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Monday, April 13, 2009

Blogs, Social Networks the Next Hot Spot For Brands

CPG and retail marketers looking to connect their brands to consumers online will increase their chances of success if they focus on blogs and social network sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

According to the new Nielsen Global Faces and Networked Places report on social networking's new global footprint, two-thirds (66.8%) of the global online population visit 'member communities' (blogs and social networks) a lot, and they are now the fourth-most popular online activity -ahead of personal e-mail (65.1%). “Member communities have taken a foothold in every major market, from 51% of the online population in Switzerland and Germany to 80% in Brazil," the report said.

The three most popular sectors are: search (85.9%), general interest portals and communities (85.2%), and software manufacturers (73.4%). But by far the fastest-growing sector is member communities, growing at twice the rate of e-mail and roughly triple the rate of the other top sectors.

"Social networking will continue to alter not just the global online landscape, but the consumer experience at large.", says John Burbank, CEO of Nielsen Online. Brand image in this online realm could quickly affect how consumers relate and buy -or not buy- specific brands in the offline or online worlds. Some brands, like Skittles, Pepsi, and Whole Foods, have ventured into 'member communities' space with varying degrees of success. Most CPG brands have yet to follow. (See SupermarketGuru.com, March 16, 2009 posting, "Will food brands find success recipe in social media?")

Some other key findings include:

  • Mobile is increasingly important. Nearly 1 in 5 (19% or 10.6 million) of mobile users in the United States visited a social network through their handset, up 156% over a year ago.
  • Facebook, the world's most popular social network, is visited monthly by three in every 10 people across markets involved in the study -Brazil, Spain, Italy, Japan, UK, USA, France, Australia, Germany and Switzerland.
  • Orkut in Brazil has the largest domestic online reach (70%) of any social network in these markets.

Compelling new functionality is helping to drive the broader engagement, observes Alex Burmaster, the study's author and communications director across EMEA for Nielsen Online. Brands need to intersect consumers where they dwell and participate online to win mind share, build their relevancy, and strengthen their case for purchase at the shelf.

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Marketing should be viewed as an investment in your business, not as an expense, and as with other investments, you should expect a superior return. Accountable Marketing encompasses all business strategies and activities that result in producing products and services that satisfy your customers’ needs and generate greater profits for you company, ensuring specific metrics are in place to help you manage the process and measure the return on your marketing investment.

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