Social Media Boom

What a year we’re having in the world of social media, after reaching 500 million users in July last year Facebook now has over 750 million active users (1 in 13 people on earth!), its own currency (Facebook credits) , website content available in over 70 languages and an Academy Award nominated film about the creation which to date has grossed $224,920,315.  Not bad for a 27 year old computer programmer from New York!

Twitter is also hot on the heels with over 175 million users and a recent record breaking twitter  flurry which saw 8,868 tweets sent per second, after Beyoncé Knowles showed off her bump during a performance at the MTV Music Video Awards.

So this week I thought we’d look at the demographics of Facebook and Twitter and a few interesting facts.

To give you a bit of an idea of the scale of social media check out this short video

The graphs below give some insight into Facebook and Twitter users, showing that nearly half of all Facebook users login everyday whereas just over a quarter login to Twitter on a daily basis.

It’s also interesting to note that 67% of people on Twitter follow a brand (that they will purchase) in comparison to only 51% on Facebook, yet on Facebook 40% of all people follow a brand in comparison to Twitter’s 25%.

To wow you even more this Friday, we’ve pulled together some interesting Facebook facts and figures for you to mull over:

•The average user has 130 friends.

•People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook.

•There are over 900 million objects that people interact with (pages, groups, events and community pages).

•About 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States.

•People on Facebook install 20 million applications every day.

•There are more than 250 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices, and people that use Facebook on their mobile devices are twice as active on Facebook than non-mobile users.

•28% of people check Facebook on their Smartphone’s before getting out of bed.

•The 35+ demographic now represents more than the entire database.

•The 18-24 demographic grew the fastest (74%) in one year.

•Liking ‘Drugs’ is up 1131% this year.

•Facebook was the most searched term for the second year running, accounting for 2.11% of searches in the USA.

•57% of users talk to people more online than they do in real life.

•48% of young Americans said they find out about news through Facebook.

•A record breaking 750 million photos were uploaded onto Facebook over New Year’s weekend.

•In 20 minutes on Facebook:

Some pretty staggering facts I’m sure you’ll agree!

Happy Friday!

27 May 2011 – Location-based services

Hi,

This week’s topic of conversation is location-based services. The examples below range from the simple and cost effective, to the more technical, including a rather sinister use of the data collected from such services…

Location-based services were seen to be the up-and-coming trend of 2010 with many brands picking up on the popularity of operators such as FourSquare and Facebook Places. However, these aren’t the only location based services available as Visa is also dipping its toes into the water via it’s debit cards, as well as Everything Everywhere – the parent company of mobile operators T-Mobile and Orange – and Barclaycard which are forming an alliance in order to offer an NFC (near field communication) based service to customers.

Murphy USA Gas Discounts

This is a very basic example of a location-based service but in tough economic times it’s probably quite welcome by most. Murphy USA, a US based petrol station, is offering customers who check in on FourSquare $2 off a $20 purchase of petrol as well as a packet of Stride gum – a small amount of effort for a 10% discount!

Cheryl Cole Billboard

This is another fairly simple use of a location based service but this time with Facebook Places. I think any billboard that features Cheryl Cole is likely to turn most people’s heads and hence a prime position to feature a ‘check in’ in order to enter a prize draw to win tickets to an X-Factor show.

Visa and Gap Real Time Location Based Discounts

Straying away from the slightly more well-known location-based services, Visa is trying to employ a new kind of location-based customer experience. When a customer meets a certain criteria, such as shopping at a retailer within a particular area, or spending a specific amount within a given time-frame, they will be sent an SMS containing details of an offer they are entitled to. Currently, Visa only has one partner, Gap, and at present there doesn’t appear to be any further plans to expand on this. However, it is interesting to see other location-based techniques being utilised.

Everything, Everywhere partners with Barclaycard

The newly formed partnership between Everything Everywhere and Barclaycard is set to bring the UK’s first commercial contactless mobile payments service into action by using NFC, this will reduce the need for credit cards and cash and could be available as soon as July this year. However, although this is currently only geared towards making payment easier and faster, with time I’m sure the use of NFC will expand to encapsulate where consumers are and what they are buying in order to target them with relevant promotions and deals.

Geoloqi

Another slightly more advanced location-based service which could prove very useful is Geoloqi. Geoloqi is a real-time mobile and web platform used for securely sharing location data. Some of the helpful tools that Geoloqi enables customers to use include:

–          Leaving yourself a note which you’ll get next time you’re at the grocery store.

–          Receiving an SMS when you’re near apartments that match your Craigslist search criteria.

–          Automatically checking in to your favourite places on Foursquare if you’re there more than 10 minutes.

–          Turning on the lights when you get home and turning them off when you leave.

