Social Networking is the Most Increased Online Activity in 2010

US online adults were most likely to say they have increased their viewing of friends’ photos and information on social networks out of a wide variety of online activities during the past year, according to results of a new Harris Poll.
1/3 of Online Users Have Increased Social Network Viewing
About one-third (34%) of online US adults say they have increased their viewing of friends’ photos and information on social networks either significantly or somewhat in the past year. This was the highest percentage combined response for increasing any of the eight activities presented to respondents (multiple answers were accepted).

Reading newspapers/current events followed at a distant second with a combined 26% saying they have increased this online activity either significantly or somewhat in the past year. However, somewhat mitigating this low rate of increased online activity is an often lower rate of decreased online activity.

For example, only a combined 8% of online adults say they have decreased their viewing of friends’ photos and information on social networks either significantly or somewhat in the past year. A full 23% say this activity is not applicable and 34% say it has not changed.

Results are similar for most other activities, with the not changed rate of many hovering above 50%. Shopping had the highest combined rate of decrease (17%).  Interestingly, a leading 55% of respondents say posting information on their own blogs is not applicable, and 43% say posting or commenting on friends’ blogs is not applicable, reflecting the shrinking popularity of blogs among US online users.


Young, Educated Social Networking Users are More Likely to Increase Online Activity
Almost across the board, social media users, younger and better educated respondents are more likely to say they have increased an online activity in the past year. The difference between social media users and non-social media users is most pronounced in rates of viewing friends’ photos and information on social networks, posting and commenting information on friends’ or own blogs, and posting comments/reviews about brands, products or services.

Conversely, non-social media users were more likely than social media users to have increased reading newspapers/current events, the only online activity where they surpassed social media users.

Blogging, reading newspapers and review posting were the only areas where increase rates were not highest among 18-to-34-year-olds. Posting information on your own blog, reading newspapers and posting comments/reviews had the highest rates of increase among 35-to-44-year-olds, posting/commenting on friends’ blogs had the highest rate of increase among 45-to-54-year-olds.

While there was some variety among what age brackets were the second-most-likely to have increased an online activity, 55-plus respondents had the lowest response rate in any area except shopping, where their increase rate of 22% beat 45-to-54-year-olds (20%) and tied 35-to-44-year-olds.

Meanwhile, respondents with a high school education or less were the least likely to have increased all eight online activities. Those with a college degree or more had higher increase rates than those with some college in every activity except posting comments on friends’

3 in 10 Use Social Netwotks for Product Reviews
Only a combined 28% of online adults say they have used social media to rant or rave about a company, brand or product. However, a combined 80% of respondents agree strongly or somewhat they give up part of their privacy by participating in social media, and a combined 73% agree strongly or somewhat social media only reveals a snapshot, rather than a full portrait, of who they are.

Nearly 60% of Social Networking Users Feel More Connected

Six in 10 (59%) of social network users say they feel more connected to people now than previously, according to another recent Harris Poll. That figure is highest among 18-to-34-year-olds (63%) and females (61%). Similar percentages (58% overall, 63% of 18-to-34-year-olds, 60% of females) say they keep in touch with friends more now than in the past.

Social network users say this even as majorities admit they recently have had less face-to-face contact with friends (55%) and know what’s going on with many of their friends and acquaintances, but don’t interact with them personally or individually (60%). Negative emotional impact of this loss of personal contact appears small, as only 32% of social network users feel lonelier now than previously.

The trends are clear, Social Networking is an effective method of reaching buyers, maintaining your brand and improving Search Engine Optimization for any business, product, service or website.  Contact the Social Network Marketing Experts at Social Marketing Builders today for a consultation or to improve your Social Marketing!

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
Internet Builder Consulting - Building Better Websites and Online Marketing since 1995
Social Marketing Builders - Building Expert Social Networking Solutions for Business
816-842-7774 Corporate Office

The Internet's Top Sources of Referral Traffic (links to your website that improve rankings)

Social Networking is about MORE than just connecting with others online.  As Internet Builder Consulting has said for years (NAHB IBS 2006, 2007 and Bob Schultz Training 2007, 2008 & 2009) an important key to online marketing is link weight and referral traffic.  A recent study we found posted on ReadWriteWeb.com showed the importance of Social Media Marketing with Facebook listed as the # 1 source of referral traffic online.

