Agencies adapt social media strategies

NEW YORK: Advertising agencies are adopting an increasingly diverse range of social media services when running campaigns for clients, new figures show.

STRATA, a firm providing media planning and buying solutions, polled 80 agencies, and found 23% were aiming to use Pinterest, the content-sharing site, for marketing purposes, up from 15.5% last year.

Google+, which was launched in mid-2011, enjoyed a lift from 18.3% to 25.7%. "It's becoming clear that these platforms are more than just a fad," said Joy Baer, STRATA's chief operating officer.

YouTube, the video-sharing property also owned by Google, expanded from 36.6% to 41.9% in the same period, and this trend is expected to grow as tools like content marketing gain further ground.

Baer said: "We're approaching a seismic shift in the way advertisers approach online video. With the recent introduction of Google Adwords for video, advertisers can measure the effectiveness of their video content, which they were previously unable to do."

Elsewhere, Facebook, boasting over 1bn members worldwide, recorded a decline of 4.9 percentage points to 82.4%. Twitter, the microblog, was also down by 1.5 percentage points to 36.5%.

LinkedIn, the business-orientated social network, similarly saw a drop off in interest, registering 23%, compared with 28.2% some 12 months ago.

Foursquare, the geo-location service for mobile phones, witnessed an equivalent trend following a contraction of 2.9 percentage points to a reading of 4.1% overall.

Moreover, the number of shops not planning to employ social media in any form slid from 8.5% to 8.1% year on year. This total stood at 13.6% in the third quarter of 2010.

Looking specifically at advertising, STRATA revealed that 84% of agencies anticipated using display formats going forward, with search on 78%, social media on 57% and mobile on 45%.

Indeed, a 26% share of contributors expected to spend more on digital than traditional media in three years' time at the latest.

However, the major challenges facing respondents included merging these channels, mentioned by 39% of the sample, and proving return on investment, which posted 49%. 

Data sourced from STRATA/DigiDay; additional content by Warc staff, 30 November 2012 
https://www.warc.com/LatestNews/News/Agencies_broaden_social_strategies.news?ID=30705&utm_source=buffer&buffer_share=6890b

Reaching Generation X: Authenticity in Advertising

Although a smaller population than Boomers and Millenials, Gen X’s tendency toward affluence, technological savvy and brand loyalty make them unique characters in the marketplace. Generation X’s buying potential makes this demographic of consumers aged 35 to 54 a must-know for marketers.

So what makes Gen Xers tick when it comes to TV advertising? New research from Nielsen shows that both men and women in this demo connect with everyday household and family activities. Unlike other demographics, such as Millenials, real-world situations and authenticity appeal most to consumers between 35-54.

While it comes as no surprise that Gen Xers’ preferences show a stark contrast with Millenials, the nuances between males and females in this age demo are more subtle than males and females ages 13-34. Both Gen X men and women prefer a calm, safe approach in advertising, while Generation Y prefers high-energy, extreme scenarios.

Though more subtle, gender nuances still exist within Generation X. Ads can connect with Gen X’s women by using sentimental milestone events, like a daughter getting her driver’s license, or a son’s wedding, to create an emotional appeal. A more direct approach can be utilized to relate to men in this segment, using cars and sports to appeal to their masculine sensibilities. Appealing to the desire for authenticity, imagery featuring realistic events that may occur or have occurred in the lives of Gen Xers is likely to resonate. This differs from younger audience’s desire for aspirational, “I wish that were me” scenarios.

“Generation X is uniquely positioned. They know what they want and what they like and most importantly who they are,” says Joe Stagaman, EVP, Advertising Effectiveness Analytics for Nielsen. “Recognizing this creates an opportunity for marketers to appeal to this population with a genuine and realistic campaign that Gen Xers can identify with.”

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/nielsen-news/reaching-generation-x-authenticity-in-advertising/

The Value of an Existing Customer

Conventional wisdom dictates that existing customers are valuable, but sometimes that wisdom becomes the baby tossed out with its bathwater when customer acquisition hikes its way up the priority list. Social media marketing service Flowtown (our review) thought it would be interesting to see just how valuable those customers are, so they put together some noteworthy data summaries.

The takeaway? Don't toss the baby. It's your moneymaker.

