A new study by senior analyst Gregory Lyons at digital marketing firm iCrossing predicts that Facebook will reach one billion users (14% of the world’s population) in August 2012, and much of this growth will be fueled by developing countries such as India and Brazil. Also check out this week’s #RLTM Scoreboard with the latest social networking stats. Read →
Social media now accounts for 22% of all the time that we spend online. So how did we spend that time in 2011? And how will that change in the next year? The top stories to watch in 2012 include the intersection of social, local and mobile, the changing role of marketers, privacy issues, and the elusive social media ROI… Read →
Social media now accounts for 22% of all the time that we spend online. So how did we spend that time in 2011? And how will that change in the next year? The top stories on social media in 2011 include the Arab Spring, Weinergate and social TV… Read →
A study published this January by the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene examined the progression of the cholera epidemic in Haiti following the earthquake in 2010. Looking at Twitter updates and online news websites, the study revealed that the disease outbreak could be reliably tracked – in realtime – through social media. Read →
Which regular TV shows (not special-event shows) garnered the most social media buzz from September through December 2011? Advertising Age partnered with social-media monitoring firm Trendrr to look at the social chatter from America’s top TV shows on both broadcast and cable networks. Read →
Pinterest has been seeing a lot of buzz lately, catching the attention of brands such as Etsy, Lands End and Real Simple and others. The service is a virtual pinboard: users can create boards around different themes or topics and then pin images to those boards. Other users can follow boards, comment on pinned images or re-pin them to their own boards. It’s highly addictive, fun and visually engaging.
Essentially, Pinterest is about visual content curation. It’s the perfect place to tell an engaging story and get people involved in that story. Which is why it’s a great platform for cause marketers. Read →
This week at CES the results of a six-month partnership between Mercedes-Benz and Facebook will be revealed: cars with built-in Facebook via an in-vehicle telematics system. The social network’s features will be modified to make accessing Facebook no less distracting than the average GPS/navigation system, and will make it easier for drivers to find friends and businesses nearby. Read →
A new study from Conversocial examines consumer expectations and attitudes around brand interactions on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms. Do consumers truly expect two-way communication? If so, are brands listening and responding – and what happens when they don’t? Read →
On January 1st, Pizza Hut launched a Facebook contest entitled “Top This!” which encourages fans to create their own rendition of the featured song, upload it as video, and potentially be featured in Pizza Hut’s pre-game Super Bowl ad. Read →
Photo-sharing app Instagram added an impressive 6 million users in about two months, reaching a total of 15 million users in December 2011. Read more about Instagram and check out the latest social networking stats on the #RLTM Scoreboard. Read →