Recently the wife of a client who is now in charge of his marketing demanded all of the Social Networking accounts and Social Media Marketing be turned off and because she believed it was "worthless" even after the value of referral links was explained.  Just because someone does not understand or appreciate something does not mean it is worthless - read the article below and decide for yourself on Social Media Marketing!

Top Referrers of Traffic

For the purposes of this analysis, referrers have been segmented into different categories in order to more easily compare traffic. For example, there is no use in comparing Google to Flickr since they are not categorically related. If we're making a determination which search engine to focus on, Flickr would not be in the mix - and if we're looking for a photo hosting site, Google would not be in the mix. The four main referral categories that drive virtually all traffic are: Search Engines, Media, Social Bookmarks and Social Networks.

Social Network Referrers

Perhaps the one result that was the most surprising is the Social Networking category. Although Twitter seem to be the talk of the town, Facebook is the 900 pound gorilla when it comes to actually driving website traffic, sending nearly 7 in 10 visitors from the Social Network category. LinkedIn comes in a distant yet still respectable third place.

There is one giant unknown in this area, however. Many Twitter users access the service through applications instead of via Twitter's website. These applications do not report http-referrer data to Web servers, which makes it impossible to tell where the clicks originate. The same can be said about traffic driven by mobile apps (including Facebook).

All of the other players in the Social Networking category cumulatively amount to less than 3% of inbound website traffic.

Social Bookmark Referrers

Social bookmarking sites are also extremely sought after sources of traffic, with the highest profile member of the group being Digg. Interestingly, this is another case where a smaller source seems to receive a disproportionate amount of attention, since StumbleUpon drives nearly double the traffic to websites.

Another surprising standout in the Social Bookmark category is YCombinator's Hacker News site, which drives 12% of the traffic in this category. Reddit and Del.icio.us drive 5% and 2%, respectively. Interestingly, SlashDot (the grandaddy of them all) drives close to 0% of traffic to the sites Woopra measures - although webmasters still call the rush of traffic that can take down a website a "Slashdotting".

Search Referrers

In the Search Engine space, perhaps the only surprise is the absolute dominance of Google when it comes to actually driving traffic to websites. For example, Experian's Hitwise published a press release setting Google's share of the search market at 72% in May 2010. However, Woopra is seeing 92% of search visitors originating from Google.

This begs the question: Where does the discrepancy lie?

• Is the Hitwise data set more representative of the whole?
• Are there more searches taking place on other search engines that don't result in click-throughs to websites?
• StatCounter's Global Stats seem to closely mirror Woopra's data.

Regardless of the reason, what we do know is that focusing attention on optimizing for Google search is absolutely the right thing to do. (Here's the official Google SEO starter guide.)

Media Referrers

The media referrer category is reserved for sites that focus on various forms of multimedia, including images, video and audio. These sites are often overlooked as a source of traffic because they are destination sites; however, media sites can also drive large volumes of traffic.
As an example, world-famous HDR photographer Trey Ratcliff posts travel photos on Flickr, and includes a simple link back to his site in the description of each image he posts.


This technique generated nearly 13,000 pageviews on StuckInCustoms.com in April alone.


What's more notable is that Flickr is not the dominant referrer in the Media category. YouTube drives 900% more traffic to websites than Flickr. This is accomplished the same way, via links in the description of the video.

Amazingly, 99% of referrer traffic in the Media category comes from only four providers: YouTube, Flickr, Last.FM and Vimeo.

Lessons Learned

The only question we are trying to answer with this analysis is where it makes sense to focus resources and attention in order to drive traffic. So here's what we know:

