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Facebook Fans and Brands: Not a Two-Way Street

posted on August 31, 2010

”70% of consumers who “FANNED” a brand on Facebook didn’t feel they’d given this company permission to market to them.”

This comes from a 2009 ExactTarget study that was revisited in their latest installment of Subscribers, Fans & Followers. The study says that most users saw “Liking” (as it’s now called) a brand on Facebook as a way to express their personal endorsement. An almost equal number of respondents (40%) said they “like” a brand in order to get discounts and promotions. 36% said they were looking for freebies.

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Digg Weathers the Storm After New Release

posted on August 31, 2010

It’s been a busy week over at Digg and the changes just keep on coming. It began with the public release of the new Digg, which I happened to like, but many did not. The loudest noises are coming from Digg’s old guard and it’s not surprising since the new Digg is designed to allow a wider variety of users to rise to the top, not just the dedicated few.

Digg founder Kevin Rose responded to many of the complaints in his blog this week. Some were valid points which he says they’re taking into consideration. Some were features that were accidentally broken in the transitions, but some, like the fact that comments from your friends rise above all, were intentional. So, live with it, is the message.

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CMO Survey: Spend On Social Media Is Up; Hiring Prospects Are Down

posted on August 31, 2010

One of the most prominent business schools in the US, Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, and the American Marketing Association has delivered their second CMO Survey of 2010 and there are plenty of interesting findings.

On the social media front it looks like the CMO club either knows the right things to say or they are actually catching on to this whole social media thing.

One of the most appealing factors that many marketers point to is just how inexpensive social media can be (which is what we want them to believe since it really can cost quite a bit once they see what it takes!). That cost savings appeared to be coupled with a decrease in hiring for marketing positions as compared to the February numbers.

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Mobile Continues Its Rise To Prominence

posted on August 31, 2010

I am very excited. I stand on the precipice of truly entering the mobile age in a few short days because I will rid myself of the “smart phone” I currently wrestle with on a daily basis and move to the next level by becoming an Android user of some kind. It’s exciting because now I may actually be able to get something from my smart phone vs. the level of frustration I currently encounter as a BlackBerry Storm user.

It looks like my transformation is coming just in time too. According to an eMarketer survey, mobile content is growing by leaps and bounds and the revenue attached to it is growing as well.

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Gmail Rolls Out the Priority Inbox

posted on August 31, 2010

Starting tomorrow, Gmail users will have a little help setting their priorities at the start of the day thanks to the new Priority Inbox. The concept is pretty cool. From day one, Gmail will take a look at your incoming email messages to determine which ones are important and which ones not so much. The important messages get a gold flag and they stay at the top level of your Gmail inbox while everything else falls below the line.

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Warmth and Competence Promotes Brand Loyalty

posted on August 30, 2010

Does your brand exude warmth? If so, you’re on your way to securing a loyal audience. The researchers at Princeton University conducted a study for The Relational Capital Group where they evaluated the impact of warmth and competence perceptions on loyalty to eight national brands.

They concluded that people judge brands the same way they judge people, which is more by instinct than fact and that there is a statistical correlation between consumer loyalty and how the consumer perceives each brand’s warmth and competence.

Why warmth and competence? Social psychologists say that Mother Nature has gifted us with the ability to make those two judgments swiftly and accurately as part of that “fight or flight” mechanism that we’ve had since caveman days.

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Watch Out Twitter & Facebook, the Viagra Generation is Taking Over!

posted on August 30, 2010

If you watch a lot of TV–and TV ads– you’d think that those over 50 are interested in nothing more than popping a Viagra and making a little bowm-chicka-bowm-bowm.

But, according to a new Pew study, those between the ages of 50 and 64 are getting just as excited about social networking. According to the study:

  • Between April 2009 and May 2010, social networking use among internet users ages 50-64 grew by 88%–from 25% to 47%.
  • During the same period, use among those ages 65 and older grew 100%–from 13% to 26%.
  • By comparison, social networking use among users ages 18-29 grew by 13%—from 76% to 86%.

Twitter appears to be the hostspot of activity with 1 in 10 internet users over the age of 50 now regularly sending out 140 character updates about their lives.