The Strategy Web™ » Social Media

Study: From Fakes to Facebook Friends

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:17:51 +0000

In a recent research Barracuda Networks released some findings of their study “Facebook: Fake Profils vs. Real Users” which analyzed a random sampling of 2,884 active Facebook accounts. The idea of the study was to identify key differences between average real user and fake accounts which are coming form attackers and spammers.

As of their popularity in terms of personal and business communication, Facebook is consistently fighting attackers on their network in order to save their real users from spam or even worse attacks. According to their own stats Facebook has less than 4% of content shared on their network marked as spam. By comparison we could use some stats from Symantec which found that 74% of spam comes from email – however this will be filtered before it comes to our inboxes. Nevertheless, Facebook is in a lawsuit with a marketing firm that they accused of “spreading spam through misleading and deceptive tactics”.

These are some interesting findings of the Barracuda Networks study.

Fake accounts have..
…more friends than real users – six times more!
…use more photo tagging – over 100 times more!
…claim to be bisexual – 10 times more than real users!
…claim to be female (97%!) – only 40% for real user!

“Likes, News Feeds and Apps have helped lead Facebook to its social network dominance and now attackers are harnessing those same features to efficiently scale their efforts. These fake profiles and apps give attackers a long-lived path to continuously present malicious links to innocent users.” Dr. Paul Judge, chief research officer at Barracuda Networks

The study was done with Barracuda Profile Protector tool and illustrates how attacks and spam on Facebook are structured to undercuts real “friendships” concept and trust of widely-used applications. So, marketers and private people should watch out and check before friending an account. No matter if you are more addicted to Facebook or Twitter than smoking and drinking…

Tags:Communication, Comparison, Content, Email, Facebook, Inbox, Law, Marke, Marketing, Networks, Research, Search, Share, Study, Twitter, User

Study: Active social networking engagement has tripled during working hours in one year

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:53:56 +0000

©arrow - Fotolia.com

Are employees using social networks like Facebook or Twitter for private or business purpose? This is one of the question that management always asks me in workshops and seminars. Some new research called the “Palo Alto Networks Application Usage and Risk Report” could shed some light here. The report states explosive growth in global social networking and browser-based file sharing on corporate networks. In the last year, the activity has grown by 300% in active social networking (i.e. posting, applications) compared to 2010.

Some key findings of the study…

1. Social Media moves from passive to active engagement
Browsing Twitter at work alone grew by over 700% year-over-year which shows that the use of Twitter in the workplace has reached mainstream traction. Also Facebook usage has become more active with bandwidth consumption for Facebook Apps. Even more, Social Plugins and active engagement like posting has increased by 20% from October 2010 (5%) to December 2011 (25%) when measured as a percentage of total social networking bandwidth.

2. File sharing on social networks grows significantly
92% of the responding organizations reported that file sharing sites continue to be used on most networks. The report found 65 different browser-based file-sharing variants with an average of 13 being used in each of the organizations. The risks associated with browser-based file-sharing applications is based on the fact that these techniques are operating unchecked on corporate networks.

3. There is an evolution in types of traffic on company networks
While in earlier days, web applications using TCP port 80 were dominant, today it makes a minority of the traffic on enterprise networks for the first time ever with 25%, and 32% of the bandwidth observed. If companies don’t obey this development, it may cause problems as the standard web browsing-focused security model actually protects a minority of an organization’s traffic.

“Whether or not employees are using social networks or sharing files at work is no longer a question; this data clearly demonstrates that users are embracing and actively using such applications. Companies must determine how to safely enable these technologies on their networks so that users can maintain the levels of productivity that many of these applications can afford, while at the same time ensuring that their corporate networks and users are protected against all threats.” René Bonvanie, Chief Marketing Officer, Palo Alto Networks

Spot On!
Somehow these numbers might illustrate that companies and their bosses understand the value of Social Business and how the knowledge of employees might benefit from power of social networks. Especially the increase of the Twitter figures does not surprise at all, bearing in mind that European bosses support the use of Twitter for business purpose. And if you check out what people are actually doing on Facebook, then topics like consumer insights, work-life balance, or fun at work will reach different levels in organizations if CEOs or managing directors understand the real values of productivity.

