We Are Social's Monday Mashup #74
Businesses devote a third of their marketing spend to social media
A study released this week found that businesses in the UK are now devoting a third of their marketing budget to social media.
Marketers with more experience use social media more
Research from eMarketer has found that marketers with over a year’s experience of using social media have increased their usage across the board:
Facebook nears 700 million users worldwide – but sees growth slow
May’s traffic stats for Facebook made interesting reading: while the social network gained 11.8 million new users during May, this is considerably smaller growth than it had been recording earlier this year. With growth slowing (or even retrenching) in mature markets, the open question is whether growth in emerging markets will still be able to compensate? Facebook can at least take heart in the story of Japan’s increasing use of the service post-earthquake.
Along with May’s traffic stats, interesting statistics have emerged about how people are using Facebook and other forms of social media. It’s interesting to see how in some emerging markets like the Philippines, people are using social media a great deal longer per month than they are in America, but in others, like Indonesia, they’re not.
But even more interesting is the latest demographic data – with women aged between 45 and 54 appearing especially engaged, compared to men their age.
38% of sharing traffic comes from Facebook
A recent study of over 300 million people using the ShareThis button revealed that around 10% of all internet traffic comes from sharing content. Facebook takes the internet sharing crown, accounting for 38% of all sharing referral content, with email and Twitter behind on 17% and 11% respectively. These figures are based on clickthroughs, but the raw data indicates that over half of all shared content comes from Facebook, up from 45% last year, whilst Email and Twitter sharing rates fell. However, links shared on Twitter are clicked on more frequently, at 4.9 times each on average compared to 4.3 times for Facebook links and 1.7 times for emailed links.
The revolution may well have been tweeted
The latest Arab Social Media Report from the Dubai School of Government has looked into the role of social media in mobilising protesters during the recent popular uprisings in the Middle East. The report finds that social media is playing ‘an arguably critical role’, revealing that an impressive 94.3% of Egyptians looked to social networks for news and information during the uprising, more than any other medium. The total number of Facebook users in the Arab world rose by over 30% in the first quarter of 2011 to almost 28 million.
This report coincided with the latest in Foreign Secretary William Hague’s series of twitter Q&As last week, where he addressed questions on Libya and the Arab Spring via the #askFS hashtag.
Apple integrates social networks into iPhone
It seems Twitter is not the only social network in iOS 5: whilst Twitter will reportedly be deeply integrated into the new system, Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn and Myspace will also get a look in. The developer release reveals that users will be able to add these accounts into a contact’s phonebook entry on iPhones, iPads and iPods.
WordPress adds Twitter and Facebook comment functionality
Wordpress announced last week that visitors will be able to leave comments on WordPress blogs using their Facebook or Twitter accounts. They claim this integration will allow readers greater control over which online identity they are using. Readers can stay logged in to multiple accounts and simply choose which social profile they want to comment from. This will undoubtedly make it easier to comment, which will drive engagement levels up.
New and improved Twitter features
Last week saw Twitter adding a number of new features to its roster. The service extended its language capabilities – with Brazilian Portuguese the latest addition to the ten languages it’s now available in. The project was completed in just three days thanks to the efforts of their Translation Centre.
New features also include automatic link shortening, which will convert any link to just 19 characters upon pressing “Tweet”, and Foursquare integration allowing users to see check-in details from within the Twitter interface in the same way as photo or video content. Gowalla, Amazon, Meetup, Plancast and AOL video have also been integrated into Twitter feeds.
YouTube now offering unbranded video player
As part of the latest update to YouTube, Google has launched a new version of the YouTube player – without a YouTube logo, so the video plays without any branding nearby.
P&G launch 6 new Facebook stores
Procter and Gamble’s launch of six separate new e-commerce stores through their Facebook Pages is interesting – not least because they’re targeting insight, rather than sales.
Want tickets for Odeon cinemas? Buy them on Facebook!
Traditional cinemas have been suffering lately as the public changes their behaviour when it comes to entertainment. British chain Odeon is now developing a store that will allow visitors to purchase tickets without leaving Facebook. Odeon was also the first UK cinema to take advantage of Facebook Places, and it’s clear that they’re keen to harness the power of the social network.
Estée Lauder launches Facebook powered e-commerce store
Estée Lauder is the latest company to join a recent trend of Facebook powered e-commerce sites, creating a social shopping experience. From now on, Smashbox consumers will see what their friends liked the most on the site.
SocialAmp, who provided the technology for the store, has been working with the New York University’s Stern School of Business on viral product design and viral store design, concluding that these kind of social e-commerced sites drive sales. As an example, a study from both institutions found that by adding viral sharing features to a product (and by extension, to a purchase), businesses can increase peer influence, and consequently sales.
Like Snoop Dogg’s perfume to get it cheaper
Snoop Dogg is offering an exclusive ‘Deal of the Day’ promotion on his Facebook page, asking people for likes in return for a discount on the fragrance brand Fragrance Rebel. If the deal gets 100 likes, people buying it will get 10% off the stated price. If it reaches 200 likes, they will get 20% off, and 300 likes will get people 30% off. The discounted perfume even comes with the wrapper.
Foursquare competition will send one user to space
American convenience store 7-Eleven are running a cool Foursquare campaign to coincide with the launch of new film Super 8. They’re asking users to check into their stores for the chance to win, and with 21,000 prizes on offer – including the chance of a trip to space – it seems a pretty good deal. In fact, we can see this one taking off…
Louis Vuitton partners with Jiepang – China’s Foursquare
Louis Vuitton has partnered with Chinese check-in service Jiepang to create a branded badge. Interestingly, the rationale behind the campaign is that accessibility is key – as even though users may be unable to afford a Louis Vuitton bag, they can afford a (free) virtual badge.
Oxfam’s Posterous tie-in
Oxfam recently launched their GROW campaign – with the idea to grow a better future. It looks like it will be a success – partly because of their tie-in with Posterous:
Anyone visiting the Oxfam GROW site will soon be able to sign up and create a blog that is hosted on the grow.gd domain (e.g. rich.grow.gd ) with the custom GROW theme developed by Obox.
Orange’s ‘This Summer’ voiceovers
Orange have launched a nifty little campaign using the hashtag #thissummer. If users feel their summer lacks a little gravitas, they can tweet about it – and, well, the video below gives the full story…
Sony Ericsson’s Social Xperiments
A nice case study from Sony Ericsson in Australia about their Social Xperiments campaign: