Measurement/Analytics
Social Media Excites Marketers, but Doesn’t Yet Generate Revenue
Our two cents:
There are two very important points in this post. The first is the underlying principle that all marketing initiatives, regardless of channel need to support the overall business goals of a company. Period. While many marketers love to hide behind this word “engagement“, we find this word to be at times nebulous and lacking of real metrics. The second important point is the trend of social campaigns outpacing the measurement of the campaigns themselves. Lest we forget, in marketing what get’s measured gets funded. Therefore, it’s important to align these marketing campaigns to the appropriate set of goals.
55-plus Mobile Social Networking Doubles
More than twice as many people age 55 and older visited social networks on their mobile phone in Q3 2011 compared to Q3 2010, according to a September 2011 report from The Nielsen Company. Data from “The Social Media Report Q3 2011″ indicates that during Q3 2011, the number of people 55 and older performing mobile social networking grew 109% year-over-year.
Other demographic groups experiencing notably large growth in mobile social networking compared to Q3 2010 include Asian/Pacific Islanders (76%), 35-to-54-year-olds (68%), whites (67%), and 18-to-34-year-olds (61%). With the exception of 13-to-17-year-olds, whose mobile social networking numbers only increased 16%, every group tracked by Nielsen saw the number of people performing mobile social networking grow at least 37% year-over-year (in the case of those with a mixed racial background). Read full post
The difference between iPhone mobile search vs. Android mobile search
From Eli Goodman, comScore – August 29, 2011
iPhone or Android?
iPhone vs. Android is definitely one of the most frequently debated topics around my office. Which phone do you have? Why that one and not the other? Our San Francisco office almost exclusively has iPhones, and our New York office is littered with Androids. But when it comes to searching for these devices, there is almost no difference between us.
As you can see below, iPhone searchers and Android searchers mirror each other very closely. Considering that searchers of both brands also conduct almost the exact same number of searches for these phones (about 4 per searcher), I would liken these searchers to independent voters. They have not made up their minds yet and there will be multiple times to speak with them before they convert and make a purchase. Knowing that there isn’t a distinct branded search audience would lead me to believe that these searchers are more interested in features, functions, pricing, and carriers, than they would be in defining themselves by the brand, ala Apple Fanboys.
The Impact of Mobile on Mother’s Day Shopping
Mother’s Day is the second largest U.S. consumer spending holiday1. As we’ve discussed inprevious posts, the mobile device has become a trusted shopping companion for many users and this Mother’s Day consumers once again turned to mobile to help them find the perfect gift for mom. Google analyzed both mobile and desktop search behavior in the days leading up to Mother’s Day and here’s some initial findings:
- On Mother’s Day 2011 (May 9th), 33% of Google search queries on the term “flowers” came from mobile devices.
- Mobile search queries for “flowers” both on Mother’s Day 2011 and in the week leading up to the holiday increased by over 100% compared with the same periods last year.
- In the week prior to Mother’s Day desktop searches for “flowers” increased from Monday to Friday, then declined on the weekend, while mobile queries steadily increased all week and maxed out on the weekend. While this is in line with general mobile/desktop usage trends, on the weekend of Mother’s Day, the increase in mobile searches on “flowers” was much higher that usual, as last minute shoppers scrambled to find a bouquet for mom.
- Google searches on “mother’s day gifts” were relatively consistent across mobile and desktop suggesting that perhaps flowers were the last minute purchase of choice for many Mother’s Day shoppers.
Mobile technology is clearly changing the way businesses engage their consumers. In response to Mother’s Day activity, Rich Lesperance, Heads of Online Marketing at Walgreens, commented: “Mobile is critical to our long-term goals of reaching customers and building relationships. Our shoppers are busy and on-the-go, and mobile is the gateway to provide them information, access and service when they need it. This is especially true for last minute shopping around important holidays like Mother’s Day.”
Over the course of the year, our collaboration with Digitas will look at a range of mobile trends to better understand how the advancement of mobile technology and smartphone adoption impacts consumer behavior. We look forward to sharing them with you.
1National Retail Federation survey, April 2010
Posted by: Torrence Boone, Managing Director, Google Agency Business Development
Click to Call
Google releasing some interesting measurement stats around click-to-call functionality. Good thing to remember here is that even though they are reporting on their own proprietary technology, the same affect will hold true for brands looking to incorporate CTC functionality on their own advertising programs and mobile sites.
- it’s a great option if you don’t yet have a mobile-optimized website;
- it captures consumers who are ready to act;
- it allows you to drive traffic to a strong call center, giving you a competitive edge over other online advertisers.
How to track QR codes in Google Analytics
Really helpful information on how to create and segment QR codes for campaigns. Only thing to remember here is that you must have a Google Analytics account in order to see the tracking. Read More.