Flowtown's chart argues that not only do loyal customers give businesses a competitive edge, but they can be pretty profitable (especially when you factor in the cost of new customers, which can be 6-7% higher than your existing base). It's a sentiment that's being felt all-around especially when companies like AmEx tell us they see entrepreneurs shoring up losses by engaging with, retaining, and reaping the rewards of mining existing customers.

Flowtown's findings seem to back this up. Click below to view the company's infographic full-size on the Flowtown site.

http://readwrite.com/2010/10/19/the-value-of-an-existing-customer

The Guide to Taking on Big Brand's best Social Media Ideas

Social media is fun to talk about but tough to implement. The truth is there is no cut-and-dried secret to developing a great social media program. Your social presence must be adapted to fit your business and brand. Wait, what was that? Yes, adapted means you have to do some work.

Perhaps this is why so many struggle with social media. We hear words like “strategy” and “content creation” and we automatically cringe, wondering where we should start climbing this beast of a social media mountain. It’s simply too much work.

But even though every brand needs to develop their own strategy, there are a few keys to getting started that everyone can use.

“Shop the world, steal from the best”

You do learn some things in school. An advertising professor at The University of Texas said the above quote, and it holds true for many aspects of marketing in any industry. (Don’t take the word “steal” literally, please.) Shop around for strategy and tactic ideas. Check out all kinds of brands and companies across the board, on Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter. Note what you love and what you don’t. Take a look at regional competitors in your space and similar companies in your industry across the country. See how they engage fans from contests, images, blogs and other creative ways like highlighting clients or staff. Save pages that impress you and that you would one day like to achieve. Even if you aren’t sure how to implement something immediately, put it on a wish list so it can be top-of-mind when planning. Social media is an a la carte approach. Shop away.

Think big, be simple, stay fresh

Your content should strive to embody these three principles. Don’t be overwhelmed or discouraged after looking at brands such as Coke or Chobani; adapt (ahem, work) their tactics into your own social strategy. Remember no company is too small to utilize these ideas; you just have to make them your own. Don’t complicate things. Focus on embodying these four concepts with your content.

• Relevancy: Take current industry news and rewrite your own opinion in a short blog post or repost to your fans. You don’t always need to start from scratch or re-create the wheel. If a story is timely, your followers will be more likely to engage.
• Consistency: If you are consistent with posts, fans will know what to expect. One good tactic is posting specific content each day of the week; you can try utilizing weekly hashtags that the community will look forward to and share, posting tips or advice on certain days — make it fun, be creative, but be consistent.
• Engagement: Your job is to stimulate desire and action from your audience; how you do that is determined by your goals and creativity. Pictures and videos are one of the best ways to get instant engagement and can be an opportunity for fans to share among their friends. Offer a coupon, have a small contest or solicit feedback from your followers. Whatever combination you choose, offer value, be genuine and ask for engagement — your audience will respond. Note: Be sure to share unique content on each social media platform, not everything on Twitter needs to be on Facebook and vice versa.
• Credibility: The more cohesive your approach is, the more credibility you will have. Want to become a credible resource? Provide advice related to your industry, share industry events, community happenings, quotes from experts and of course your own words as well. Make sure you provide value to your fans and loyalty will follow.

Don’t be afraid to flop

Social media is a living breathing strategy. You aren’t always going to score a home run, but you have to start somewhere. Now is the time when you can come up with actionable items. When you make your own rules, you are more likely to abide and succeed. The goal to creating fresh content and injecting big brand ideas starts by re-evaluating yours.

http://smartblogs.com/social-media/2012/11/26/the-guide-taking-big-brands-best-social-media-ideas-part-2-developing-content-strategy/

Global Ad Spend By Sector: Telecom Continues Growth Trend

Though many industry sectors are spending cautiously in today’s uncertain economic environment, telecommunications companies invested significantly more on advertising in the first half of 2012 than they did last year, according to Nielsen’s Global AdView Pulse report. With a 7.9 percent increase in global ad spending, the telecommunications sector saw the largest increases in emerging markets, like Latin America (+32.5%) and the Middle East & Africa (+28.3%).

After more cautious spending during the first quarter, the automotive sector also boosted ad spending by 6.3 percent during the first half of 2012, compared with the same period last year. Even in the embattled region of Western Europe, advertising spending increased by 1.4 percent when comparing 1H 2012 to 1H 2011.

