I’ve written previously about the need to re-evaluate search marketing by attending to how users encounter your BRAND through search as opposed to the dated approach of focusing on where your URL appears.  This week a study emerged from a the search marketing agency Slingshot, showing that the click-through-rates (CTRs) on search result pages (SERPs) are diversifying dramatically such that only 52% of Google users and 26% of Bing users are clicking on anything on page 1.  People use search in multifaceted ways so we have to stop believing in the old alchemy of the magical number 1 slot and the obsession over where our URL ranks.  It’s the total experience of the brand that matters and those who make this transition quickest stand to gain the most from their search marketing efforts.

For years, the thinking has been that the top slots produce the lion’s share of the user activity on SERPs.  Various studies in the mid 2000s indicated that the top three slots got as much as 50-60% percent of the activity.  I’m not sure that the story was ever as dramatic as those stats indicated but the present reality is certainly different.  As Google and Bing have moved to build Universal Search Result pages that include blended results from a  variety of content sources, users have begun exploring the SERPs more readily.

Depending upon their mindset, the SERP gives the user many directions to pursue.  Are you just learning about a certain product or service?  Visit manufacturer sites and read articles on the topic.  Are you narrowing down or comparing options?  Visit review sites, blogs and forums.  Sick of reading and want a simpler overview….look for videos. Need something near you……check out the local listings.  The list of options grows annually and we all benefit from the multiplicity of content that is available.

All this reinforces the idea that brands need a content marketing strategy that contributes to the proliferation of content and conversation about them.  A content marketing strategy focuses on the needs of your audience and the best ways to provide them with useful information.  Useful content leads to greater distribution of content and therefore a wider variety of ways that users can encounter your brand off any specific SERP.  This trend along with the trend towards mobile access of digital content are the two most game defining changes that marketers must embrace in the coming year.  Embrace the change!  It’s a good thing.

As social media content continues to find its way into search engine result pages (SERPs), interesting new data reveals just how much traffic is referred to our s facebook pages from search.  The folks at the very useful Facebook analytics engine PageLever published their analysis of over 1000 fan pages with 10,000 fans or more and found that 33.98% of the referring traffic to these pages came from one of the three major search engines.There are two things about this that I find very interesting:

Firstl, this stat means that about 9.5% of all traffic to  facebook pages comes from search on average.  That is definitely higher than what I would have anticipated.  Also it should be noted that Google is by far the largest contributor to this percentage. Almost 82% of the traffic from search to facebook pages is coming from Google.

The second thing about this that interests me is the degree to which this may impact our content strategies on Facebook.  Good SEO strategies usually begins with good content strategies.  Social media is important outlet for a content strategy.  Therefore, we can now realize how important it is to apply solid content marketing principles, with SEO underpinnings, to our Facebook fan page output whenever it is possible to do so.

I’m not recommending keyword stuffing your posts but just being mindful of the fact that the search engines, Google in particular, are crawling what you create, and they seem to be making more off an effort to make it visible through SERPs.  Well-thought out, useful, entertaining or engaging content is best path towards greater search visibility in all channels.  That’s good news for the marketer and even greater news for the consumer.

Since the widespread adoption of the tablet as the content consumption platform of choice, the industry has been eagerly anticipating the rise of the Internet TV as the next disruptive platform to change the way we thing about digital content consumption.  Is it happening?  Sort of, but not as quickly or with as much innovation as we had hoped.  With the drop in price of the Logitech Google TV set-top box and the announcement by Viewsonic that it is deep-sixing its plans to build a Boxee powered TV, there is growing evidence that the marketing for this technology is softening.  Or is it just that the right forces have not yet come together to make this technology take off?  I once saw an attempt at creating a solid-body electric guitar that was build in the early 1930s.  That was the wrong time for that technology to take off.  Musical styles (content) had not evolved, manufacturing processes (technology) had not become cost efficient enough, and the demand was not there because people did not know what to do with it (user experience).  Internet TV is that same moment where the content, technology and user experience pieces have not yet come together in a moment that will drive consumer adoption.