Tags:CEO, Facebook, Management, Marke, Marketing, Media, Networks, Productivity, Rating, Research, Search, SEM, Social Business, Social Media, Social Networks, Study, Twitter, User

The Social Media Rockstars – Community Managers (Report 2012)

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:18:54 +0000

Being a community manager in a company or a community center is the most popular position people can have in these Social Media times. Not only is this the person in charge of the engagement cycle of all Social Media topics but moreover that they become the main public touchpoint of the Social Media conversation of the brand or company, and thus their reputation becomes one of a kind of a rockstar…

Still, many brands and companies still hand over the Social Media responsibility to junior level people or trainees who then have to engage and manage their online communities. Would you say this is clever, or wouldn’t it be better to hand over the responsibility to a chief culture officer or an experienced market brain?

Socialfresh published an infographic and report data that illustrates the work, the tasks and capabilities that a community managers need to be able to cover. And these are some of the findings they provide.

Community Managers..
… commit most of their time with content, respectively online conversations
… 67% come from a brand side vs. 33% form an agency side
… are far more females than male (65% vs. 35%)
… have an average age of 30 years, however the 31-40 year olds make most money
… see more success on Facebook (52%) than any other platform
- gets an average salary of almost 62.000 USD

Ok, the salary is not rockstar-like but their chance to become one of the top 50 Social Media influencers is a sweet potential outlook…

Tags:Brand, Community, Community Manager, Content, Facebook, Infographic, Manager, Marke, Media, Social Media

First Social Media Stats Summary 2012

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:36:14 +0000

In 2011 Social Media caught the attention of most businesses and their bosses. Dream Systems Media visualized the most important data in a nice infographic that illustrates the main Social Media stats in 2011 and gives a starting point for 2012. The summary of data was done by Sarah Evans at AdAge.

As most of us know Facebook has grown their business to 800 million active users which is an increase of incredible 200 million users in one year. LinkedIn and Twitter were also very successful. LinkedIn has 135 million active users (64 million in North America alone!). Twitter knocked down the 100 million user barrier.

Some more key stats that the infographic points out…

Facebook stats
- The average Facebook user has 130 friends and likes 80 pages
- Every week there are more than 3.5 billion pieces of content shared on Facebook
- 56% of consumer are more likely to recommend a brand after becoming a fan

Twitter stats
- 55% of Twitter users access the platform via their mobile
- 40% don’t tweet but monitor conversations
- 34% of marketers have generated leads using Twitter

General stats
- 30% of B2B marketers are spending millions of dollars each year on Social Media marketing
- Almost 30% of these users are not tracking the impact of this marketing
- 20% of Google searches each day have never been searched for before

And, believe it or not… From the more or less 7 billion people on earth 4.8 billion have a mobile and only 4.2 billion own a toothbrush.

Tags:Ads, B2B, Brand, Content, Facebook, Google, Infographic, LinkedIn, Marke, Marketing, Media, Mobile, Search, Share, Social Media, Twitter, User

Social Business: 84% of businesses have not fully integrated Social Media in their operations

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:46:29 +0000

©arrow - Fotolia.com

This report comes as no surprise to me as it justifies our Community Centric Strategy model. The study from InSites Consulting states that only 16% of businesses using Social Media have fully integrated Social Media platforms into their businesses operations. Nevertheless, business leaders believe better social integration will help improve and streamline their business operations. Their hope is that Social Media marketing and internal social apps will boost productivity of their business.

The study concludes that 27% of business executives are on the move to integrate Social Business in 2012. Moreover, another 20% are wishing that the integration of Social Media projects will increase business efficiency. As there are no reliable or established measurement and metrics standards most companies are still waiting to invest big budgets. Still, as competition is high companies start integrating social into their business to be competitive in their market.

The results of the inSites study show that most companies (69%) will invest in Social Media marketing and launch campaigns in 2012 hoping to improve online conversations and their web efforts. For now 64% of businesses have at least one person responsible for Social Media activities and platforms. With a reason: One-third are sure that Social Media is changing their operations.

Spot On!
The challenge for companies will be to set up the right Social Business strategy as it involves the right understanding of community centers as an external strategy issue. And it needs an appropriate internal company culture with social policies, social training and social commitment and the people. Apart from that, 45% of the respondents said that they cannot find the people for their Social Media efforts. The best option is to start investing in the people you have to integrate social in your business. The Community Centric Strategy could be one starting point…

Tags:Budget, business strategy, Campaign, Community, Community Centric Strategy, Consulting, Efficiency, Marke, Marketing, Media, Productivity, Rating, Social Business, Social Media, Study

Sales and Social Media? Feedback is the key!