• Search engine optimization specifically targeting Google's index is key. Working hard to satisfy other search providers probably won't pay off as much as spending the time elsewhere - like Facebook and Twitter promotion.
• If multimedia isn't part of a site's strategy to drive traffic, it should be. Adding photos to Flickr and videos to YouTube will not only pay off in terms of adding content for your brand, but will also drive eyeballs to your site.
• Sites that are not seeing traffic from Facebook, Twitter, or both, are missing out on a major traffic-generation source. Additionally, if the balance is not in Facebook's favor, you are likely under-utilizing this channel.
• Don't waste time promoting your site on any Social Media network other than Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Your time is better spent elsewhere (like YouTube or Flickr for example).
• By all means, submit articles to Digg in the hopes of making it to the homepage, but more importantly make sure articles work their way into StumbleUpon, which can bring a larger, more sustained and less server-crash-creating stream of traffic.
• For those looking to more accurately track Twitter click-throughs, some service providers such as Bit.ly enable tracking of short links. The bad news is that the tracking is not aggregated into existing Web analytics provider data.
• This analysis doesn't take into consideration back-links (which Web authors should pursue whenever possible) because on the aggregate they do not drive global traffic. However, links from related or high-traffic sites can not only dramatically increase site traffic, they can positively impact search result listings.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
Internet Builder Consulting - Building BETTER websites and Online Marketing since 1995
Social Marketing Experts and Social Networking Builders for business
816-842-7774 Office

How Consumers Interact with Brands on Social Networks - It Works!

Consumers DO Want Relationships according to the eMarketer.com recent study.

The social networking audience in the US has reached critical mass. eMarketer estimates that 57.5% of all US Internet users, or 127 million people, will use a social network at least once a month in 2010. By 2014, nearly two-thirds of Internet users will be on board.  Marketers have been chasing this audience for several years, but the question remains: Do consumers notice, or care?

“Those who still think that social network users are too busy engaging with friends to notice marketers must change their viewpoint,” said Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report “Brand Interactions on Social Networks.” “Brand interactions are real, valuable and growing. “
According to a February 2010 survey by Chadwick Martin Bailey, a market research firm, 33% of Facebook users have become fans of brands on the network.

Another survey, by Edison Research, found that 16% of social network users had friended brands there. And half (51%) had done so on Twitter.

Coupons remain a leading driver of brand interactions in social networks. Learning about sales and new products is also a strong motivator for people to interact with companies in social media. Beyond the tangibles, such as coupons, consumers do gain positive feelings about a brand as a result of their interactions.
Still, social networks are not seen as primary research sources when consumers are looking to buy. Although people are very inclined to take advice from friends and family about products they are interested in, they are not nearly as likely to seek out their social network friends when they are researching online.
According to a study by PowerReviews and the e-tailing group, only 3% of online buyers said they sought recommendations from social network friends first, compared with 57% who started with search engines.

“More than half of all Internet users now use social networks, and the percentage of social network users who talk about companies, either in organic conversations or on branded company pages, is growing,” said Ms. Williamson. “Consumers do pay attention and they do value positive interactions with companies.
“But while people trust their friends for advice and use social networks as part of their research process, social networks are long way from replacing search, if they ever will, as a source of information leading to a purchase.”

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
Internet Builder Consulting - Building Better Social Media Marketing, Websites and Online Solutions since 1995

Call today for an expert consultation or to setup your Social Media Marketing 816-842-7774

Facebook Changes Feeds for Users & Search Engines

October 2009 facebook entered into agreements with search engines to provide content from user posts (information users submit on profiles, groups or pages) which coincided with changes to seperate what facebook considers NEWS from users LIVE FEED. The Live Feed contains all information or posts from all connected members, groups or pages while NEWS FEED is filtered by what facebook considers to be 'news worthy' information.

The NEWS feeds are sent to search engines while LIVE Feeds are only seen by connected parties on facebook. There is no guarantee that NEWS feeds will be listed on a search engine (it depends on how relevant the post is considered by each search engine). Facebook shares the following information as to the new change between NEWS and LIVE Feeds:

What is the difference between News Feed and Live Feed?
News Feed aggregates the most interesting content that your friends are posting, while Live Feed shows you all the actions your friends are making in real-time.

How does News Feed determine which content is most interesting?
The News Feed algorithm bases this on a few factors: how many friends are commenting on a certain piece of content, who posted the content, and what type of content it is (e.g. photo, video, or status update).

