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According to a new study from Grey Matter Research (Phoenix, AZ), 44% of online American adults (that’s 35% of all American adults) use the Internet for religious purposes. During the last 6 months:

·         19% have visited the website of a church or other place of worship they’re currently attending

·         17% have visited the website of a church or place of worship they’re not attending

·         19% have visited a website designed to provide religious instruction or learning

·         17% read religion-oriented blogs once a month or more

·         14% have a pastor or other religious leader as a friend on Facebook or a similar social network site

·         11% have visited the website of a group or organization from a religious faith that’s different from their own

·         1 out of 10 have “Liked” a church or other place of worship on Facebook or a similar social network site

·         8% participate in religion-oriented discussions online (e.g. bulletin boards or forums) once a month or more

·         2% follow a church or other place of worship on Twitter

·         2% follow a pastor or other religious leader on Twitter

·         57% of online adults under age 35 use the Internet for religion, compared to 48% who are 35 to 49 years old, 36% who are 50 to 64, and 31% who are 65 or older.

Ron Sellers, president of Grey Matter Research, notes how much diversity there is in how the Internet is used for spiritual purposes:

No one type of religious use or method dominates Internet religion. Eight different activities we evaluated saw participation from between 8% and 19% of online adults, from blogs to church websites to social media. There’s tremendous diversity in who is using the Web for spirituality, but also in how it’s getting used for that purpose.

Read this in full.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you connect your brand’s content with searching people.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

New research by audience research and targeting company Crowd Science (@crowdscience) says Facebook brand pages have been ‘liked’ by only 9% of Internet users — trailing the number of ‘likes’ for all other Facebook elements.

No single type of Facebook feature has attracted ‘likes’ from more than 20% of all survey respondents in the study – one potential reason why Facebook is moving to its new Timeline layout. “These findings show that while users have been willing to ‘like’ Facebook items to some extent, they’re far from loving the idea,” says Sandra Marshall, VP of Research at Crowd Science.

Wall posts, pictures, and comments lead the ‘likes’ list, each having been ‘liked’ by 16% of respondents. These are followed by videos (12%), non-branded pages (10%), and branded pages (9%).

Those who have ‘liked’ branded pages tend to skew younger and spend more time on the Internet.

Read this in full.

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According to trendwatching.com (@trendwatching), “consumers will truly embrace brands that don't hide (or ignore) all their flaws.” It terms this trend “Flawsome”:

Consumers don't expect brands to be flawless. In fact, consumers will embrace brands that are FLAWSOME: brands that are still brilliant despite having flaws; even being flawed (and being open about it) can be awesome. Brands that show some empathy, generosity, humility, flexibility, maturity, humor, and (dare we say it) some character and humanity.

Two key drivers are fueling the FLAWSOME trend:

·         HUMAN BRANDS: Everything from disgust at business to the influence of online culture (with its honesty and immediacy), is driving consumers away from bland, boring brands in favor of brands with some personality.

·         TRANSPARENCY TRIUMPH: Consumers are benefiting from almost total and utter transparency (and thus are finding out about flaws anyway), as a result of the torrent of readily available reviews, leaks, and ratings.

Read this in full.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you identify and take advantage of trends that will advance your brand.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

As reported in the study Demystifying Social Media (#mcksocial) by Roxane Divol (@rdivol), David Edelman (@davidedelman), and Hugo Sarrazin (@HugoSarrazin) in McKinsey Quarterly (@McKQuarterly) (YouTube channel), brand owners seeking to make the most of social media must learn to “monitor,” “respond,” “amplify,” and “lead” on these sites.

·         Monitoring brand buzz is the core function of social media as it applies throughout the purchasing decision journey.

·         Responding to positive and negative comments is crucial for brand protection. “No response can be quick enough, and the ability to act rapidly requires the constant, proactive monitoring of social media—on weekends too. By responding rapidly, transparently, and honestly, companies can positively influence consumer sentiment and behavior.”

