Forrester-B2B-Decision-Maker-Use-Social-Media-July2013Social media use is ubiquitous among B2B decision-makers in North America and Europe, according to [download page] results from a newly-released Forrester Research study. That said, their motivations for using various platforms differs greatly, and understanding those patterns is a crucial element for figuring out appropriate marketing strategies. The data suggests that among popular sites, Facebook is rarely used primarily for business purposes, while Google+ and Pinterest are still lagging in adoption rates overall.

via How B2B Decision-Makers Are Using Social Media.

Gigya-Social-Sharing-Destination-Preferences-in-Q2-July2013About half of content shared to social networks was shared to Facebook during Q2, according to an analysis of client data from Gigya. But while Facebook got the most shares, other networks are also seeing considerably activity, and there are significant disparities when sorting by content type. In particular, Pinterest – the destination for 16% of total shares – took the lead over Facebook 41% to 37% in e-commerce sharing. And while Twitter 24% of all shares couldn’t quite get over the hump, it rivaled Facebook for sharing from consumer brand sites 38% vs. 41%.

via Facebook Still the Top Content Sharing Destination.

IBM-Consumer-Product-Leaders-Balanced-Focus-July201315% of consumer products companies are both highly focused on their consumers and strong users of analytics, according to a study conducted by the IBM Center for Applied Insights in partnership with Kantar Retail. These “leaders,” as they’re dubbed by the researchers, tend to do better than their peers in capital markets and have more influence among their retail customers. Among the ways in which they differ from other companies, Leaders are more likely to: balance retailers’ needs with consumer needs; have collaborative sales functions; and leverage analytics to assist critical sales activities.

via Consumer Products “Leaders” Leveraging Analytics to Meet Consumer Needs.

Havas-Social-Media-Response-Times-July2013A growing number of consumers around the world are contacting brands through social media channels, to the extent that customer service and audience engagement is now seen as one of the top organizational areas where social tools carry the most heft. Results from a new study [download page], conducted by Havas Worldwide, suggest that consumer expectations are high for social responsiveness, and that brands that fail to meet those expectations risk alienating a large portion of consumers.

via Slow Social Response Times Prove Annoying to Millennials.

eMarketer estimates that leisure and unmanaged business travelers in the UK will spend £18.44 billion $29.27 billion this year on bookings made on desktop and mobile devices, up 11.8% over 2012. We expect growth rates to slow throughout the forecast period, with a 5.3% increase in digital travel sales expected for 2017, when the total spent will reach £24.68 billion $39.17 billion.

via UK Digital Travel Researchers Spend Big Online – eMarketer.

MITDeloitte-Importance-Social-Business-by-Org-Area-July2013The second annual social business study [download page] from the MIT Sloan Management Review and Deloitte covers a broad range of social business uses in the organization, as well as the importance of social tools across different areas and objectives. Based on a survey of 2,545 executives around the globe conducted in the fall of 2012, the study determines that social business (the use of social media, tech-based internal networks, social software, and/or social data) is – not surprisingly – most important to marketing, branding, and reputation management, but customer service and audience engagement isn’t far behind.

via Which Organizational Areas Are Relying the Most on Social Tools?.

MITDeloitte-Social-Business-Maturity-Rankings-July2013Social business (the use of internal and external social media, software and data) is growing in its importance to organizations around the world, according to [download page] a new study released by MIT Sloan Management Review and Deloitte. This year, 36% of the 2,545 respondents from 25 industries and 99 countries said that social business is very important to their business today, double last year’s 18% ascribing that level of importance. But despite a host of positive signs, separate results suggest that “the majority of companies… appear to be stuck in first gear” on the road to becoming social businesses.

via Social Business Progression “Stuck in First Gear”.

Viamedia-TV-Viewers-Who-Would-Never-Act-on-Ad-July201341% of TV viewers would never act on a commercial, regardless of the device they’re using to watch TV, according to results from a Viamedia survey conducted by Harris Interactive. Of course, the flip side is that 59% would act on a commercial – and there’s a solid argument to be made that that’s a high percentage. That debate aside, the survey results suggest that viewers who watch TV on a computer are most likely to act on a commercial.

via 4 in 10 TV Viewers Say They’d “Never” Act In Response to a Commercial.

Ogilvy-Social-Media-Advocacy-Drivers-by-Country-Category-July2013Ogilvy has released a study in which it analyzed the advocacy content of about 7 million social media conversations surrounding 22 brands and 8 feature films across 4 countries Brazil, China, the UK and the US during the first half of 2012. Conducted with CIC, Visible Technologies and Radian6, the study estimates that around 15% of brand mentions could be deemed “advocacy mentions,” in which the person made a positive comment about the brand. In each country, a plurality of these mentions were feature-related.

via Positive Brand Mentions on Social Seen Relating Most Often to Features and Cost.

Guardian News & Media cut its annual loss by 30% to £30.9m in the year to the end of March 2013, as growing digital revenues helped offset the continuing decline in income from print operations.

via Guardian publisher cuts annual losses as digital revenues grow by nearly 30% | Media | guardian.co.uk.