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/global/global-ad-spend-by-sector-telecom-continues-growth-trend/

Your Employees Are Your New Consumers

Are You Ready To Connect Your Connected Workforce?

With all of the discussions around social media and how it improves the opportunity to engage customers and build more meaningful relationships, we tend to lose sight of another important group — employees. As technology impacts behavior and connects customers and businesses in new ways, the same is true for employees.

With every new social and mobile network, every new smart device, and the materialization of trend after trend, people become increasingly informed, connected, empowered, and also demanding. As a result, businesses are making significant investments in new marketing technology to pursue and engage connected customers where their attention and time is focused. But these same connected customers are also your connected employees. And, they’re expectations are evolving as well. These digital natives equally require engagement.

Before you can engage externally, you must first engage within.

The Generation Gap

Within your organization, a “C” change is developing, one that will transform the company from the inside out. This “C” change refers to connectedness as your connected employees will demand new processes and reward systems to satisfy their needs and motivate their professional development. Today, the balance between the generations within is tilted toward Boomers and Generation X. But, in just a few short years, the balance will shift to the Millennial (Generation Y) and how they communicate, collaborate, learn, and grow is much more digital than older demographics can appreciate. For the Millennial, digital is in their DNA. To visualize the generation gap, ComplianceandSafety.com, a provider of training materials on workplace safety, released an infographic that tells a powerful story of the disruption that looms on the horizon.

As stated at the top of the image, “over the next five years businesses will witness an unprecedented generational shift in the workplace.” This will have an almost unfathomable impact on not just how the company operates, but also its operating philosophy and overall culture. If businesses don’t take a proactive approach to defining this over the next several years, it will be defined organically. And, it might not evolve according to a favorable vision and purpose.

Currently 70 million people in the U.S. belong to the Millennial Generation. They represent 35 percent of the workforce today, and by 2014, they will comprise of almost half of all employed professionals. In a separate study conducted by Millennial Branding, it is expected that by 2025, Generation Y will represent 75 percent of the workforce.

To say that businesses are in for a culture shock would be a gross understatement.

As the infographic notes, Millennials represent a surging eruption that will have a lasting effect on organizations almost over night. One of the factors leading up to this moment was quietly but valiantly influenced by the tumultuous economy that pulled U.S. consumers through a persistent recession. Boomers, unfortunately, were forced to delay retirement plans to regain losses to their financial nests and also invest in any potential catastrophic events that could re-appear. Now, as Boomers begin to retire en masse, Millennials will realize career advancement like no other generation before them.

As the infographic notes, Millennials will be given high levels of responsibility earlier in their careers than previous generations.

These employees are your new consumers. They are the face and voice of the company. They are your new ambassadors, and what’s important to them requires study now. Ultimately the generation gap requires bridging led by those on either side of the gap. For the boomers and Generation X’ers who represent today’s decision makers and those Millennials who are on the rise, research and open dialogue will set the stage for the future of not just the workforce but the tone and culture of tomorrow’s business.

With the shift in generations comes a shift in value and values. Leadership is at risk of a great disconnect. Leaders will 

find their power lost if they cannot relate to this new generation, and equally if Millennials can’t relate to today’s leaders. Before a baton can be passed along it needs to mean something. It needs to symbolize the closing of the generation gap between employees and ultimately customers.

Conversations about the vision and purpose of an organization and how it relates to a rising generation of employees and customers cannot begin soon enough. It represents an effort that’s far bigger than HR. This is a brewing groundswell that’s already impacting business from the bottom-up. Your mission now is to lead transformation from the top-down to meet in the magic middle.

http://networkingexchangeblog.att.com/small-business/your-employees-are-your-new-consumers

How We Consume Content From Brands

In the digital ages, the general population consumes content from many different sources, including blogs, whitepapers, webinars, podcasts, and so on. But how do people really consume this content?

Based on research we conducted, we found that 70% of US online consumers listen to the opinions published on blogs, reviews and discussion forums, and 32% of the people who listen to these opinions, trust those reviews over branded advertisements. But we’ve also found that device plays a big role in how people consume content; specifically, 63% of people use smart phones while they are in a store and 56% do product research. Are you mobile sites optimized for the best experience for your customer?

