Source: Marketing Sherpa

Relationships matter. eMarketer said today that 45% of senior marketers who responded to a recent survey indicated social media is a “top priority.”  42% said it is “important.” Only 12% said social networks/applications are a “low priority” or “not relevant.”  Furthermore, recognizing that the right platform needs to be in place to support social media, 45% ranked digital infrastructure as a “top priority” while 52% said it is “important.”  Worth noting, almost 50% of senior marketers believed that search optimization, mobile devices, blogger outreach, viral campaigns, digital advertising and email marketing are “important.” Online games came in with the lowest rank; only 30% deemed them as “important” and 25% said they are a “low priority.”

What are your social media priorities for 2010?  Envano can help you build and manage your social networks on- and off-line.

Source:  Mashable

All three groups (61%)  used social media to learn about new products and services.  While 64% of all respondents used social media to learn about sales and specials, only 46% of max connectors did the same. Conversely, only 30% of all respondents used social media to gain information about company culture, environmental responsibility, etc., while almost 50% of max connectors did.

Max connectors appear to be more motivated by a company’s culture and products/services and less so by its sales and specials. With their large social network, max connectors are a great resource for marketers because they take the time to get-to-know the companies they interact with.

Do you know what motivates your clients? At Envano, we can help you figure that out.

Source:  Marketing Sherpa

A new study by SocialTwist shows how people share online information. The study was based on people’s use of the “Tell-A-Friend” widget found on blogs, newspaper sites and other websites. The findings may surprise you.

• 59% of people used email to share the info while 25% used instant messenger and 14% used social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
• 44% of Tell-A-Friend users turned to Yahoo mail to share their information, 25% used MSN and 19% used Google’s Gmail.
• When it comes to shares by social networking sites, Facebook accounted for 79% while MySpace was at 15% and Twitter was at 5%.

As Jason Falls writes, “When we as internet marketers are making recommendations and building functionality for the mainstream, we have to remember that WE are not mainstream.” Email and instant mesaaging are popular tools. Twitter is growing, but its usage as a share tool hasn’t caught on quite yet.

How does your company share information? Envano is well-acquainted with all the off- and online channels and can help you start the conversation.

Source:  Social Media Explorer

It’s no secret, people ages 45 and up are flocking to the internet. Though, the numbers may be surprising. According to the recent CTAM Pulse report, over 90% use email and over 70% shop online.

Those ages 65+ are avid users of the internet and are the generational leaders of online activity. 94% of “Matures” use email, 77% shop online, 70-71% use the internet for news and health information, 59% do their banking online and 47% play free online games.

Similarly, Baby Boomers (those aged 45-64) are heavy users. 93% report they use email, 71% shop online, 67-73% read news and gather information and 66% use online banking.

While some older adults don’t have the latest in computer technology, they have discovered the strengths of the online world and aren’t afraid to use them. How is your company tapping into these important generational groups?

Source:  Media Post

Are online display ads done? Hardly. In the words of Linda Anderson, comScore VP of marketing solutions, “… marketers who attempt to optimize their advertising campaigns solely around the click are assigning no value to the 84% of Internet users who don’t click on an ad…” The study indicates that click-through rates are not the best metric to gage performance and that marketers would be wise to focus on “view-through impact.”

A companion comScore study, “Whither the Click?”, released in June showed that online display ads increased traffic for brand-sites, trademark searches and online and offline sales. Here’s the key: traffic increased whether users clicked on the ad or not. At Envano, we know that some of that traffic uptick is due to exposure via social networking sites such as FaceBook and Twitter. Some of it is due to smart search engine and email marketing efforts. Some of it is due to plain old “word of mouth” advertising (and word travels fast on the internet!)

It’s not all about the click. It’s more about the total view.  How’s yours?

Source:  Mediapost.com

When it comes to brands, social media users are an energetic bunch. A recent study by GroupM Search and comScore, Inc., showed a direct link between  online search behavior and “brand discovery” via social media. As Graham Mudd, comScore’s VP said, “Social media-exposed consumers are far more likely to search for brand and product-related terms, and click on a brand’s paid search ad.”

Also, worth noting:

• social media users are almost twice as likely to search and make a list of brands and products for purchase compared to other users.
• Users exposed to “influenced” social media and paid search showed a 223% increase in seach behavior over those exposed to paid ads alone.

How engaged is your brand with the social media sect?

Source:  Marketing Charts

Marketers are often tasked with trying to “meet people where they are.” In recent years social network sites have made this a little easier. According to Nielsen Co., Americans spend 17% of their internet time on social sites like Facebook and blogging sites. That’s an increase of six percent over last year. While many marketing budgets are tightening, ad spending on social sites has doubled. Are you meeting your customers where they are?

Source:  Yahoo! Tech

Neilsen reported in it’s A2/M2 Three Screen Report that mobile and online video viewing increased “significantly” in the second quarter.  The group measured U.S. video use via TV, internet and mobile devices and mobile increased by 70% while online video viewing increased by nearly 50% (or 60 minutes). The report suggests that internet and mobile video viewing is in addition to (not in replacement of ) TV.  Moreover, Knowledge Networks recently reported that over 66% of U.S. users have video access via mobile devices and that those with access to broadband in their homes also use iPods, cell phones or laptop computers with video. Have you thought about how mobile devices can factor into your marketing mix?  We have. Why don’t you use your mobile device and give us a call today!

Source:  Marketing Vox

In an attempt to expand its social networking reach, Facebook in March made Facebook Connect available to IPhone apps. The site took another big leap at the beginning of September when it unveiled Facebook Connect for Mobile Web. The latest move means that all mobile sites can allow Facebook IDs and login, social data retrieval (with permission from Facebook user) and that Facebook users can publish from their mobile devices. This should bump Facebook’s mobile profile since already 26% percent of the site’s 250 million “active’ users connect to the site in this manner.

Source:  Tech Crunch