The most effective way to ensure posts are included in NEWS feeds (facebook also set the default view for all user home pages to NEWS Feed) is to post the most relevant engaging information, images or content. This means the people or companies who simply throw anything on social networking website just to have content will be excluded from NEWS Feeds for the most part. Others who share interesting viable information that engages other users will see much better results.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
BuilderConsulting.com - Building Better Websites and Online Marketing Solutions since 1995
BuilderSocialMedia.com - Building Social Media Marketing Solutions for Business
913-814-8844 Office

Social Media Marketing is Now More Than Links - Posts to Show in Search Results

Google and Microsoft have signed deals with Twitter and Microsoft has also signed an agreement with Facebook to integrate Twitter and Facebook updates into Bing search results. Google will be integrating tweets in search results.
Google's Marissa Mayer says, " We believe that our search results and user experience will greatly benefit from the inclusion of this up-to-the-minute data, and we look forward to having a product that showcases how tweets can make search better in the coming months. That way, the next time you search for something that can be aided by a real-time observation, say, snow conditions at your favorite ski resort, you'll find tweets from other users who are there and sharing the latest and greatest information."



I expect that Google will be making a similar deal with Facebook to integrate Facebook posts in search results similar to the new deal signed with Twitter.  This means that social media marketing is more than simply adding 'link weight' to websites, Tweets and posts will be shown in real time to users on Google.com and Bing.com search engines.

Contact Builder Social Media by Builder Consulting for expert social media marketing and website solutions for your business.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
BuilderConsulting.com - Building Better Websites and Social Media Marketing Solutions
913-814-8844

Almost 20 Percent of Internet Users Update Status on Other Social Networking Sites With Twitter according to PEW Research

Already widely reported from yesterday the Pew Internet & American Life almost 20 percent of US Internet users are on Twitter or updating their status with another social network: LinkedIn, MySpace or Facebook. According to the report:

Some 19% of internet users now say they use Twitter or another service to share updates about themselves, or to see updates about others. This represents a significant increase over previous surveys in December 2008 and April 2009, when 11% of internet users said they use a status-update service.

Three groups of internet users are mainly responsible for driving the growth of this activity: social network website users, those who connect to the internet via mobile devices, and younger internet users: those under age 44.

Below is the chart showing Pew’s demographic breakdown:

According to the report, parsing by network:

The median age of a Twitter user is 31, which has remained stable over the past year. The median age for MySpace is now 26, down from 27 in May 2008, and the median age for LinkedIn is now 39, down from 40. Facebook, however, is graying a bit: the median age for this social network site is now 33, up from 26 in May 2008.
The Pew report paints a slightly different and younger picture of Twitter users than earlier studies:

Another age distribution report from PEW:

Contact Builder Social Media by Builder Consulting for all your Social Media Marketing needs at 913-814-8844.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson

Builder Consulting - Building Better Websites & Social Marketing Solutions since 1995

Twitter Statistics and Growth Rate

Millions of people are using Twitter daily though the top social media website has a large 'drop rate' above all other social media marketing. The latest Twitter Statistics available from May 2009 show the following information:

* 60% Abandonment Rate

There was some recent news about Twitter having a whopping 60% abandonment rate. This means that for every 5 people using twitter, 3 people decide not to continue using it. This makes sense as Twitter perks curiosity but not many people can maintain or want to maintain a continual feed of “tweets”. This is the same reason there are millions of blogs that are never updated.

* 17 Million Unique US Visitors in April

However despite a large abandonment rate, ComScore released Twitter Statistics for April and it showed Twitter reaching 17 million unique visitors in the United States. That is a whopping 83 percent increase from March! In March 2009 Twitter had already doubled it’s user base from the month before.

Twitter going Mainstream: Broad Uses

Twitter is gaining popularity not only for personal uses but for businesses. Businesses use Twitter as a way of keeping their loyal users in touch with what is going on with a particular product or service. It is a tool to humanize the corporation and to build a community. Celebrities and other prominent figures use twitter to speak to their fans or supporters.

Tweets are frequently used to do quick news updates during large conferences or events. People can follow the play-by-play commentary just as they were listening to the radio. TV shows like Nightline has used twitter as a way for users to give immediate feedback during their shows. It also allows people to keep in tabs with what is going on with their friends, family or the unlucky people they are stalking.

Recently the public received the first twitter tweets from outer space:

I’m going to put my spacesuit on, next stop: Earth Orbit!!

From orbit: Launch was awesome!! I am feeling great, working hard, & enjoying the magnificent views, the adventure of a lifetime has begun!