·         Amplification involves designing marketing activities to have an inherently social motivator that spurs broader engagement and sharing. It means offering experiences that customers will feel great about sharing, because they gain a badge of honor by publicizing content that piques the interest of others.

·         The fourth role of social media is to “lead” and encourage behavior change.

Read this in full.

Another study says the quality of customer service offered by US brands on social media strongly influences buying habits. The 2012 American Express Global Customer Service Barometer says the average person using social media to get customer service is subsequently willing to spend 21% extra on a brand if the service is “excellent.”

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you effectively market your brand, both online and offline.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Branding and Marketing/PR tabs.

Consumers who own tablets are adopting new communications habits, but are also making fewer visits to stores, according to multimarket research.

InMobi (@inmobi), the mobile advertising network, and Mobext (@mobext), the agency run by Havas, polled 8,400 people in India, France, South Korea, the UK, and US, finding 69% of tablet owners shopped via the devices in the 30 days before the survey.

·         Over 20% of tablet early adopters claim to have made less trips to brick-and-mortar stores after obtaining the device. A third of people yet to own such an appliance hope to buy one in the next 6 months.

·         61% of the existing tablet community says this channel plays a key role in building brand awareness when used at home, as do 58% for "active evaluation," and 63% for completing transactions.

·         58% of people with an iPad or similar offering access content - and especially rich media - in short bursts throughout the day, as do 56% of their smartphone counterparts.

·         72% watch TV and use their slate simultaneously; 20% spend more time in front of the television having bought a tablet.

·         51% of tablet owners say using it fills "dead time;" 49% share it with family members.

·         44% "would not want to be separated" from their tablet.

·         42% say tablets have "revolutionized" the way they communicate with friends and colleagues.

·         Tablet users shop more on their device than PC and smartphone users.

Read this in full.

Read the news release.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you publish your content for tablets.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

For all the technology we have, it doesn’t seem to be bringing us much happiness, according to a recent survey conducted by research firm Market Probe International and integrated marketing communications agency Euro RSCG Worldwide (@EuroRSCG).

This Digital Life (@prosumer_report) surveyed the opinions of 7,213 people in 19 markets and discovered that

·         55% of respondents believe technology is robbing us of our privacy, while more than half of Millennials worry that a family member or friend will post inappropriate personal information about them online.

·         42% of consumers believe it’s "too soon to tell" whether new technology will have a bad effect on society. 10% already believe the impact is negative.

·         60% say it’s "wrong" for people to share a lot of their personal experiences and feelings online.

·         58% agree people are "losing the ability to engage in civil debate."

·         1 in 3 Millennials say sites such as Facebook and Twitter make them "less satisfied" with their lives.

·         40% of consumers would be happier if they "owned less stuff."

The report says marketers will have to adapt their communications to suit this consumer mood, specifically in “helping people feel a greater sense of control and security.”

"People are looking to replace hyper-consumption and artificiality with a way of living that offers more meaning and more intangible rewards — even as they wish to maintain the modern conveniences upon which they've grown reliant."

Read this in full.

Read the report.

See larger image of above Infographic.

Also see JWT Singapore's (@JWT_Worldwide) news release, "Survey Shows Mounting Social Media Obligations Have Become a Stress and a Chore."

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you properly communicate your brand message.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

Simultaneous media use has become deeply embedded in the day-to-day habits of US tablet owners, with more than two-thirds regularly going online via the devices while they watch TV.

A new media trends report, State of the Media Spring 2012 (part 2), from market researcher Nielsen (@NielsenWire), says 45% of people who own devices such as Apple's market-leading iPad "multi-screen" at least once a day, while 69% do so on multiple occasions during the average week.

·         61% say they check their email on their tablet while watching TV and

·         47% access their social media profiles.

·         Over one in three (37%) look up information related to the TV program they’re watching on their tablets, while more than 1 in 5 (22%) say they look up coupons or deals related to a TV ad as they watch.