While this is only some of the data, we compiled an infographic that really tells that story of how people consume data from brands. What surprises you? What confirms what you already know?

http://www.zmags.com/how-we-consume-content-from-brands/

Small businesses increasing time, money spent on social media

By definition, small businesses can vary wildly in their size, culture, and approach, but among them one thing is increasingly common: social media.

Small businesses are steadily increasing the amount of time, money, and resources spent on connecting with their target audience through mainly Facebook and Twitter (their slow on the Pinterest and Google+ uptake).

In all, 43 percent of small businesses spend six or more hours per week on their social media efforts. Furthermore, 66 percent of these businesses are spending more time on social than they did just one year ago.

For these and many more stats on how businesses are using social, Vertical Response has created a handy infographic:

http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/13080.aspx

Global Consumer Confidence in Subdued Holding Pattern During Q3

Global consumer confidence increased one index point in the third quarter of 2012 to a score of 92 as consumers are caught between very slow improvement in some regions, and the threat of further crises posed by economic volatility, according to consumer confidence findings from Nielsen.

“The subdued third-quarter results reflect an overall trend that is neither positive nor negative as consumers are treading water very carefully,” said Dr. Venkatesh Bala, chief economist at The Cambridge Group, a part of Nielsen. “Consumers played it safe in Q3, especially in Europe, which still faces a very precarious economic situation despite some recent stabilizing policy initiatives by the European Central Bank. Export growth from China, especially to the euro zone, has slowed substantially accompanied by restraint among consumers there. Consumers in the U.S., while less directly impacted by Europe, continue to be cautious in the face of an uneven recovery, marked by still-elevated unemployment levels and disappointing payroll growth.”

In the latest round of the survey, conducted between August 10 and September 7, 2012, North America and Europe reported the only quarterly consumer confidence increases, rising three index points to 91 and one point to 74, respectively. Asia-Pacific and the Middle East/Africa regions remained flat in Q3 reporting index scores of 100 and 98, respectively. Latin America decreased two index points to a score of 94. Overall, consumer confidence rose in 52 percent of global markets measured by Nielsen in Q3, compared to 41 percent of markets in the previous quarter. Confidence increased in 30 of 58 markets, declined in 19, and remained flat in seven. Two new markets were added to the Q3 Global Survey: Bulgaria and Slovakia.

The Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions, established in 2005, measures consumer confidence, major concerns and spending intentions among more than 29,000 Internet consumers in 58 countries. Consumer confidence levels above and below a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism and pessimism.

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/global-consumer-confidence-in-subdued-holding-pattern-during-q3/

Why Should You Do Market Research?

As a developing country, Indonesia is known to have a lot of potential especially in terms of business development. This is supported by the fact that it has a high population for which Indonesia is ranked fourth worldwide. Consequently, it merits Indonesia as a promising country with substantial market potentials.

This infographic was created to explain several facts about Indonesia and its potential. We would like for you to take this opportunity to understand the importance of investing in market research in the present climate. Information has always been a powerful resource in shaping the right business strategy as well as uncovering hidden business potential. 

http://www.frontier.co.id/infographic-why-should-you-do-market-research.html

Asia set for big data boom

Companies in Asia Pacific are set to ramp up their expenditure on big data services, a trend showing the region's growing importance to brand owners, a study has argued.

IDC, the insights provider, estimated in a new report that the sector would increase in size across Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) from $259m in 2011 to $1.8bn in 2016.

The core drivers of this process will include the area's "unique traits", such as the large number of major cities which serve as "population megacentres" in nations like China and India.

Similarly, the "fluid" regulatory climate surrounding data sharing, and the highly distributed nature of manufacturing facilities, are likely to prompt greater investment levels.

"Big data creates new opportunities for data analytics in finance, network analysis, human genomics, healthcare, surveillance, and many other areas," said Daniel-Zoe Jimenez, a programme manager at IDC.

"Business use cases with measurable results include real-time crime prevention in financial services, and peer influencer mapping for churn prevention in telecommunications."

The highest growth rate is set to be recorded by the data storage segment, up by 56.1%, ahead of networking on 55.8% and services on 48.3%, the analysis argued.

Firms must also meet certain challenges in several fields, relating to security, governance and talent management, none of which should not be underestimated.

"Big data requires organisations to rethink their technology architectures, processes, and skill sets in order to attain the real value of this phenomenon," said Jimenez.

"Organisations that have already developed an effective business analytics program are positioned to be the first adopters of big data technology and approaches."