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:53:55 +0000

We have heard that 1 in 3 of the younger generation will their online shopping via their mobile phones. Now, another study shows the power of recommendations around the holiday season. Mr. Youth did some research among 4.500 shoppers and found how Social Media could become the game changer in Christmas shopping in 2011.

Some key findings… and marketers better listen up now!

- 80% of Social Media users who received feedback did a purchase afterwards
- 66% of Black Friday sales were a result of Social Media interactions
- 52% of Social Media users are willing to pay more for brands they trust
- 36% of Social Media users trust brands that have a Social Media presence

How about you? Are you relying on your friends, fans and followers recommendations this holiday season?

Tags:Brand, Change, Listen, Marke, Media, Mobile, Online Shop, Recommendation, Research, Search, Shopping, Social Media, Study, User

Study shows: Customers are social, Brands not…!

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:44:01 +0000

The IT company IBM were the first to make brands aware of the perception gap between what customers want from brands on Social Media, and what companies see as necessary. Some new studies from the Chief Marketing Officer Council and Lithium make clear that this perception gap widens.

What customers want…
The CMO Council asked 1,300 customers from around the world in a multiple-choice study. They discovered that 67% followed or liked brands to receive discounts and special offers. 65% replied that they connected with brands in order to get access to games or competitions while 60% want to connect with other customers.

What brands see…
The astonishing fact is that when the same survey was held with 120 CMOs (chief marketing officer), the results showed similar figures with the IBM study: Only 33% of the CMOs believed that their Social Media fans and followers were engaging with the brand for some kind of incentive or reward. Even more, just 27% understood that their customers were after exclusivity in terms of experience and savings.

Spot On!
Social Media is not a top three priority for one in ten CMOs. The reason is not changing for years probably. 67% said a lack of time and resources makes up for their poor efforts. This is even more amazing when we consider that 72% of the customers use Social Media to connect with brands. AND: 80% are more likely to try a product based on a friend’s recommendation on Social Media, which probably means a Social Network. There is no explanation that could make sense for this Social Media ROI (=Risk of Ignorance).

PS: This little infographic illustrates the digital divide between customers and brands.

Tags:Brand, CMO, Discounts, Infographic, Marke, Marketing, Media, Recommendation, Social Media, Studie, Study, Survey

Pay a Blogger Day – How to reward a blogger’s work?

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 07:00:24 +0000

Have you ever paid a blogger? Paid for your content love? I mean not for writing some good PR for your business. Just for them being bloggers, sharing valueble content, thoughts, ideas, and providing new food for thought. In some days you can do that. The “Pay a Blogger Day” is here to come. Some thoughts that came to my mind with it…

Some months ago, Flattr started their outreach program to bloggers. And some months ago, they were on their way to revolutionize the monetization of blogs. Those days, the Flattr button went live on my blog, and in every post. I rewarded blog posts, and got some rewards. Just the way Flattr works. They had the idea for the “Pay a Blogger Day”.

On Flattr Cents pass from bloggers to bloggers to… Well. Companies never paid anything. They have the biggest budget pockets though. And I asked myself if bloggers want companies to engage in the monetization process, or if reputation is of higher value for them. And why should companies pay a blogger for something they produce for free. Still trying to figure that out…

Some blog posts generated some Cents immediately through Flattr, never enough for some nice ice-cream in a week though. Somehow the activity to “donate” for a well-written piece of thought or idea felt like an act of charity. Some Cents felt like a pat on the shoulder. Sometimes, I discussed with bloggers if that is encouraging, or frustrating? Every blogger argued differently about this gesture. Many were not convinced. I have seen not many buttons on blogs since.

And often when I wanted to spend some Cents, those bloggers did not use Flattr. So, my reward for them often ended in a Retweet. Maybe Retweets are the killer of positive blog comments…

The main problem many bloggers saw in Flattr was that it will be challenging to get attention for this payment theory outside the bloggosphere. Sounded like: “Bloggers will pay themselves and thus reward their work within an inner circle of the blogging community.” One of the reasons why I finally decided to remove the button from my blog.