Read this in full.

The average American watches nearly 5 hours of video each day, 98% of which they watch on a traditional TV set, according to the Nielsen Cross-Platform Report. Although this ratio is less than it was just a few years ago, and continues to change, the fact remains that Americans are not turning off. They are shifting to new technologies and devices that make it easier for them to watch the video they want, whenever and wherever they want.

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According to ABI Research’s (@ABIresearch) new report, Connected Home Devices Market Data, about 21% of US homes, or about 27 million, have an Internet-ready TV, game console, Blu-ray player, or smart set-top box that’s connected (not just owned, but connected) to the Web. By far, a gaming console is the most popular route to the Web — it reaches 80% of connected homes.

Read this in full.

American teens are well-known for their consumption of online video content, but they're also among the biggest producers, according to the latest findings from the Pew Research Center’s (@pewresearch) Internet & American Life Project (@pewinternet). The project's latest report, Teens and Online Video, estimates 27% of Internet-using teens (12-17) record and upload video to the Internet.

"One major difference between now and 2006 is that online girls are just as likely these days to upload video as online boys," Pew notes, citing a similar study conducted 6 years ago.

The study also finds that 13% of Internet-using US teens stream live video to others on the Internet, and more than a third (37%) regularly participate in video chats utilizing applications such as Skype, Googletalk, or iChat. Girls are more likely than boys to have such chats.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you communicate your publishing content from screen to screen.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

On MediaPost’s (@MediaPost) Engage:GenY, Sharalyn Hartwell (@SharalynHartwel) executive director at Magid, writes, “Millennials [those born in the ‘80s and ‘90s]...aren’t kids anymore. In fact, according to our Millennial Life Stage Segmentation, only one in ten Millennials (11% of Millennials or approximately 10 million) isn’t an official adult (i.e., is under the age of 18). Approximately 13 million, or 15%, are college students and about 12 million, or 14%, are in flux — not working or married, but don’t have kids. The majority of Millennials are ‘grown-ups’ in the way society tends to define them — they are working (36% or 31 million) or parents (24% or 21 million).”

Millennials are no longer the youth population in this country, which means there’s a new generation of youth for marketers to know.

Presenting the Pluralist Generation. The oldest Plural is 14, turning 15 in 2012. The youngest is a newborn.

Plurals are America’s last generation to have a Caucasian majority, and based on immigration projections, they will also be America’s first generation to be pluralistic, or have no majority race. Their own ethnic composition is a catalyst for the overall ethnic transition in our country. In 2019, less than 50% of live births in this country will be Caucasian. In 2042, just 30 years from now, our entire population will be less than 50% Caucasian. Plurals are being raised in the environment of change and, in their 30s and early 40s, they will be the ones managing the transition into a truly pluralistic society.

Read this in full.

See the news release, "Magid Generational Strategies Reveals America's Newest Generation."

Actually the name of the next generation is still up for grabs. Reveries.com (@cool_news) says that, along with Pluralist, other suggested identifiers are Generation Wii, iGeneration, Gen Tech, Digital Natives, Net Gen, Multi Gen, Post Gen. You can vote on which one you think it should be.

Read this in full.

How will you prepare now for Pluralist consumers of the future? Write your comments below.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you sort through research statistics and what they mean to effectively communicate your brand's message.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

PaidContent’s (@paidContent) Laura Hazard Owen (@laurahazardowen) reports, “New stats from the Association of American Publishers (@AmericanPublish) show that kids’ and young adult ebook sales grew by triple digits in February, while adult ebook sales appeared to flatten. But the AAP notes that’s partly due to the fact that so many adults are reading YA ebooks like the Hunger Games trilogy.”

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Bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

The above Infographic is by Mobile Marketing Association (@MMAglobal).

More statistics are included in the article "Study: Most Use Phones To Get Info, Solve Problems." Also see the report, "Nielsen: Smartphone owners surpass 50 percent mark."