Teradata-Data-Collected-Used-To-Drive-Marketing-Aug201345% of global marketers agree that data is the most underutilized asset in their organization, per survey results [download page] from Teradata. Indeed, while a majority currently collect a range of data types, including demographic 80%, customer service 72% and customer satisfaction 62%, fewer report using the data. And although marketers ascribe various benefits to the use of data in decision-making, the study shows that few are able to systematically apply a data-driven marketing approach to regular tasks.

via Marketers Are Collecting Data – But Having Trouble Leveraging It.

Good writing: Businesses claim to practice it, support it, and value it. But more often than not, their money isn’t where their mouth is. Poor grammar and jargon-riddled writing are rampant. We’re great at inventing terms — the instruction manual for my toaster refers to the lever that pops up the toast as the ‘Extra-Lift Carriage Control Lever’ — but poor at communicating what we actually mean.

via Your Company Is Only as Good as Your Writing – Kyle Wiens – Harvard Business Review.

A new style guide on the www.gov.uk website warns against “vague” jargon and buzzwords as well as using too many metaphors in government announcements.

Agenda, dialogue, empower and utilise are among the phrases to be avoided.

via BBC News – Driving out jargon: Whitehall’s new vocabulary.

On first glance, it might seem possible to sum up the global social network landscape in a single word: Facebook. With almost 1.1 billion users expected by the end of 2013, Facebook has become the top social network in nearly every country in the world except China and Russia. However, it is far from the only social network internet users worldwide access. Even with a clear leader, the global landscape is too complex to be summed up with a single site, according to a new eMarketer report, “The Global Social Network Landscape: A Country-by-Country Guide to Social Network Usage.”

via What Are Some Key Differences in Social Activity Around the World? – eMarketer.

IMN-Content-Marketing-Program-Goals-2013-v-2012-Aug2013Content marketing is gaining in awareness and importance among marketers, and roughly half have established a formal strategy, according to [download page] results from IMN’s second annual Content Marketing Survey. As more marketers develop strategies and grow their maturity levels (11% describe themselves as “experts”), their content marketing programs and measures of success appear to have gravitated towards a focus on lead generation.

via Content Marketing Efforts Are Becoming More Focused on Lead Gen.

ScanLife is out with its latest quarterly Mobile Barcode Trend Report [pdf] in which it reports 4 million new users around the world and 6 million active scanners, impressive figures even as other research suggests that within the US the amount of scanners isn’t keeping up with the growth in smartphone penetration. Nevertheless, ScanLife’s latest study reveals some interesting demographic breakdowns of the barcode scanner.

via QR Code Scanner Age and Gender Breakdowns in Q2.

Initiative-Viewing-Sharing-Smartphone-Video-to-Pass-Time-Aug2013Boredom is a motivator of smartphone use in various countries around the world, details Initiative [pdf] in a new study. The survey, undertaken across 13 markets with a range of smartphone penetration rates, finds that 34% of respondents overall watch video while passing the time, with 82% of those (28% overall) uploading or sharing video while passing the time. Propensity to engage in this behavior has almost doubled since 2010, according to the researchers.

via Boredom Said to Spur Video Sharing Among Smartphone Owners.

Socialbakers-Socially-Devoted-Brands-August201376% of the world’s most “socially devoted” brands believe that social customer service is an ROI driver, and 71% believe the customer service they provide via social media is a cost-saver, per results from a Socialbakers survey. It’s not surprising that the brands that are most focused on social care would trumpet its benefits, but the study goes a little further in examining how these brands are managing their social care efforts.

via 3 in 4 “Socially Devoted” Companies Say Social Care Drives ROI.

BlueKai-Data-Driven-Marketing-Budgets-Aug201391% of marketers agree that data is of primary importance for segmentation and targeting of their marketing efforts, per results from a BlueKai survey [download page] of 133 executives, most of whom are brand and agency marketers working in marketing management. With data occupying such a position of importance, 36% of respondents said they’re pushing at least 20% of their overall budgets to data-driven practices, up from 11% allocating that proportion late last year. A majority have seen a boost in conversion rates and media efficiency from their focus on data.

via As Data-Driven Marketing Grows in Importance, Many Tout Its Benefits.

Mobile has become so key to consumers’ lives that for the first time this year, time spent on nonvoice mobile activities will surpass time spent online on desktop and laptop computers, eMarketer estimates.

via US Time Spent on Mobile to Overtake Desktop – eMarketer.