Now, Flattr starts -in cooperation with Bambuser, Twingly and Posterous- the “Pay a Blogger Day!” on November, 29th. They intend to start a movement with the mission “Give something back to bloggers!” A good idea…

How to reward a blogger’s work?
If I may inspire you -companies, marketers and managers- with reward opportunities for bloggers, then maybe you want to read this…

a) Companies that have used shared knowledge to improve their business could write a reference quote for the blogger why and how they benefit from reading a blog. It could be a comment, tweet or a blog post on their blog. Just be creative…!

b) Managers that have used shared knowledge for their career purposes could send a present when they think the blogger has deserved it (does not need to be on the “Pay a blogger day!”). A flower (digital or real), a freebie of your products or an invite to a paid for workshop about corporate blogging. And hey, chances are high, bloggers might write about it. Just be clever…!

c) Marketers that have used shared knowledge for their campaign ideas could start thinking about whether they shovel money into a print grave, rely on TV reach or hope for radio commercial payback. Maybe they want to start sponsor a blogger who is worth it as they act like brandvangelist, testimonial or brand advocate for a brand or company. And why are not many marketers trying to make use of bloggers in the offline world? Just be curious…!

d) Followers, fans, “plusers” and bloggers that have used shared knowledge could start discussing the monetization of their work in an authentic collaborative manner. Do you want banners ads, text links, affiliate programs, brand advocate prgrams, or…? What is authentic blog monetization? Or is it reputation only? In short: money, products or reputation currency like Floout.me?

Here is how Flattr wants to inspire you to reward a blogger…

Think about the thoughts and then start acting! I am sure, bloggers know how to say “Thank you” and all bloggers would love to see some of these rewarding opportunities. Right…?

Tags:Ads, Blogger, Brand, Brandvangelist, Budget, Campaign, Community, Content, Corporate Blog, Flattr, Food, Future, Listen, Manager, Marke, Marketing, Media, Monetization, Print, Rating, Share, User

Active or passive? Don’t forget the “Social” in Social Media!

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:55:34 +0000

The last two weeks I have been on the road in Germany, Austria and Italy, and it was great being in the offline world. Speaking engagements and panel moderations with real people, virtuals aside most of the time. Sometimes I went online in the breaks but did not know what to post or what value I could share with my social graph. Sometimes as there just was nothing exciting. Sometimes as time did not allow it. And to be honest, I did not even have the creative spirit between webinars and seminars for my quality standards. Productivity had to come to a rest.

I just preferred being quiet. And guess what: It does not hurt! Probably nobody missed me. My messages. My input. My sharing.

Often I just reacted. Saying “Happy One!” to my friends or business partners. Giving quick feedback on questions I was not even personally addressed. People liked it though. And I realized how great it is to work with teams that appreciate the ideas and thoughts you give just them without sharing every joke or funny story straight away. I found that approach of doing conversation and being productive quite “social” last week.

Stimulation instead of penetration.

At some stage I wanted to participate and be more active in the conversations with my social graph again. So I checked Twitter what’s up. In the first five tweets I found the video below which was a perfect kick-off for the training I had the pleasure to do. A big insurance company had offered me the chance to train their coaches and internal personal (executive) consultants on Social Media strategy.

I started off with the video below and I can assure you: We came back to the message of the video, the tactical ingredients and the strategy topics at least 25 times in two days. And I told them again and again… “Don’t forget the “Social” in Social Media! Let’s be honest: How often do we forget it?

Tags:Media, Productivity, SEM, Share, Social Media, Twitter, Video

Study: Men are social shoppers – Women the “Likers”?!

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:24:46 +0000

Jeanne Müller / pixelio.de

Sometimes studies find truths that don’t really match the expectations, or should we say the gender specific shopping prejudices? A recent report ROI Research illustrates some surprising facts which might eliminate these shopping behavior prejudices – at least from a social customer point if view.

The study we are talking about was conducted by Performics and analyzed the feedback of 1.000 social network users that use the Social Web “at least occasionally in the purchase process”. The results state that men are more likely to use social shopping and research sites before making a purchase.

According to the study men frequently research product information, compare products, read reviews, research availability and get store information via social networks, shopping and deal sites. Women are far more likely to search for deals, coupons and special promotions on social sites.