Indeed, as the study stated it may be two to three years before the market really gains traction, corporations making such moves now could gain a "competitive advantage" lasting 12 to 18 months. 

Data sourced from IDC; additional content by Warc staff, 5 November 2012 

http://www.warc.com/LatestNews/News/Asia_set_for_big_data_boom.news?ID=30593&isAsia=True

Marketers Accelerate Social Display Ad Spending

Marketers, agencies to spend more display ad budget on social networks than with publishers this year

Many marketers are still learning to use social media to achieve online marketing objectives, but findings from advertising industry research firm Advertiser Perceptions shows they are gaining confidence when it comes to display ad buying on social networks.

More than half (59%) of US marketers and agencies planned to increase their social media display ad spending on sites like Facebook in the next 12 months. In comparison, less than a third (31%) planned to boost display ad spending on ad networks and exchanges, and just 29% expected to do so on publisher sites.



The number of US marketers and agencies anticipating spending increases for social media advertising was more than double that for demand-side platforms (DSPs), a programmatic method of purchasing display ads many industry professionals herald as the future of ad buying.

The complexity of purchasing inventory through these platforms and the inability to ensure brand-safe content placements could be two reasons 14% of respondents actually planned to decrease their DSP budget.

eMarketer estimates US online display ad spending will grow 24.1% this year to $15.4 billion. This estimate includes spending on banners, rich media, sponsorships and video purchased across all major display ad inventory providers (e.g., publisher sites, networks, exchanges, DSPs, etc.) as well as social networks and mobile.

Growth in social network and mobile display ad spending will be steeper than for general display. Investment in paid advertising across social network sites, games and applications is expected to climb 43% this year, with mobile display ad spending jumping 80%.



With investment in social and mobile display ads low relative to general display ad spending, social and mobile certainly have room to grow.

Advertiser Perceptions found marketers keen to grow social display ad spending to a greater portion of their display ad budget. Within the next year, they expect online display ad spending on social networks to merit a greater share (27%) of their total display ad budget than traditional purchase channels such as publisher sites (26%) and ad networks and exchanges (20%).



David Hallerman, principal analyst at eMarketer, already sees this trend playing out for marketers. “Social display advertising’s relative underutilization compared to the rest of the web is encouraging marketers to ramp up their spending,” he said.

Hallerman expects this ramp-up period to lower display inventory pricing, which has the potential to offer marketers cost savings or even greater reach with their current budget.

Whether that type of pricing will be sustained in the face of increased advertiser competition or as richer—and more costly—display ad formats like video mature, only time will tell.

http://www.marketresearchworld.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4686&Itemid=76

Worldwide, Internet Ad Spend Grows More than Other Media in First Half of 2012

Advertising is on the rise around the globe and across nearly all media types, according to Nielsen’s Global AdView Pulse report. Gains in areas such as Internet (+7.2%), radio (+6.6%) and TV (+3.1%) offset the 1.3 percent decline in magazine spending in the first half of 2012, leading overall advertising investment to be up 2.7 percent.

Internet advertising made a powerful surge in the emerging markets of the Middle East & Africa (+30.3 percent) and Latin America (+20.6 %). Interestingly, despite being down in overall ad spend, Europe saw the third highest increase in Internet ad spend of any region (+11.2%).

While television continues to hold the majority of advertising dollars globally (61%), the medium saw the biggest increases in Middle East & Africa (+30.1 percent), Latin America (+6.2%) and North America (+4.0%). TV investments declined 2.2 percent in Europe and grew nominally in Asia Pacific (+1.4%).

Magazine spending fell significantly in both Europe and North America, but magazines and newspapers both saw growth in other markets including Latin America, Asian Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa.

Cinema experienced a noteworthy 40.2 percent gain in the Asia Pacific market and a marginal gain in Europe of .4 percent. This led to an increase of 5.9 percent globally despite decreases in Latin America (-21.1%) and the Middle East & Africa (-19.1%).

Outdoor media ad spend grew during the first half of 2012, with the biggest gains in the Middle East & Africa (+38.8%)and the Asia Pacific (+16.7%).

Radio, which saw a global increase of 6.6 percent, was also up in all regions measured.

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/worldwide-internet-ad-spend-grows-more-than-other-media-in-first-half-of-2012/