Social Marketing

It’s practically common knowledge at this point that social media users follow or friend brands so they can get exclusive offers —especially money off. In Q4 2011, for example, Chadwick Martin Bailey found that for Facebook users, the desire to receive discounts and special offers was the top reason for “liking” a brand, cited by 41% of US users. But social media users also want to be entertained, and many look to follow brands and share posts that have engaging content.

Oscar Castro is responsible for developing Sears’ online business globally. In an interview with eMarketer’s Tobi Elkin, he spoke about differences between Sears’ US Hispanic consumer base and consumers in Mexico, and talked about SearsLatino, the retail giant’s Hispanic-focused social media community.

I’m just as guilty as anyone of blindly restating these supposed truisms about Hispanic digital behavior. The countless reports published over the last few years by highly reputable research firms like BIGInsight, Pew, and Nielsen, provide plenty of data points to support these claims.

But we all know that market research and market realities are two very different things.

By Jose Villa / ThinkMulticultural

Alcohol brands are naturally social companies, with marketing aimed at encouraging friends to spend time together. In keeping with this sociability, many companies are turning to Facebook to raise brand awareness and build community with fans.

In a few short years, social technologies have given social interactions the speed and scale of the Internet. Whether discussing consumer products or organizing political movements, people around the world constantly use social-media platforms to seek and share information. Companies use them to reach consumers in new ways too; by tapping into these conversations, organizations can generate richer insights and create precisely targeted messages and offers.

Companies in the Fortune Global 100 were mentioned a total of 10,400,132 times online during a month-long period. The majority of these mentions happened on Twitter, according to the third annual Burson-Marsteller Global Social Media Check-Up which includes new data provided by Visible Technologies, the leader in social media monitoring, analytics and services for enterprises globally.

When it comes to how much money to spend on social media, most marketers have less than 20% of their marketing budget set aside for outreach on social sites—including advertising and maintaining a social media presence.

There’s no denying social media is still a hot topic among marketers, but it’s no longer the new kid on the block.

Engagement is such a hot topic, but to date, no one has been able to come up with a clear formula for measuring this essential social media factor.

With more social networkers every day, and brands increasing their presence on social media, the consumer-brand dynamic was bound to get tricky.

Product placement is alive and well, having been reborn in the digital era as social media sponsorship—compensating social media users, or “influencers,” for mentioning a product or service. While the practice initially drew criticism from some who argued that social media content should remain ad

According to the May 2012 Asociación Mexicana de Internet (AMIPCI) and ELOGIA study “Hábitos de los Usuarios de Internet en México,” social networks were second only to search engines as the type of website where internet users in Mexico recalled seeing online ads.

Social business – a company’s move from a presence on social platforms to strategic engagement that supports business goals, fosters brand affinity and generates co-created value – is no small undertaking for corporations, but it is undoubtedly the direction in which top companies are heading, according to an in-depth study on social media trends.

Nearly one-fifth of US internet users would buy a brand if a friend followed that company on social media

Every generation of young people seems to be misunderstood by their elders, and today’s teens are no exception. While adults may accuse adolescents of preferring electronics to face-to-face contact, March data on teenage internet users in the US from Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that advocates for kids and families, shows that claim may be unfounded, or at least deserves qualification.

On Facebook there’s a relationship status for “it’s complicated” — and that’s what it’s starting to feel like in the world of online marketing and advertising: It’s complicated.