Archive for October 3, 2011

An international study into the use of social networks by Experian®, the global information services company, reveals just how much time people living in different countries spend on Facebook. Singaporeans emerge from the study as those who spend the longest on the social network site, with an average of 38 minutes and 46 seconds per session, while people living in Brazil spend less than half that with an average of 18 minutes and 19 seconds per Facebook session.

According to the analysis by Experian Hitwise, the average session time on Facebook in August 2011 across the eight countries varied significantly as highlighted in table 1 below:

Understanding average time spent on Facebook, the world’s most widely used social network, illustrates the importance of brands needing to be on social networks. By knowing that an average social network user in Singapore, will for example, spend an average of 38 minutes on Facebook means that a brand can increase the likelihood of capturing an individual’s attention by running digital marketing campaigns through Facebook. Content and advertising which is compelling will ultimately lead to greater engagement in social networks and consequently greater sales, whether on the brand’s own website or indeed within Facebook.

Ankur Shah, CEO and co-founder, Techlightenment, an Experian company, commented: “The power of social networks like Facebook is that in some respects they don’t have any boundaries and make the world a much smaller place. Knowing the market share social networks have in each country and the level of usage is key to social networking success. However, our research shows that the way individuals use social media can and does change according to cultural and personal backgrounds – therefore ‘one size definitely doesn’t fit all’ when it comes to digital. For any international brands to be successful in their digital campaigns, they must understand the local, digital and personal nuances that exist.”

Social networks compared to total Internet usage: the local story

Social networking is now one of the biggest online pastimes across the globe. In each country there are thousands of social networks, varying from 3,245 in Brazil to 9,000 in the UK. Despite being one of the most mature social markets, the UK has the lowest market share of visits going to social networks and forums (12.2%). Brazil has the highest percentage of Internet visits going to social sites (18.9% of Internet usage) with 43% of all social networking visits in Brazil going to Orkut, the most visited social network in Brazil.

Table two shows market share for social networks and forums in August 2011 the eight countries surveyed:

Jim Hodgkins, EVP, Global Marketing Services, Experian commented: “Understanding how long people spend on Facebook in different countries is vital for any brand on the social network. With Facebook still finding its feet in the emerging markets of India and Brazil, lower session times are to be expected – users won’t have as many friends or groups that they have signed up to. However that doesn’t mean brands should ignore Facebook in those countries – with market share for Facebook in India increasing by 88% year on year and 16% in Brazil year on year, its influence and dominance is only set to grow.”

Using social to drive website traffic

Further analysis of the data reveals how different industries attract website traffic as a direct result of social networks. Social network users in Brazil, India and Singapore rarely go on to visit retail websites after being on a social network highlighting that retailers in these markets have a significant opportunity to increase their presence on social networks, ultimately driving website traffic and sales. This contrasts with countries such as New Zealand, where nine per cent of retailers receive web traffic directly from social media.

Entertainment topped the list of the sites visited after social networks in the nine countries polled by Experian, with well-known sites such as the BBC’s iPlayer and Sky Sports featuring prominently.

Other key findings from the survey revealed:

• In Brazil the number one social network is Orkut.com with 43% market share. This has fallen year on year by 18% with Facebook experiencing an increase in market share August 2010 to August 2011 by 16%
• The country to experience the fastest growth in Facebook use over the past year is India, with the social network accounting for an increase in market share of 88% in August 2011 compared to August 2010.
• The US also experienced a market share increase from Facebook of 5% year on year.
• Approximately 1 in 4 Singaporeans (18%) jump from one social network directly to another, demonstrating their love of social networks.

Facebook’s f8 event last week will have lasting ramifications for the network’s 800 million users. It will also have implications for brands, but the biggest takeaway should that if you’re a marketer, Facebook was never about you, it’s not about you, and it will never be about you. I’m sorry to the handful of laptops and iPhones that were just hurled across the room, but the truth hurts.

In case you missed last week’s news, f8 effectively changed the company’s mission statement from “giving people the power to share and make the world more open and more connected” to “making it so easy to share stuff that your own mother will get tired of hearing from you.” My agency described a lot of the changes in a report that includes what matters for brands. Until all of Facebook’s changes roll out, it will be difficult to make definitive statements about which changes benefit marketers and which will make reaching consumers more difficult, but in the meantime marketers should be paying especially close attention to their Facebook page and campaign performance.

