92% of the 2012 Inc. 500 companies use social media, ranging from popular tools such as LinkedIn (81%), Twitter (67%) and Facebook (67%) to emerging ones, such as foursquare (28%) and Pinterest (18%), according to a study released in January 2012 by the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Interestingly, though, when executives from these fast-growing companies were asked how necessary social media has been for their growth, about 4 in 10 responded that social had been “somewhat” (24%) or “very” (15%) unnecessary.

via 39% of Inc. 500 Execs Say Social Has Been Unnecessary For Growth.

Nielsen has released a report [download page] called “The Mobile Consumer: A Global Snapshot,” in which it examines device penetration, activities, and advertising across 10 countries. Among the findings, 24% of American smartphone users surveyed during Q2 2012 reported scanning a barcode or QR code in the previous 30 days. Of the selected commercial activities, that ranked behind mobile banking (38%) and location-based services/GPS (48%) in use, but far ahead of NFC/mobile wallet use (3%).

via QR Code Scanning Not Yet A Mainstream Activity For US Smartphone Users.

In Q4 2012, 53.2% of time spent watching tablet video was with content running at least a half-hour in length, according to the latest quarterly video report from Ooyala. As the study notes, the increasing amount of time spent with long-form content signals more opportunities for mid-roll programming, which tends to have a higher completion rate than other ad types. It also suggests that viewers are moving from “online video” to “online television,” per the report, and that has significance for advertisers. That’s because according to a recent study from the IAB and Nielsen, video ads viewed online during full episodes of TV shows have a higher impact than ads viewed on traditional TV or during short-form content online (see link above).

via Majority of Tablet Video Viewing Time Is Spent With Content 30 Minutes And Longer.

For B2B small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), Facebook is for traffic, and Twitter is for leads. That, at least, is the conclusion of an analysis of 600 US B2B SMB websites conducted by Optify.

The study, which parsed over 62 million site visits, 215 million page views and 350,000 leads in 2012, found that visitors coming from Facebook made up 54% of all social media-sourced site visits, and those from Twitter just 32%. Nevertheless, Twitter accounted for 82% of all social media-originated leads, while Facebook accounted for a paltry 9% of leads. LinkedIn played a relatively minor role, accounting for 14% of site visits from social and 9% of social leads.

via For B2B SMBs, Twitter Gets the Best Social Leads – eMarketer.

Consumers are spending an increasing amount of time performing various activities on mobile devices, finds comScore in its “US Mobile Future in Focus” [download page] report. In fact, in December of last year, comScore finds that 37% of total time spent online was via a mobile device, a far greater amount than the 23% GfK indicated in an earlier study. Among the categories that were above-average in mobile share of internet time were maps (84% mobile), weather (60%), music (57%), and social networking (55%). The increasing use of mobiles for social networking has been well-documented recently: for example, a study from the NPD Group revealed that 27% of tablet and 20% of smartphone users are migrating their Facebook time from their PCs to their mobile devices. An earlier Nielsen study indicated that 40% of social networking consumption in July 2012 was via a mobile application or via the mobile web.

via 55% of Social Networking Consumption Occurs on A Mobile Device.

Top brands spend a limited amount of time reaching out to influencers for marketing purposes, but these individuals—generally bloggers or social media users with a greater than average reach among consumers—still have a significant presence in the marketplace. And they are prized by marketers for their ability to spread the word about products or services they believe in.According to a Technorati Media study from December 2012, 65% of top US brands reported participating in influencer marketing. And a similar 64% of those deemed influencers by Technorati Media—meaning they had greater than average reach in a particular marketplace—made revenue from blogging, whether from ads on their site or sponsored endorsements from brands.

via Brands Leverage Influencers’ Reach on Blogs, Social – eMarketer.

Senior marketers are lukewarm about mobile’s importance to their local marketing agendas, according to [download page] results from a new study by the CMO Council. Asked how mobile will impact their local marketing mix in the year to come, a plurality 33% said they are still investigating the opportunity in mobile. Separately, just 6% rated mobile as important to the success of their local marketing strategies.

via Mobile Hasn’t Yet Found Its Place in the Local Marketing Mix.

US travel e-commerce sales exceeded $100 billion for the first time last year, reaching $103 billion, according to new figures from comScore. To put that figure in context, last year’s record retail (non-travel) e-commerce spend stood at roughly $186 billion, meaning that the online travel market is more than half the size of the retail market online. Overall, online travel sales grew by 9%, while retail e-commerce sales increased by 15%.

via Consumers Spent More Than $100 Billion Online on Travel Last Year.

Marketers worldwide are continuing to invest in making sense of the surge of data produced by digital interactions with customers—68% said they will increase data-related marketing spending in 2013 and just 3% planned to decrease spending, according to a study by Infogroup Targeting Solutions and Yesmail Interactive.

via Marketers Use Social Media Data to Drive Campaigns – eMarketer.

A late 2012 survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project shows that young adults are more likely than others to use major social media. At the same time, other groups are interested in different sites and services.Internet users under 50 are particularly likely to use a social networking site of any kind, and those 18-29 are the most likely of any demographic cohort to do so 83%. Women are more likely than men to be on these sites. Those living in urban settings are also significantly more likely than rural internet users to use social networking.

via The Demographics of Social Media Users — 2012 | Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project.