The percentage of individuals in India who use the internet will remain a small 8.9% this year, according to eMarketer estimates. But given that India holds a population of 1.2 billion people, that fraction translates to a significant number of people going online—107.3 million, to be precise. And consumers in India show no signs of slowing their migration online, according to the August 2012 comScore report, “The Rise of India’s Digital Consumer and What It Means for the Future.”

via No Sign of Slowing Web Uptake in India – eMarketer.

While 33% of companies say that social media marketing (SMM) is “very much part of our search activity,” a much larger 58% of agencies report the same, according to [download page] a September 2012 report from Econsultancy. Some 60% of companies treat social media and search engine marketing (SEM) separately, compared to 35% of agencies. And, while the percentage of companies that treat SMM as integral to SEM is unchanged from 2010, the percentage of agencies that treats social as integral to search has risen 10% points in those 2 years.

via Agencies Bullish on Relationship Between Social and Search.

46% of adult American internet users post original photos or videos online that they have created, and 41% repost photos or videos on sites designed for sharing images, according to [download page] September 2012 findings from Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. Pew calls the first group “creators,” and the second group “curators.”

Women are slightly more likely to be creators than men (48% vs. 45%), as data from “Photos and Videos as Social Currency Online” reveals, and younger Americans are far more likely than older Americans to post their original photos and videos online. The percentage of respondents in each age group who are creators is lowest in the 65+ bracket (29%), followed by the 50-64 demo (28%). By contrast, roughly half of 30-49-year-olds do so, as do about 7 in 10 of the 18-29 group.

via Almost Half Of Online Americans Share Original Photos, Videos On SocNets.

Budgets for social media marketing are on the rise, with both B2B and B2C marketers proving they have generated leads and sales from their social outreach.In its “State of Digital Marketing 2012 Report,” Webmarketing123 found that 52% of US B2C marketers and 41% of US B2B marketers planned to increase their social marketing budgets in 2013, while an additional 46% of B2C and 56% of B2B marketers will keep them the same.

via Social Media Proves Value, Gets Budgets – eMarketer.

14% of American smartphone owners who have scanned or texted for product information while in-store say they made an unplanned purchase as a result, according to [download page] a September 2012 report from Vibes. Yet, an almost equal proportion (15%) report being dissuaded from making a purchase. Still, a plurality say that the product information they accessed made them feel better about the purchase they planned to make. Only 13% said the information had no impact on their decision.

via In-Store Product Research Influences Most Smartphone Owners’ Decisions.

The leading reason mobile phone users unsubscribe from mobile marketing updates is message overload, according to [download page] a September 2012 report from Vibes. Asked their top reasons for unsubscribing from updates, 69% of mobile phone users and 86% of “showroomers” pointed to too many messages or updates. (Vibes describes a showroom shopper as one who uses a store’s physical location as a showroom for products instead of a place of business.)

via Message Overload Causes Mobile Users to Unsubscribe From Updates.

Soft metrics still the most popularNearly nine in 10 companies in the US will market on social media this year, according to eMarketer, indicating that the channel has become almost a requirement for most brands. But measuring success beyond soft metrics like “engagement” is still far away for many, according to research.Econsultancy and Adobe found in August that 57% of companies around the world said the deepest level at which they could track the effectiveness of social media marketing was in terms of engagement, such as the number of followers, comments and time spent on social pages. Even more agencies said this was the deepest metric their clients could track.

via Marketers Still Can’t Tie Social to Bottom Line – eMarketer.

People don’t want perfect; they want real.

Eastwood shot from the hip and sounded like any interesting person you might run across at the bus stop or corner bar during your day. That’s why his speech is the one people will remember more than any other this political season. People tune out anything they think is “crafted” or “scripted.” Eastwood was real, and real is what people crave.

via Why Clint Eastwood’s RNC Speech Is a Model For Brand Journalism | Brand Journalists.

We’ve seen a significant increase in contingent workers since the Great Recession; technology is one of the reasons this growth is possible. Employees no longer have to be in the same location to feel connected. Technology can help us feel a part of a team even if we’re thousands of miles away.There’s a specific technology that’s helping to pave the way — social collaboration software. This software market was a $600 million industry in 2010, but it’s estimated to reach $6.4 billion in 2016. If you’re looking for a way to stay connected, feel engaged and get stuff done, exploring social collaboration could be worthwhile.

via Social Collaboration Tools Can Make Your Business More Efficient.