Social Marketing

Social networking is one of the fastest-growing activities among mobile users around the world. And as one of the primary ways mobile users communicate with one another, it is proving a significant driver of Internet usage on mobile devices.

Generation Y females have redefined the idea of “peer group” to encompass online friends, bloggers and anonymous reviewers, according to the “Why Y Women?” report from PopSugar and Radar Research.

This report adds new insights to an ongoing debate about the extent of social isolation in America. A widely-reported 2006 study argued that since 1985 Americans have become more socially isolated, the size of their discussion networks has declined, and the diversity of those people with whom they discuss important matters has decreased. In particular, the study found that Americans have fewer close ties to those from their neighborhoods and from voluntary associations. Download report here.

When is a phone not a phone? In the hands of children and tweens, today’s cell phones are primarily used as text messaging devices, cameras, gaming consoles, video viewers, MP3 players, and incidentally, as mobile phones via the speaker capability so their friends can chime in on the call. Parents are getting dialed in to the social media phenomenon and beginning to understand—and limit—how children use new media.

Despite the slowing growth of Twitter after its explosion earlier in 2009, many users still cannot get enough. Crowd Science reports that in August 2009, although only 27% of Twitter users posted daily, 46% checked for updates every day. Almost one in five social media users reported using Twitter in the past week.

Some 19% of internet users now say they use Twitter or another service to share updates about themselves, or to see updates about others. This represents a significant increase over previous surveys in December 2008 and April 2009, when 11% of internet users said they use a status-update service.

Three groups of internet users are mainly responsible for driving the growth of this activity: social network website users, those who connect to the internet via mobile devices, and younger internet users – those under age 44.

Despite the recession, consumers are still spending with companies and brands which have a social purpose. New findings released from the 3rd annual Edelman goodpurpose Consumer Study, a survey of 6,000 people in 10 countries, revealed that during this recession, 57 percent globally say a company or brand has earned their business because it has been doing its part to support good causes (with Asian countries coming in highest with China [85 percent] and India [84 percent]). Two out of three (67 percent) globally also say they would switch brands if another brand of similar quality supported a good cause, peaking in Brazil (83 percent) and Italy (74 percent).

Senior Research Specialist Amanda Lenhart’s presentation, “The Democratization of Online Social Networks: A look at the change in demographics of social network users over time,” given at AoIR 10.0 in Milwaukee, WI on October 8, 2009. Presentation download available here.

A second annual survey of companies sponsoring online communities shows signs of increasing maturation as enterprises continue to invest in social media tools and online communities.

Social networking is one of the most important activities—online and offline—among US social network users, based on results of Beresford Research’s “Use of Online Social Networks” white paper.

Written by marketers for marketers—including an introduction by IAB President & CEO Randall Rothenberg—the 360i Social Marketing Playbook helps brands simplify and take advantage of the dynamics of social media. Download here.