If I die…

Now, I’m not going to say much on this one apart from the fact that it may make you cautious as to how much information you share with location-based services in the future..!

Happy Friday!

20 May 2011 – Social Media

Hi Everyone,

We all know how fast the world of social media is expanding with the likes of Facebook and twitter ever-growing.

One little fact for you: Can you believe that 1/13 people on the earth use Facebook, that’s over 500 million users! So this week I though I would share with you some ways in which Social Media is being utilized:

Death of the Brand website

Apologies if you’ve seen this before but I stumbled across this article again and thought it was fitting to start this blog of. The article by Stuart Derrick discusses how today’s consumers are most likely to interact with brands via social networks rather than brand websites so what does this mean for the brand? In tackling this is highlights how important the idea of communications and a brand community are to today’s consumer.

Mini – It’s personal

A recent experiential promotion for MINI’s ‘It’s Personal’ campaign in Berlin invites everyone into the MINI Photo Box. Visitors are asked to wear a pair of brightly colored headphones and customize their favorite MINI model. The resulting photos of fans alongside their custom-colored MINI model are then sent to a large video screen at the busiest intersection of the German capital. This video images are also streamed live online, along with snapshots – available for everyone to pursue and share on Facebook. MINI fans not based or traveling in Berlin are invited to experience the Photo Box on Facebook, replacing actual headphones with virtual headphones. Ultimately,a participant will be selected to win a MINI model with customized, colored side mirrors.

Facebook as healthcare

Facebook recently launched an update called 0.facebook (Facebook Zero), a new mobile version of the site that enables free access to Facebook, even in countries where access would require data charges. 0.facebook.com is an image-less version of the site. One of the top features is that it can connect people with health care providers. It could also allow people to know about relevant health and immunization campaigns and health-related events happening in the community. Pretty clever way to utilise and help people in those ‘harder-to-reach-places’.

Red Cross Miles

This is another lovely idea which uses the idea to promote air mile donations to the American Red Cross. By adding a ‘Donate Your Miles’ button to flight booking websites, people can access the Red Cross microsite where they can choose a flight to support. If they also log in using a Facebook or Twitter account, they can add their picture and name to their donation and share it to their page to encourage others to donate too.

Diesel brings Facebook ‘Likes’ to Real – World products

Diesel clothing stores in Madrid have launched a pilot program which turns Facebook ‘likes’ to  real – world products. At clothing displays, mobile tags will be available for customers to scan and see similar items in the collections, as well as a Facebook like button that lets the shopped share there item on their wall.

Gagaville: Lady Gaga’s Farmville campaign

Lady Gaga is promoting her forthcoming album ‘Born this way’ on FarmVille, which will allow players hear her songs ahead of the release date.

She’s know in the industry as as having one of the savviest social media strategies of any musical artist. Looking at news ways and all the developing technologies in which she can engage with her fans. Making a brand of her self. Pretty impressive….

Lady Gaga Scavenger hunt

Not only is Lady Gaga being savvy and using FarmVille to promote her new album.  She  also teamed up with Starbuck’s and on ‘Scavenger Hunt’

Customers are asked to scan QR coses on in store banners where they’ll see the first of 7 clues in the seven round coffee hunt. They’ll then be directed to blogs or Starbucks digital property. Along the way they will be rewarded with Starbucks and Lady Gaga related prizes. The final round coincides with te alunch of her album, Born this way’. On this day Lady Gaga will talk over Starbucks – playing in store, featured on line, sold in stores. (The album not her!)

Happy Monday!

6 May 2011 – Osama’s death tracked through media

Hi

 It would have been hard to escape the big news story this week! From the cover of the Economist and the US stock market to the front page of the Metro and your facebook wall. But I think it is interesting how our reactions to the death of Osama bin Laden and our need to express our feelings and the search for information can be tracked in a way that would not have been possible two years ago. 

 

 Tracking the death of Bin Laden through twitter

 

 His death and the announcements afterwards are reflected in increases in twitter activity and at 12,4 million an hour, that’s a record number of tweets! This graph shows how they increased/decreased through the night and during President Obama’s speech. Follow the link for a better view of the graph below.

 http://mashable.com/2011/05/02/bin-laden-death-twitter/

 

 

Google maps shows where Osama Bin Laden died

 

 It is unlikely this is the exact location where Bin Laden was found but it does tell us a lot about where he was hiding out. He was in a beautiful, urban area which was something of a tourist destination. Many are posting ‘reviews’ on the Place page expressing their emotions at his death.  

http://mashable.com/2011/05/02/bin-laden-google-maps/

 

 

Osama is dead facebook page

 

This went live years before the announcement of Osama’s death in order to advocate the theory that he had in fact died ages ago. However within two hours of the report, this page had 150,000 likes and thousands of pictures and comments. It is rather un PC but serves as a real time discussion board so here is the link FYI.  