“Women are reported to control about 80% of household spending, so it may be surprising for some to see men play a more dominant role in the social shopping and research process. But given recent reports of ‘digital dads’ and increases in shared shopping activities across genders, this new data is intriguing.” Dana Todd, SVP, Marketing and Business Development, Performics

Some more key findings from the Performics’ 2011 Social Shopping study…
- 63% of men use shopping sites vs. 52% of women.
- 62% of men compare products on shopping sites vs. 50% of women;
- 57% of men research products on deal sites vs. 40% of women.
- 54% of men use social networks to research products vs. 43% of women.
- 56% of men compare products on deal sites vs. 41% of women;
- Men are more likely to use their mobile device in-store to compare prices – 62% vs. 50%.
- Men are more likely to visit a company or brand’s social network page – 71% vs. 64%.

Spot On!
Although men are heavy social shoppers, women are bigger “Likers” and use Social Media and Mobile platforms and technologies differently. After visiting a page, women are more likely to press the admiration button (78% vs. 72%). Another research by Shoppercentric shows that online retail sites better support male’s needs. They also found that men tend to spend more money online than women (£391 vs. £131) – but only if they have a need to buy something. Some Jacobs Media study also reveals men are the new decision makers in the categories of car maintenance (82%), clothing (80%), sporting events (67%), electronics/media and DIY (64%) and investments (63%).

Now, I am interested to see what men and women are thinking about these findings. Wouldn’t it be cool if ebay or asos are doing such a research? Give us your thoughts please…

Tags:Ads, Brand, Coupons, CTR, Marke, Marketing, Media, Mobile, Networks, Research, Review, Search, Share, Social Media, Social Networks, Studie, Study, User, WOM

Study: Users „like“ brands for deals, discounts and coupons

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 13:56:23 +0000

Harald Wanetschka / pixelio.de

While Vitrue just found out how to get more “Likes” and engagement on mobiles, another new study by Nielsen/McKinsey’s NM Incite shows what the real value of “Likes” is. Although many brand marketers are working on the ROI, most companies still try to find some more value in the social engagement of consumers.

The Nielsen/McKinsey’s NM Incite global online consumers’ research states that the main reason for following or liking a brand or company on social networks is to receive discounts and special offers.
“While some may argue that consumers’ interest in discounts has faded, Nielsen data shows the desire for deals is still strong worldwide,” concluded NM Incite.

The results correspond with the study by ExactTarget and CoTweet from last year. The former study made clear that 40% of brand fans like a page predominantly for their doscounts and promotions.

The new NM Incite finds even higher figures. Almost 60% of US social media users visit social networks to receive coupons or promotions. And even more, 23% do this on a weekly basis. 45% of North American consumers had the strongest interest in using social media for deals, followed by consumers in Asia-Pacific (34%) and Latin America (33%).

Social deals hunters “Like” at home and at workplace
For most people it does not matter whether they are at home or at their workplace when using the benefits of the Social Web. A sample of ten major markets shows that nearly 40% of active Web users check coupons and rewards sites such as Groupon, Coupons.com and Living Social from home and work computers in September. However, there are respondents -under the age of 20 and 55- to-59-year-olds- who were less likely to follow brands for discounts. Here friends’ recommendations are the drivers for social engagement.

Spot On!
“Social deal hunters” are obviously also visitors of social networks and blogs. NM Incite found a strong overlap. In their test phase in September, 43% of visitors to social networks and blogs also visited a coupons or rewards site. And, 44% of Facebook’s audience and 63% of Twitter’s audience visited these deal sites. The study concludes that Facebook becomes a key source of traffic to Groupon and Living Social. Groupon’s and Living Social’s visitors came directly from Facebook. This also shows the link between deals and social networking sites, and how companies can motivate consumers to deals.

Tags:Brand, Coupons, Discounts, Facebook, Groupon, Marke, Media, Mobile, Networks, Recommendation, Research, Search, Social Deal Hunter, Social Media, Social Networks, Study, Twitter, User

Inbound Marketing is the key to B2B Social Media

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 09:16:34 +0000

As I am doing many webinars and seminars on B2B Social Media, it is always good to get and share some of the information and data that will help marketers understand the opportunities of Social Media. The expensive outbound marketing tactics will lack behind to the cost-effective inbound marketing efforts that micro-blogging, blogs, videos and webinars could provide to prospects.

