeting for less than one year. Thirty-eight percent have also been tweeting for one to two years, and 15% have been tweeting for more than two years.

In addition, one-quarter of Twitter users older than 50 have been tweeting less than one month.

1/3 of Followers Interact w/More Brands This Year

Thirty-three percent of brand followers on Twitter are interacting with more brands this year, while 57% are interacting with the same number and only 11% are interacting with less. Men increased their rate of brand interaction more from the previous year (38% compared to 27% of women).

Other Findings

• 79% of Twitter users follow fewer than 10 brands, with 36% following one or two.
• 75% of Twitter followers have never unfollowed a brand.
• 26% of Twitter users 18-35 follow a brand, compared to 17% of followers 35-49 and 13% of those 50 and older.
• Half of followers say they are more likely to buy a brand after following, including 55% of men and 45% of women.

Performics: Entertainment Top Twitter Category

Entertainment is the brand category most followed/liked on both Twitter and Facebook, according to an August 2011 study from Performics and ROI Research. Data from “S-Net, The Impact of Social Media” indicates 46% of brand fans on both social networks are fans of at least one brand in the entertainment category.

While the top five brand categories are the same on both social networks, there is some variation in how the next four categories are ranked. After entertainment, Twitter users are most likely to follow brands in the restaurants, food, electronics, and apparel categories. In contrast, Facebook users are most likely to like brands in the food, restaurants, apparel, and electronics categories.

About the Data: Data was collected through a 15-minute online questionnaire of 1,491 US consumers age 18 and up fielded in January 2011.

Social Media Presence More Important Than Social Media Ads

Yet marketers have concerns with the communities they've built on social sites

Social media marketers feel that having a presence on social sites is more important than advertising there, but there are still challenges related to keeping a community running online.

In July 2011, Microsoft Advertising and Advertiser Perceptions surveyed social media marketers in six countries around the world and found that 74% of them thought it was very important to have a presence on Facebook, but only 57% felt the same way about advertising there. On Twitter, presence also carried more weight, with 47% of respondents saying they thought it was very important. But in Twitter’s case, there was not as much of a difference between presence and advertising, at 42%.

Of the marketers surveyed, 72% agreed that measuring return on investment from social media was too hard, an oft-cited challenge of social media overall. More specific to having a brand page or account, 56% of marketers said turnover was too high and 52% said their fan or follower base was not target-appropriate.

Looking at social media budgets gives more insight into how marketers are keeping their communities engaged online.

Social media marketers reported that 48% of their budgets are used to attract new members to their pages, with 28% focused on social sites such as Facebook or Twitter, and 20% from off of these sites. On the other hand, 19% of budgets are used to keep current Facebook or Twitter communities engaged, and an additional 20% of budgets are spent on paid media to maintain existing fan bases.

Continually working to keep social communities engaged will help marketers reduce turnover. And as social media marketers become more mature in their outreach and social networks improve their platforms, marketers can work to better target advertising to reach the right audience and track and measure success using better metrics. Time and experience with social media will help marketers overcome the challenge of maintaining communities at social sites.