Sure you can buy Internet TVs but as Van Baker, Vice President of research for Gartner recently observed, “In most cases consumers are buying a television with Internet connectivity as insurance. In other words, they are buying them just in case they need it in the future.”  There are also plenty of price-accessible ways to get a non-ethernet TV connected, not the least of which is my personal favorite the Sony PS3.  The problem is once you are connected, what can you do?  Or more appropriately what can your connected TV now do better than the myriad of other devices that surround us every day.  The answer is that beyond on-demand streaming the user experience is not yet fully developed.

Do consumers want to use browsers on a TV screen?  Despite the fact that the TV screen is large it does not offer a very conducive browsing experience.  But some things do work?  Have you seen the YouTube and Netflix apps designed specifically for the TV?  They have large buttons that are easy to navigate to and click.  They have a display that is almost devoid of text (hard to read on a TV) and heavy on seductive visuals (fun to look at on a big screen).  But until there are more apps and user experiences that are built specifically for the TV, the usefulness of it as digital device is somewhat limited.

However, the promise is still there.  As companies like Adobe help hash out digital rights access with its Adobe Pass offering and as more of these devices continue to end up in consumers’ homes, if for no other reason than the current crop of product is coming equipped with the technology whether consumers demand it or not, the groundwork is being laid for enterprising content providers to realize that there is a new opportunity to wrap bigger and bolder user experiences around their content and make it accessible in ways that best suit the TV as an interface.  I’m still bullish on the technology and anxious to see how this next wave of digital user experiences will evolve.  In fact, I think this is the time for publishers and media companies to take the lead and prove what this technology can be good for.

We are moving rapidly toward a version of the internet in which a large portion of the user experiences exist outside the web browser.  A recent article by EMarketer cites research by the Boston Consulting Group suggesting we are on the edge of a big leap forward in tablet purchases.  Most interestingly is that the impetus driving this consumer lust for tablets is its emergence as the platform of choice for consumers when it comes to accessing digital content in all its forms. In the U.S. 34% of the audience surveyed indicated an intent to purchase a tablet device in the coming year while 54% indicated a willingness to purchase within three years.  In reviewing the analytics across the many sites that I manage I can confirm that tablet access of websites has quadrupled since the same time last year.  However what interests me is that websites are not really want consumers want to access on tablets.  According to the study, the driver is that consumers prefer the tablet for consuming content like articles, videos, galleries, audio etc.  We need to understand that the tablet allows us to create non-browser user experiences around this content that elevate it, make it more accessible, more enjoyable, and more engaging.

This does not mean that everyone should race to build an app.  In fact, it opens up many more opportunities than apps alone.  But is an app is on your mind, now may the time to look into the recently released Adobe Digital Publishing Suite that allows for the creation of tablet apps from within Adobe InDesign for CS5.  No programming knowledge outside InDesign is required to create highly immersive experiences and load them into a variety of app stores.

Regardless of what technology you choose, the key is to generate content that is ideally suited to the advantages of the tablet.  Think in terms of experiences that unfold or collapse based on the users input.  Think about rich media.  Think about how people browse publication as opposed to the very self-directed way they use websites.  Create experiences that enrich the content rather than just making at accessible. Very shortly your consumers will be wandering the earth clutching their little storytelling devices and spending hours a day diving into them.  What stories do you want to tell?  What will they want from you?

Social media is a major force not only amongst marketers and their peers who find the topic fascinating but amongst our actual audiences too. Nielsen’s Q1 2010 Consumer Confidence Survey, Q1 2010 @Plan reports and Audience Measurement tools are citing some striking facts that paint an even more dramatic picture of our immersion into social media than we might have thought.  I was particularly surprised by stats such as 21% of U.S. adults own or publish a blog or that 2/3 of global consumers refer to online product reviews when making a purchasing decision.  The complete excerpt is below:

• More than two-thirds of global consumers seek online product reviews, recommendations from discussion forums or social media sites when making a purchase decision.
• 40% of global consumers would not buy Consumer Electronics, 22% would not buy Telecommunications Services and 19% would not buy Gaming Devices without consulting online reviews.
• 21% of U.S. adults online publish or own a blog.
• 55% of U.S. adults online have 1 or more social networking profiles.
• 75% of the active U.S. Internet households visit a social networking site (May 2010). Globally, it’s 74% (April 2010).
• Social media websites had a unique audience in the U.S. of 148.2 million visitors (May 2010).
• U.S. consumers spent an average of 6 hours, 13 minutes a month using social networking websites (May 2010). Globally consumers spend an average of almost 6 hours (April 2010).
• Facebook is the #1 social networking site in the U.S., with a unique audience of 125.2 million visitors (May 2010).
• The average U.S. worker spends nearly 5.5 hours a month visiting social networking sites at the office (May 2010) and much of that time is spent visiting Facebook.
• Twitter has a unique U.S. audience of 19.1 million visitors (May 2010), growing more than 1,520% in the last two years (May 2010 v. May 2008).

Consumers are contributing and sharing online:

• 20% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Movies
• 18% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Television Programs
• 16% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Music
• 14% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Books
• 13% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Websites / Internet Content & Services
• 12% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Household Products (food and beverage)
• 12% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Restaurants or Bars
• 11% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Computer Hardware/Software
• 11% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Electronics
• 9% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Online Shopping
• 8% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Video Games
• 8% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Household Products (non-food)

I am most surprised by the propensity of our consuming audience to contribute to and create content online.  I did not think the numbers would have climbed this substantially over the last time I had seen a similar report.  Which of these observations do you find most interesting?

• I have often written that your social media marketing has to focus on the needs of the audience first. However this recent article by Clay MacDaniel cites research by Razorfish and She’sConnected.com are indicating that a primary reason for consumers to fan your company or brand is to receive promotions and discounts.  Let’s take a look at some ways that you can find a balance between social media marketing that attracts the attentions of your audience and social media marketing that pushes sales messages to them.

Nail a need. Make your offers highly targeted.
If you are involved in social media marketing you can use the information that you gain from constantly monitoring and engaging in the online conversation around your brand to generate offers and promotions that are specific to the needs being expressed by your audience. For instance, let’s say you are monitoring the social conversation around your restaurant and you find that the health-conscious portion of your audience often comments favorably about the dietetic options on your brunch menu. You could develop an offer that is specifically designed for them by offering a discount to a local spa or free admission to a local fitness event as part of a package. In fact, if you are monitoring the sites that your health-conscious audience frequents, you can use those sites to help get the word out. The advantages here are many:

• Higher redemption rates of more specific offers with lower overall promotion costs
• Generate fan loyalty in your audiences by speaking directly to their needs
• Generate promotions and discounts that add value to your brand rather than cheapen it.

Test and monitor. Use the channel to refine your offer strategy
The immediate data that you gather from distributing offers online affords a great opportunity to test and tweak different aspects of it. What if you change the value, make it time sensitive, make it referral-based, or make it a contest? You may notice that some promotions generate interest but lower redemption rates whereas others get less click activity but generate better sales.

Keep the balance. Make the largest volume of social media marketing about engagement with your audience’s interests.
This is the tricky part. Your audience wants to be rewarded for their loyalty but they don’t want to be barraged and bored by your endless series of offers. Whats the right balance for you. Is it a deal of the day or of the week? If you have 6 specific audiences that you can monitor online do you make sure you offer at least one promotion to each audience each month? The right fit will become apparent of you continue to track things like your rate of new followers, click-through rates on all your posts, how often your posts get passed along or commented on, and the engagement of your audience off-site. Your primary emphasis should continue to be on creating the force of attraction that draws them into your social media marketing with a generous sprinkling of offers and promotion to keep them active.

Be specific, keep testing and trying, and don;t overdo the promotions and you will find that social media channels can help you get those sales messages out in new, cost-efficient, and effective ways.

