Social Usage Involves More Platforms, More Often – eMarketer

Among digitally connected consumers, social media usage is occupying an increasing amount of time spent connecting with others. The Buntin Group, an ad agency, and Survey Sampling International, on behalf of manufacturer Chinet, surveyed US web users in May 2013 who used at least two tech platforms—including email, text or social—to connect with others during a given week, and found that average time spent per week on email, text and social among these respondents reached 23 hours.

via Social Usage Involves More Platforms, More Often – eMarketer.

Online Ads: Who’s Paying Attention, and Why

Ipsos-Americans-Reasons-for-Engaging-With-An-Online-Ad-July201344% of Americans claim to have watched a commercial for a brand or product online in the past month, finds Ipsos Open Thinking Exchange in new survey results, while 42% say they’ve looked at or read an ad for a brand or product and 15% say they’ve clicked on a banner or pop-up ad for a brand or product. But what motivates them to watch, read, or click?

via Online Ads: Who’s Paying Attention, and Why.

Email is Enough, Say 43% of Small Biz Social Holdouts

ConstantContact-Reasons-for-Small-Biz-Social-Holdouts-July201382% of small businesses are using social media for marketing today and 88% are very likely to use social media in the next year, finds Constant Contact in newly-released survey results. For those still holding out, a leading 43% say that email marketing is enough for them, according to the study. Close behind, 40% cite a lack of resources, while about 3 in 10 either don’t know how to use social (31%) or don’t think it’s right for their business (30%).

via Email is Enough, Say 43% of Small Biz Social Holdouts.

1 in 2 Marketers to Offer a Mobile App This Year

ChiefMarketer-Mobile-App-Plans-July2013Only 15.3% of marketers say they run a mobile-specific website, per results from Chief Marketer’s 2013 Mobile Marketing Survey [download page], with reasons for not offering a mobile site ranging from a lack of budget 35.8% to an absence of internal leadership on the matter 26.8%. Results from the study indicate that while barriers to mobile app adoption also exist, some 27% of respondents already offer one or more mobile apps, and another 20.7% plan to launch at least one this year.

via 1 in 2 Marketers to Offer a Mobile App This Year.

Yelp Visits Are Often Followed by Purchases From Local Businesses

Nielsen-Yelp-User-Actions-Post-Site-Visit-Jul2013Virtually all (more than 96%) of Yelp users across devices (including computers, smartphones and tablets) visit the site specifically for its ratings and reviews, reveals Nielsen in new data. What they find tends to have a powerful influence on them: about half of Yelp users make their purchase decisions after visiting the site, with that figure slightly higher among those who visit from a mobile device. In another nod to how Yelp users leverage the site as a stop along their purchase journey, the data shows that almost all either follow their visit with a call or visit to – or purchase from – a local business.

via Yelp Visits Are Often Followed by Purchases From Local Businesses.

With Online Reviews Critical to Travelers, Marketers Adjust Their Approach – eMarketer

Travelers have always relied heavily on recommendations for trip inspiration and planning, and online review sites have made peer commentary much more visible and accessible. As this information becomes simultaneously more sophisticated and unwieldy, there are both opportunities and challenges for marketers, according to a new eMarketer report, “Traveler Reviews: Online Communities Reshape Marketing Strategies.”

via With Online Reviews Critical to Travelers, Marketers Adjust Their Approach – eMarketer.

Brand Advocates Choose Email Over Social For Referrals

SocialTwist-Distribution-of-Social-Sharing-New-Brand-Visitors-July2013SocialTwist has released the results of a study that spanned 18 months, 119 social marketing campaigns, and 3.2 million participating consumers. Designed to see how consumers interacted with its social referral program and progressed to becoming advocates, the SocialTwist study unearths a few interesting results with potentially broad implications. Perhaps the most interesting of those is that among the consumers who became advocates (by referring products or services to friends), a majority 55.4% chose to use email as their sharing channel, with Facebook following (41.8%) and Twitter (2.6%) mostly ignored.

via Brand Advocates Choose Email Over Social For Referrals.