ReturnPath-Email-Subscriber-and-Sender-Stats-Aug2013Here’s one good reason why email marketers look closely at study data regarding topics such as timing and subject lines: the average subscriber receives 416 commercial emails per month, per new figures released by Return Path, leading the researcher to call the inbox a “battlefield.” While that monthly figure works out to less than 15 emails a day (which some might argue isn’t too many to sift through), the daily count is likely to be higher on traditional workdays, as weekends typically see a lower volume of activity.

via Average Email Subscriber Gets 416 Commercial Messages Per Month.

Ipsos-Social-Media-Purchase-Influence-US-v-World-Aug201335% of online consumers across 24 countries claim to have ever purchased a product or service based mostly on an ad they saw on a social media site, details Ipsos Open Thinking Exchange in new survey data. But that figure drops to just 18% in the US. Similarly, US respondents were about half as likely as the average global respondent to report having ever purchased a product or service based mostly on a posting they saw on a social media site (16% vs. 31%).

via Relatively Few Online Americans Claim to Have Made a Purchase Based Mostly on a Social Media Ad or Post.

US-Email-Open-Rate-by-Hour-Scheduled-Comparison_Aug2013MailerMailer recently published the results of its annual analysis of email marketing metrics, with a section devoted to open and click rates by hour scheduled as well as by day of the week. This type of analysis always proves interesting to email marketers, although it always comes with the requisite disclaimer: results will differ by region, industry, and other such variables. So when Eloqua recently published its own set of timing data, it was worth seeing how the two studies’ results matched up.

via More Email Timing Data Suggests Off-Peak Messages Get The Most Opens.

HarrisInteractive-Viewers-Attitudes-to-Streaming-Video-Aug201335% of American adults often or sometimes watch streaming video through a subscription service such as Netflix of Hulu Plus, according to new survey results from Harris Interactive. For what it’s worth and the comparison is a curious one, the same survey question finds that 23% of adults buy magazines at a physical place of purchase such as a newsstand or bookstore with that regularity. Comparisons aside, the researchers examine what streamers’ viewing habits look like, and whether channel surfing is a part of their behavior.

via 70% of Streaming Video Viewers “Very Picky” About What They Watch.

LinkedIn is a company undergoing massive transformation. It is moving from its roots as a business-oriented social network and becoming a business-to-business (B2B) content publishing platform, according to a new eMarketer report, “Marketing on LinkedIn: New Opportunities, but Old Issues Remain.”

via Changes at LinkedIn Create New Marketing Opportunities – eMarketer.

Duke-CMO-Survey-Measuring-Biz-Impact-Social-Mktg-Spend-Aug2013Marketers’ struggles measuring social’s ROI are well-documented. But here’s another sobering view from the top: according to the latest CMO Survey [pdf] released by Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, just 15% of CMOs in the US can confidently say they have quantitatively proven the impact of social media on their business. By contrast, 49% haven’t been able to show the impact yet, and the remaining 36% have a good qualitative – but not quantitative – sense of the impact.

via Only 15% of US CMOs Say They’ve Proven Social’s Biz Impact Quantitatively.

ZocaloGroup-Consumer-Views-of-What-Constitutes-Online-Recommendation-Aug2013Consumers like brands on Facebook for a number of reasons: some out of loyalty, some for deals, others to get updates. A new study [download page] from Zócalo Group suggests that whatever the reason for a friend’s like, many consumers consider it to be a recommendation. Survey respondents, asked what they would view as an online recommendation to encourage them to try or buy a brand or product, pointed most commonly to YouTube video reviews 46.5% and a friend liking a brand page on Facebook 46.1%.

via Is a Facebook Like a Recommendation?.

There is no magic bullet when it comes to connecting with your customers online, but understanding their social media habits is a good place to start. According to a recent study from the Pew Research Center, 81 percent of teens and 72 percent of adults are active on social media. While that’s a sizeable audience, the two age groups use each network differently.

via The Real Generation Gap: How Adults and Teens Use Social Media Differently Infographic | Entrepreneur.com.

SimplyMeasured-Interbrand-100-Tumblr-Post-Engagement-Longevity-Aug2013Understanding social media posts’ reach and engagement is an important issue for marketers, and one aspect of that effort regards the half-life of a post. Recent data indicates that Facebook posts have an extremely short half-life, while YouTube video views are distributed over a longer period of time. A new study [download page] from SimplyMeasured suggests that when it comes to Tumblr post engagement, brands can enjoy a shelf-life more in keeping with a YouTube video than a Facebook post.

via Top Brands on Tumblr: 1 in 4 Reblogged Posts More Than 60 Days Old.

TwitterMarketProbe-SMB-Follower-Insights-Aug2013Twitter has released some research trumpeting the connections that can be made between SMBs and their followers. The survey of 500 followers of SMBs in the US and UK, conducted by Market Probe International, found that the top reason these Twitter users follow SMBs is to get updates on future products (73%), although many do so out of support (63%) and to interact with the businesses, such as by sharing ideas or providing feedback (61%).

via SMB Followers on Twitter Looking for Updates, Interaction.