The number of U.S. Internet users aged 65 and older increased more than 55 percent between November 2004 and November 2009, according to data from Nielsen. The measurement firm estimates that 17.5 million seniors are now online, compared with 11.3 million five years ago.  What is also interesting to me is the fact that they list online activities like Facebook and YouTube as popular things to do.  Here is a chart from Clickz showing the top 10 online destinations of Internet users 65 and over in November of 2009:

I enjoy the research published by the Pew Internet and American Life Project because it is not motivated by any particular agenda. So it came as a surprise to me to learn that they are reporting that 19% of those recently surveyed use Twitter or “some other form of status update service (not quite sure what they mean by this). This is up from 11% only 1 year ago. I know that Twitter is fast-growing but since Pew generally reports more conservative numbers than other surveys this is impressive.  Additionall, the same survey is showing that the median age for Facebook users is rising:  Up to 33 from 26 only 1 year ago–big jump!
Here’s a link to the full survey but I’ll also list some of the key findings below:

• Tweeters tend to be under 49 and the audience skews slightly female
• Twitter users are still less than half the number of other social network users but they are the fastest growing group
• Mobile users and people with multiple devices are more likely to Tweet

Here’s a chart showing the disparity in the age ranges of Twitter users:

As the demographics of our social media audiences continues to evolve it suggests that we should expect to use different communication strategies across each platform according to what suits not only the functionality of the platform but the different audiences adn modes of use (i.e. mobile versus computer).  How are you adapting?

The EVoter Institute has recently released a report entitles “Persuading and Motivating Voters: What Will It Take in 2010?” that drives home the importance of the Internet and the changing dynamics in the ways we all consumer news and information.  The study is well worth the read no matter what industry you are in primarily because it illustrates the increasing ways that social media content is being used by consumers.As a quick summary, the report breaks its results into the following 7 findings:

• Finding 1: Voters will increasingly expect candidates to be making heavy use of the web with campaign sites, social media,  email, online fundraising and multimedia content being the most popular.
• Finding 2: Voters are engaging in a wider range of political activities online. The new definition of activism continues to reveal that there are many ways for voters to participate in the official and unofficial campaign.  What they mean here is that voters forward things, search for things,  share content as opposed to simply volunteering or donating.
• Finding 3: The Internet is increasingly integrated into our everyday lives. Traditional means of getting information and news is slipping in popularity though those trusted brands are finding audiences online.  However when voters go to the web for information they still most frequently go to their traditional trusted resources such as newpaper web sites.
• Finding 4: Voters realize they live in a crowded and fragmented media environment and that it is hard to get their attention.  Voters still identify TV ads as the best way to get their attention but there is a noteworthy rise in those who identify social media tactics, particularly with certain demographics.
• Finding 5:  There is clearly a maturing of certain web tools in the political campaign process, particularly the candidate’s web site, the use of email, and search. An official web site is now expected by over 80% of voters at all levels of political activism. Following that means of communications is email which is even more expected by those who are very politically active than television ads on a web site.
• Finding 6: Age matters most when it comes to donating to a campaign, attending a political event, volunteering for a campaign, and sending and receiving email about political issues. As people age, voting decisions are more influenced by television and cable news reports and commentators. However studies such as this sometimes are lagging indicators because older voters are rapidly increasing in their identification of Internet tools as vital resources for them.
• Finding 7: Debates were cited as having the most influence on voting decisions regardless of party affiliation, ethnicity or age.  However it is not clear whether they are watching the whole event on TV or picking up snippets of it online through video sharing.

What I find interesting about this study is that it shows how consumer behavior is best influenced by a deeply integrated strategy that allows for the widest variety of ways that people search for, consume and share information.  The key word in that previous sentence is “integrated”.

This year’s Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey of 25,000 Internet consumers from 50 companies has brought to light that reviews and recommendations from friends are by far the most trusted forms of information that consumers receive. 90% of those surveyed said that they trusted reviews and recommendations from friends while a surprising 70% said that they trust reviews that they find online from people they do not know. Also surprising is the fact that 70% of those surveyed trusted the information that they get from brand websites.Taken together these two bits of information paint a picture of the consumer experience in which the brand website and online reviews clearly work together to wield a great deal of influence.  Also, giving your consumers the power to bring your brand to their friends with the any of a variety of types of social content is exceedingly important. Also interesting to point out is the fact that consumers trust advertising messages in general has gone up in the past three years since the survey first started tracking trust.

I’m surprised by the trust consumers have in reviews online since some reviews are clearly shills placed bymarketers.  Apparently this is phenomenon is not prevalent enough to turn people off.  However, as more marketers hear stats like those in the Nielsen study, how long will it be before the amount of advertiser driven reviews erodes the trust that consumers have in this information?  Where will the consumer focus their trust at that point?