The challenge will be to enbable a cultural change inside the company where content, context and collaboration can grow. Where employees can create intelligent, educational, entertaining and remarkable input for their customers – and ideally they share it with the quantity and quality streams of their networks and social graphs.

The below infographic includes many of the B2B social media statistics. A clever approach from them to create an infographics which other people will be sharing, and thus spreading the word in favor of B2B Social Media blog, published by Kipp Bodnar and Jeffrey L. Cohen.

Tags:B2B, Change, Collaboration, Content, Context, Infographic, infographics, Marke, Marketing, Media, Micro-Blogging, Networks, SEM, Share, Social Media, Video

Study: Social Media & Workplace? Are policies a must…?

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:39:51 +0000

Credits: Gerd Altmann / pixelio.de

The conversation around the value of Social Media at the workplace was always based on the topic productivity and policies. Shall a company live an open door policy for “social” websites? Shall they allow access to Facebook and Twitter? Shall they rely on them in terms of knowing how to achieve their business targets while being available during working hours for all of their friends, fans and followers?

The question is… Are Social Media guidelines necessary or are employment contract not offering enough guidelines for the use of Social Media at work, too?

For companies it is a challenge to manage employee’s use of Social Media. A new study by DLA Piper now found that one third of employers have disciplined employees for something posted on a Social Media site. It also states that 21% of employers have given warnings for posting something derogatory about a colleague or the business.

Although I would have thought that most employees today know the relevance and impact of Social Media, the study makes clear that companies need Social Media policies. However, it also found that three quarters don’t have any Social Media policies.

Some key findings of the study illustrate some negative development where many of us might think, people should be clever enough to understand the meaning and reach of their words on the Social Web. Some use Social Media too often, some inappropriate, some unclever…

- 31% of employers have taken disciplinary proceedings because of information an employee has displayed on a social media site about the organization
– 30% of employers have taken disciplinary proceedings because of the level of usage of social media sites while at work
- 25% of employers have taken disciplinary proceedings because of information an employee has displayed on a social media site about their activities at work
- 21% of employers have taken disciplinary proceedings because of information an employee has displayed on a social media site about another employee

Some further findings also show that people need training on how to manage the relationsship and converations they have during working hours and with colleagues. Employees who use Social Media for personal use…
- 39% have befriended a colleague or business contact in Facebook
- 39% have connected to a colleague or business contact on LinkedIn
- 28% have posted photos of colleagues or business activities
- 22% posted a status update or tweeted about a colleague
- 14% have posted a status update or tweeted about work issues
- 1% have posted confidential business information

Spot On!
The business world is changing. Colleagues connect with each other on different social platforms – no matter if for private or business use. Having a personal Social media strategy where people might not connect with colleagues on Facebook but prefer LinkedIn might become a problem as they might loose out on conversations and information between the lines. On the other hand, people might use it too often to connect with them. Whatever people do, they might use Social Media wrong… in the eyes of employers… at the workplace. Thus, companies will need to have Social Media policies in the future (see international database of Social Media policies). And employees need to find a way to deal with them… Or do you see some other opportunity?

Tags:Facebook, Future, LinkedIn, Media, Social Media, Study, Twitter, Website

The privacy discussion – Facebook vs. Google Plus

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 04:51:28 +0000

It is a question that rules the world these days, it seems… Social networks collect and capture data, and people ask themselves which site offers more privacy. Is it Facebook or Google Plus? I just came across a nice infographic which compares the two “social giants”. The graphic was created by Peer One Hosting. It makes clear that neither site is perfect in terms of your privacy.

Tags:Comparison, Facebook, Google, Google Plus, Infographic, Networks

And we will say… These were my Facebook days!

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:44:49 +0000

Facebook is not new? Well, correct… Facebook is complete new! It writes our lives…

I just realized how Facebook ruled my last three days offline and online…

On Tuesday, I was shaking hands with Carolyn Everson, (Vice President, Global Marketing Solutions) after her presentation on stage at the dmexco Conference 2011. Yesterday morning, I enjoyed an espresso with Scott Woods, Commercial Director DACH at Facebook. In the afternoon, I was moderating a panel on engaged consumer advertising strategies. Topic: Facebook. Obviously, Facebook was one of the main topics we discussed…

And then, the evening came with the big announcements. I was on the train watching the announcement of the new Facebook features at the f8 conference. Techcrunch told us how to get into the new Facebook in minutes. However, only the owner can see it until the 30th of September.