Whenever Facebook announces a change, marketers get in a tizzy reading every tea leaf, wondering what every change means for them. That’s a good thing. I cleared my schedule for f8 because these changes matter. Often, marketers feel neglected, as if Facebook is going ahead with all these changes and not considering what will happen to brands.

The problem for marketers is that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg does not lie awake at night thinking about what will happen to brands. f8 is a conference for developers. I remember going to f8 in 2008, before Facebook recorded billions in advertising revenue, and I was a complete outcast. Facebook’s user base and revenues have grown exponentially, but the attitude is largely the same. The point of f8 is “to bring together the developers, entrepreneurs and innovators who are building a more social web.” Yes, some marketers count among those groups, but they’re not the target, and they probably never will be.

Instead, Zuckerberg and his colleagues used their f8 stage time to talk about changes for the network’s users. These include changes to the homepage and profile layouts. Facebook even dared to change how users can post birthday greetings to their friends.

In the process, Facebook created a lot of speculation for what will happen to brands. Will it still matter for marketers to amass large numbers of Facebook fans? Will posting more often lead to more engagement? Will every brand need an app to stay relevant? Will Facebook users flock to new features like Friend Lists, and will they embrace the new Timeline? Will Sponsored Story ads be the only way for marketers to truly stand out?

There are lots of answers accordingly, but most of the answers depend on how consumer behavior changes on Facebook, what kind of brand and category you’re working with, and how your brand has built its social marketing program so far. The fact that there aren’t clear answers today underscores how these questions aren’t the first priority for Facebook’s executive team.

If you read through Facebook’s official four-page PDF called “f8 for Marketers,” most of the answers end with two words: Sponsored Stories. Even the section on building applications recommends that 20% of your budget goes to building an app and 80% on promoting it. The cynic in me wondered whether all of Facebook’s changes were designed to blunt the virality of branded content and require more of a reliance on advertising. That strikes me as too calculating for Zuckerberg. This is not someone who changes the interface in order to juice media spending. There are many easier and direct ways that he could do that.

Instead, we’re left with a lot of ambiguity, but a few things are perfectly clear. Facebook has more than 800 million users, and recently had half a billion people using the site in one day. The time spent on Facebook dwarfs the numbers for any other media property. The rate of Facebook’s mobile usage is accelerating quickly, and soon more than half of its audience will be using its mobile properties. There is no question that marketers need Facebook more than Facebook needs marketers.

What do you do about it? Be engaging. Be relevant. Figure out what’s social about your brand. Set objectives. Measure results. Budget accordingly. Zuckerberg may not care about what you do, but you still should.

by David Berkowitz

It turns out that social media marketers value certain types of user-generated content over others. What do they value most? Product reviews and ratings, revealed Beth Uyenco, director of research for Microsoft Digital, at OMMA Global this week.

Of the high-spending social marketers surveyed by Microsoft, 27% said word of mouth was the most important reason for their investment, followed closely by 26% favoring brand considerations.

Plus, direct response was most important for 21% and CRM for 18%; while ‘inbound’ or ‘listening’ was primary for only 6%.

“However, among the many challenges to social-media efforts are ensuring the right targets are reached and determining the ROI of such campaigns,” according to Uyenco.

What does word of mouth mean for marketers? For the purposes of Microsoft’s study, it means identifying and reaching influencers; generating word-of-mouth conversations about brand, products or deals, then rebroadcasting word of mouth to target audiences.

The challenge, says Uyenco: “Our study found that leading social media marketers believe that almost two-thirds of the word of mouth they work so hard to generate doesn’t reach their target audience.”

Microsoft also found that there are significant challenges to be solved in driving word of mouth and managing social communities. In particular, many social marketers face challenges in making sure their communities are target appropriate, in getting new fans and followers and preventing churn.

Going forward, Uyenco suggests that the industry focus less on social as a “siloed” platform, and start leveraging it as a tool to help accomplish specific marketing objectives.

Recent research published by Microsoft’s Natasha Hritzuk last month found nearly 50% of consumers are likely to purchase products as a result of word of mouth, while 90% of consumer conversations happen offline.

“This certainly backs up social marketers’ desire to reach the right social audience for their brand,” Uyenco said regarding Hritzuk’s findings. “After all, not all audiences are equal.”

By Gavin O’Malley