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Osama-Bin-Laden-is-DEAD/134112283298465 

 

 

 

Spike in internet traffic

 

Users flocked to news sites for the latest information on Osama’s death causing a spike in internet traffic.  According to ‘Akamai’s Net Usage Index’ there was a 28% increase in traffic in North America and a 24% increase in global web traffic.  Akamai only measures news sites so overall traffic would be a lot higher as social media sites also saw huge surges in activity when news broke. Twitter reported 4,000 tweets per second around the time of Obama’s speech and according to ‘Mashable’, 50% of their readers heard about the event via social media.

http://mashable.com/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-traffic/

 

 

 

Foursquare users check into post-Osama world

A quick search on Foursquare in New York for “Osama” reveals such checkin locations as “Osama bin gonathon” and “Osamapacolypse 2011.” The gesture recalls, on a much larger scale, how users began checking in to a major New York City snow storm in 2010 with made-up venues such as Snowpocalypse 2010.

 Social Media timeline of Osama’s death

 

This is quite interesting to see, it tracks the social media comments from Athar who first heard helicopters hovering ahead and unknowingly reported the raid in real time, to confirmation by Donald Rumsfield’s chief of staff. Follow the link below to see view it.

http://www.cyberjournalist.net/social-media-timeline-of-osama-bin-ladens-death/

 

Happy Friday

 

Nicola

 

21 April 2011 – Digital ideas with a nod to Easter

Hi Everyone

It’s the end of this short Easter week so I thought I would share with you some digital ideas, some which have  a festive nod to Easter. This is my first post to so hope you enjoy 🙂

Goo who Dares Wins

Keeping with the endearing cheeky persona of the Creme egg, Cadbury has launched a Creme Egg mobile gaming app that encourages users to carry out dares in the run-up to Easter. The free app supports Cadbury’s multimillion-pound ‘Goo Dares Wins’ campaign, part of its ‘Spots V Stripes London 2012’ initiative.

Dares include using Creme Egg fondant as a facemask, crushing a Creme Egg between the toes, and spelling out the word “goo” with the fondant.  It also has a nice social networking element as allows users to upload photos and videos of themselves carrying out the dares.

http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/1065275/Cadbury-dares-public-new-Creme-Egg-mobile-app/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH

Slightly off the digital trend but Cadbury have also teamed up with the National Trust and are doing an Easter Egg Trail round national parks with is a nice way of getting people to engage with the brand.

http://www.eastereggtrails.com/

Orange predict a chick

In the run up to easter Orange was running a really cool little campaign called Predict-A-Chick on The FEED. It streamed the live hatching of 17 numbered chicken eggs. You could make your predications and then watch the action live via a number of camera streams. Cute!

You can watch the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK8724fwsFA&feature=player_embedded#at=28

http://thefeed.orange.co.uk/2011/4/11/predict-chick/

Magnum Pleasure hunt

Keeping on the Easter chocolate theme next I want to share with you the latest global Magnum campaign which I think is brilliant.  It’s to launch the all new Magnum Temptation Hazelnut ice-cream. To do that, they’ve created an Advergame called “Magnum Pleasure Hunt Across The Internet”

It takes you across 2o well known sites chasing Bon Bons, the special ingredient in the Magnum Temptation Hazelnut ice-cream. The idea is to capture all 100 Bon Bons as you join the Magnum Pleasure Hunt Across The Internet, its not easy, but it can be done!

http://pleasurehunt.mymagnum.com/

M&M’s internet Invasion game

M&M’s are doing something a little different over in Denmark, utilising Bookmarklets to help turn every website in the world, into part of the M&M’s “Space Heroes” internet invasion game. This style of creative strategy has been hotting up of late, with brands delivering interactive experiences accessible on any website.

The two final things that I want to share aren’t Easter or Chocolate related but I think are pretty cool. The first is a pretty good execution and the second a great idea:

Desperdao Youtube takeover

Here is one of the best YouTube takeovers I’ve seen in a while, and potentially the first one to integrate the Facebook Connect functionality as part of the experience. (happy to be corrected here!)

The YouTube campaign for beer brand Desperados is different to most, by letting you interact with the story as it unfolds (dragging the sound sliders .etc), instead of the 99% that just break up the YouTube interface in various ways.

http://vimeo.com/22188920

BMW Iphone app

And to finish with I leave you with something pretty cool that I saw BMW were doing:

BMW is introducing a new iPhone app to help potential owners determine if an electric vehicle fits their lifestyle.

http://rumors.automobilemag.com/bmw-app-lets-decide-ev-41385.html

Happy Friday

Lettie