------------------------------------

* Visitors Spend 7.9 Minutes a Day on Twitter
* Twice as much time is spent on Twitter today over December 2007
* Pagesviews: 428 Million in April 2009 (219 Million in March 2009)

A comical explanation of Twitter and it's use may be found through YouTube...



Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
BuilderConsulting.com
BuilderSocialMedia.com
913-814-8844 Office

Social Networking Top Users Age 35-49 followed by 50-64 Year Olds

Also it is common knowledge in the online marketing world that social media reach has long grown beyond the younger demographic. As social networks become more popular and mainstream the audience has become broader and older.

Facebook originally started as a college only social network, but now boasts the greatest membership growth rate from 35-49 year olds at 24 million new members from Dec 2007 to Dec 2008. Facebook also is adding twice as many 50-64 year olds at 13.6 million than those under 18. Their current base is one-thirds 35-49 years of age and one-quarter over 50 years old. The way social networks are used is being continually defined by the changing demographics.

Build your social networking with the experts at Builder Consulting and view examples online at www.BuilderSocialMedia.com

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
BuilderConsulting.com - Building Successful Solutions Online since 1995
913-814-8844 Office

Facebook & LinkedIn lead Growth, MySpace Declines

Social networks Facebook and Linkedin (the most popular professional network) has accounted for the largest growth rate this past year. Facebook showed 168% change in active reach with a global audience of 108.3 million. Linkedin also showed tremendous growth with a 137% change in global audience growth. MySpace saw a -3% decline.

To build the best social media marketing for your business contact Builder Consulting or visit the website www.BuilderSocialMedia.com

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
BuilderConsulting.com - Building Better Websites and Internet Solutions since 1995
913-814-8844 Office

Social Networking Overtakes Email

A new study released by Nielsen has shown that Social Networking has overtaken email as the most popular internet activity. As popular social networks like Facebook and MySpace have features built to stay in communication with friends and connections many people are utilizing those communication mediums to “email” or “chat” or “post” with one another.

Nielsen reports that “member communities” exceeds email participation 67% to 65%. This is in conjunction with the fact that social networking and blogging is growing twice as fast as other drivers of users such as email, search and portals. Two-thirds of internet users visited a social networking site in 2008. Social media sites such as Facebook and MySpace account for nearly 10% of all internet time. Facebook continues to lead the way by accounting for 30% of all internet users in the largest global markets.

Learn how Social Networking and Social Media Marketing can help your business reach more buyers www.BuilderSocialMedia.com or call us 913-814-8844

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
BuilderConsulting.com - Building Better Websites & Social Marketing since 1995

Building Social Media Marketing, Netowkring, Blogs & More

Nearly 33% of active Internet users utilizing social networking sites every day,* social media sites are your greatest strategic asset to attract new customers and build brand awareness and instantly communicate a message to clients worldwide.
The time required for small- and mid-sized businesses to create and maintain just one social network profile (experts say about 32 hours per month), launching and nurturing a complete campaign that brings success across multiple channels is a challenge.
Builder Social Media builds strategic, comprehensive social media solutions so you can focus on your core competencies while we focus on ours - building effective, affordable, and on target social media campaigns to maximize your marketing ROI while saving you time and money.
The average in-house social media expert costs $84,000/year, including salary, benefits and taxes, our solutions save you 90% and more than 13,000 hours per year while delivering the same results.
Want better results? Go beyond the profile.
Anyone with an Internet connection can set up a profile on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Plaxo, Blogger, Activerain or Fast Pitch but there are specific methods that are more effective and Builder Social Media knows how.
If you want it done right, partner with Builder Social Media
Builder Social Media will build your Social Media Marketing working with your team to deliver the right conversations and captivate your audiences while saving you time and money, protecting your brand, and maximizing your marketing investment. With time-saving, affordable social networking solutions from Builder Social Media, there’s no reason to miss out on these tremendous new business opportunities that can:
• Establish, build, and maintain quality customer relationships
• Position you as an industry leader and a Subject Matter Expert in your field
• Create high-quality back links to your website to boost your Search Engine ranking efforts
• Protect your online reputation and brand. We can reserve your name on the top social networks before your competitors do it for you.

visit us online at www.BuilderSocialMedia.com today to find out how you can reach more people online by building social media marketing that works!

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
BuilderConsulting.com
913-814-8844 Offices