And what can I say… Welcome to my Facebook life!

The main three changes for me…
- the massive lead picture – reminded me of a former Myspace design.
- the two frame structure – offers a quicker overview on personal infos, updates, activities.
- the missing picture gallery – enables people to do some personal or company branding with these pictures. Cool!

The main three “Likes” from me…
- The coolest feature is the Timeline. If Google is changing our brain, then Facebook is pre-writing our autobiography.
- People can be creative in terms of the mixture of their conversational ingredients – text, video, audio. This makes a profile colorful and lively, apart from finally understanding that we do not “LIKE” everything – we shop, we act and we like!
- It is much easier to see which updates were uncool and not engaging. Kill them to make your profile look conversational. Aren’t we kind of authentic…?

Facebook wants to get away from throwing sparks in our days – it aims for long-term relevancy. It wants to be the ever-lasting spark. Our memory…?! And when we are old, we won’t tell our grandchildren stories of the past. We will say… Just read my Facebook days!

Tags:Brand, Change, Facebook, Google, Marke, Marketing, MySpace, Strategie, Video

First Facts and Stats on Google+ (Infographic)

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:54:55 +0000

We were all challenging Google and our friends some weeks ago to get the popular Google+ invite. Today, I wonder how popular it still is, and well… Here you go! The first facts and stats about Google+ were put into an infographic by IdentyMe. There are 26 million users on Google+ and 72% of those are male, US and India rock the platform from a number of users perspective, most of them are techies and creatives, and it cost half a billion USD to make it. The scary thing? It seems that we users don’t leverage the platform into other markets…

So, what’s your view on Google+ these days…?

Tags:Google, Google Plus, Marke, User

Social Media around the word (study presentation)

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:05:15 +0000

Steven van Belleghem from Insites Consulting is presnting findings from a global social media study with 9.027 consumers (age 15+) across 35 countries, representative for the online population for their counties on age, gender and e-commerce in Europe, the US, Australia and some of the biggest Asian countries like China and Japan.

Social media around the world 2011

View more presentations from steven van belleghem

Tags:Consulting, E-Commerce, Media, Social Media, Study

Study: Twitter becomes popular among business chiefs

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 09:24:57 +0000

Is this a good sign for the acceptance of social media in the business world? The use of Twitter as a business and marketing tool has increased from 31% to 61% among Europe’s top business leaders, finds a recent study by CNBC.

Even more, 61% of the business leaders see the growing impact of Social Media. They believed Social Media was changing the way their business is done today. 77% of the business executives have Facebook accounts (from 81% in 2010). LinkedIn gains tracktion from 52% to 56%.

The study polled 650 European business chiefs as part of their CNBC Europe Mobile Elite 2011 survey. The idea was to get more knowledge about the use of the latest technology features in the C-Level area of companies at work and in their free time.

Although the increase of Twitter popularity among business leaders is obvious, the busiens decision makers admit that the are unable to keep track ith the latest technological innovations. Apart from that, another study some weeks ago showed that they are also not sure how to leverage Social Media for business.

The most popular device is the iPhone which 21% of the business chiefs call their own now – up from 19% in 2010. Similar numbers gets the Blackberry in terms of popularity – an increase from 18% to 20%. The iPad is also becoming more popular among business leaders, with 15% of them now owning one.

“In a rapidly changing world, Europe’s decision makers are challenged with not just keeping up with technology change, but also ‘driving change’ within their respective sectors. Throughout 2010, Europe experienced some the most advanced innovations in mobile technology the region has ever seen.” Mike Jeanes, Director of Research, CNBC EMEA

Spot On!
The CNBC study states the importance and changing development of mobile use for the business decision maker. The message is that websites will continue to lose value against apps on mobile devices among business leaders. News apps are the most popular application segment for the respondents. 75% of respondents said they use them followed by weather (54%) and social networking (39%). The study makes clear that top management is trying to get in touch and keep up with the pace of technology innovation. However, time still seems to be their biggest enemy…

Tags:C-Level, Change, Facebook, iPad, Iphone, LinkedIn, Management, Marke, Marketing, Media, Mobile, Research, Search, Social Media, Study, Survey, Twitter, Website

Majority of Irish students favor use of private devices and Facebook…

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:55:25 +0000

What will companies say if employees want to bring their own devices to work? How about security issues and support opportunities for companies? A real challenge for the future when we look at an Irish study that interviewed 164 students in secondary school and at third level in order to understand how this generation is communicating these days.

The study by IT distributor Data Solutions on behalf of Blue Coat Systems shows that more than 60% of young people expect their employers to allow them to use their own personal devices (i.e. smartphone, laptop, etc.) for work purposes in the future.

The argumentation behind their expectations are obvious: They know how to use our private devices, so they don’t need to learn new technology which saves the company time and money. The challenge for companies will be to establish a set of new policy and security guidelines, as well as data safety and storing options.

“More than 85% of the students surveyed own or have access to a laptop, and almost 40% own a smartphone. This facilitates the trend towards ‘bringing your own device’, and every business is going to have to learn to accommodate this trend while ensuring security (…) When today’s students enter the workforce they will be completely in tune with the new ways of communicating and collaborating online, as most are already using social networking sites, blogs, Skype or instant messaging. Employers now need to look at new ways to facilitate their needs and expectations.” Michael O’Hara, Managing Director, Data Solutions

The study also shows the bluring use of email comunication. 75% of Irish students favor social networking sites like Facebook as their main channel for communicating online these days. Just 6% prefer to use email.

Spot On!
The study findings illustrate that social media sites continue to be on the rise in popularity, and it indicates how older traditional online communication tools like email become less attractive. When 88% have a Facebook account, it is not surprising that they are not swappping to Outlook anymore when communicating with each other, not matter if business or private. And it seems that this will have the same effect on the hardware and devices they want to use. Maybe we just need a separate login on our computers in the future? What is your view on this development…?

Tags:Communication, Email, Facebook, Future, Interview, Media, Social Media, Study, Survey, Tools, Trend

Some great comparisons… Twitter vs. Facebook vs. Google+

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 22:52:13 +0000

A lot has been said about Twitter versus Facebook versus the rising star Google+ the last fourteen days. And sometimes you are just glad that great people are challenging the effort to compare stuff in (info)graphics, you have had no time for yet…

Stefano Epifani generated a wonderful infographic comparison of the three competitors in the social networking industry…

Another graphic by Hutch Carpenter, VP of Product at Spigit, did an even more detailed version in terms of highlighting where Google+ comes closer to Twitter or Facebook. And it is starting from one of the main differences in my eyes. The symmetry strategy of Facebook (but here we could also add XING or LinkedIn) versus asymmetry strategy of Twitter and Google+ in allowing the connection between people…

And if you ever wondered who really is the leader of the three platforms in the world of tomorrow, we should start understanding these number. How long did it take the platforms to reach 10 million users (according to Paul Allen’s Google+ Account):
Facebook 852 days, Twitter 780 days and Google+…? 16 days!

Any more questions…?

Tags:Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, User, XING

The Strategy Web™ » Social Media

Study: From Fakes to Facebook Friends

Related Posts

Study: Active social networking engagement has tripled during working hours in one year

Related Posts

The Social Media Rockstars – Community Managers (Report 2012)

Related Posts

First Social Media Stats Summary 2012

Related Posts

Social Business: 84% of businesses have not fully integrated Social Media in their operations

Related Posts

Sales and Social Media? Feedback is the key!

Related Posts

Study shows: Customers are social, Brands not…!

Related Posts

Pay a Blogger Day – How to reward a blogger’s work?

Related Posts

Active or passive? Don’t forget the “Social” in Social Media!

Related Posts

Study: Men are social shoppers – Women the “Likers”?!

Related Posts

Study: Users „like“ brands for deals, discounts and coupons

Related Posts

Inbound Marketing is the key to B2B Social Media

Related Posts

Study: Social Media & Workplace? Are policies a must…?

Related Posts

The privacy discussion – Facebook vs. Google Plus

Related Posts

And we will say… These were my Facebook days!

Related Posts

First Facts and Stats on Google+ (Infographic)

Related Posts

Social Media around the word (study presentation)

Related Posts

Study: Twitter becomes popular among business chiefs

Related Posts

Majority of Irish students favor use of private devices and Facebook…

Related Posts

Some great comparisons… Twitter vs. Facebook vs. Google+

Related Posts