The above Infographic and chart are by The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life (@pewforum). See the corresponding article, “Faith on the Hill: The Religious Composition of the 113th Congress.”
Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you analyze research information and understand the changing marketplace.
Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.
And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.
A new study, Hispanic America: Faith, Values & Priorities, reveals Hispanic-Americans’ attitudes about faith, family, and societal issues and gives insights into how their views will impact the political, social and economic climate in the US.
The study, conducted by Barna Group (@barnagroup) in partnership with American Bible Society (@americanbible), the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (@nhclc), and OneHope (@FollowOneHope), finds that:
· 7 out of 10 Hispanic-Americans (69%) think public schools should teach the values found in the Bible
· 54% identify themselves first as Hispanic or Latino before American, Catholic or Christian
· Hispanic-Americans are "very concerned" about school dropout rates (58%), immigration (53%), unemployment (57%), healthcare (54%) and housing (52%)
· 42% say the Bible influences their views of political and social issues; however, four out of 10 Hispanics (43%) read the Bible less than once a year
· Hispanics believe the number one way they contribute to American society is through their commitment to family
· 78% say the traditional family is the main building block of a healthy community
· When faced with a moral or ethical choice, approximately one-fourth (22%) of those surveyed make choices based on principles or standards they believe in say they should do; those standards were most commonly defined by their parents or the Bible
· 97% of those surveyed indicated they are proud of their Hispanic heritage
By 2050, it’s predicted there will be no ethnic or racial majority in the US and Hispanics are projected to make up 25% to 30% of the population. Thus, Barna Group says, the impact of beliefs and behaviors of Hispanic-Americans is becoming increasingly significant.
Coinciding with the release of the report, Barna Group announced the creation of its Hispanic division.
In related news, Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) magazine is preparing to launch its publication in Spanish, titled Cristianismo Hoy, with the March/April 2013 issue.
Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you analyze research information and understand the changing marketplace.
Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.
And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.
A study by The Boston Consulting Group (@BCGPerspectives) says young consumers in the US are developing distinct attitudes and habits, providing brand owners with a chance to build long term loyalty. “The Millennial generation (16-34 year olds) is bigger than the Boomer generation (47-65 year olds) and growing in influence.”
Although the youngest members of the Millennial generation are still economically dependent on Mom and Dad, older Millennials are beginning to enter their peak spending years. While they are not yet set in their ways, they are forming preferences, exhibiting tendencies, and influencing one another’s opinions and behaviors. This generation engages with brands, channels, and service models in new ways limited only by the rate of technological advancement and innovation.
· US Millennials are extremely comfortable with technology....They tend to own multiple devices such as smartphones, tablets, and gaming systems.
· US Millennials are much more likely to multitask while online, constantly moving across platforms — mobile, social, PC, and gaming.
· Both groups spend roughly the same amount of time online, but Millennials are more likely to use the Internet as a platform to broadcast their thoughts and experiences and to contribute user-generated content. They are far more engaged in activities such as rating products and services (60% versus 46% of non-Millennials) and uploading videos, images, and blog entries to the Web (60% versus 29%).
· US Millennials spend less time reading printed books and watching TV. Only 26% watch TV for 20 hours or more per week (compared with 49% of non-Millennials), and when they do watch, they’re more likely to do so on their computers through services such as Hulu (42% versus 18%).
· US Millennials are engaged in consuming and influencing; a generation that embraces business and government and believes that such institutions can bring about global change, one that is generally optimistic, and one that has often-unexpected attitudes and behaviors.
· US Millennials are all about instant gratification. They put a premium on speed, ease, efficiency, and convenience in all their transactions.
· For this generation, the definition of “expert” — a person with the credibility to recommend brands, products, and services — has shifted from someone with professional or academic credentials to potentially anyone with firsthand experience, ideally a peer or close friend.
· US Millennials use technology to connect with a greater number of people, more frequently, and in real time.
· This desire for connection and shared experience also extends offline. Millennials are much more likely than non-Millennials to engage in group activities — especially with people outside their immediate family.
Millennials believe that working for causes is an integral part of life, and they are drawn to big issues.
Also see our previous blogposts, "US Consumer Habits Evolving," “Young ‘Millennials’ Losing Faith in Record Numbers,” and "Millennials Aren't Kids Anymore; Plurals Are."
Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you analyze consumer research to better understand your market.
Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.
And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Research tab.
The above Chart Of The Day (@chartoftheday) depicts a portion of the Pew Research Group’s (@pewinternet) survey of people’s e-reading habits. The most popular way for people under 30 to read ebooks is on their desktop and laptop computers, surpassing e-readers, smartphones, and tablets.
Among the survey’s other findings:
· 83% of Americans between the ages of 16 and 29 read a book in the past year. Some 75% read a print book, 19% read an ebook, and 11% listened to an audiobook.
· Overall, 47% of younger Americans read long-form e-content such as books, magazines, or newspapers. E-content readers under age 30 are more likely than older e-content readers to say they’re reading more these days due to the availability of e-content (40% vs. 28%).
· 60% of Americans under age 30 used the library in the past year. Some 46% used the library for research, 38% borrowed books (print books, audiobooks, or ebooks), and 23% borrowed newspapers, magazines, or journals.
· Many of these young readers don’t know they can borrow an ebook from a library, and a majority of them express the wish they could do so on pre-loaded e-readers. Some 10% of the ebook readers in this group have borrowed an ebook from a library and, among those who have not borrowed an ebook, 52% said they were unaware they could do so. About 58% of those under age 30 who don’t currently borrow ebooks from libraries say they would be “very” or “somewhat” likely to borrow pre-loaded e-readers if their library offered that service.
Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you plan your ebook publishing and marketing strategy.
Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.
And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.
Apple, Walmart, Google, Target, and Microsoft are the brands which US shoppers regard as being the most "inspiring."
The consultancy Performance Inspired (@P_inspired) asked 2,175 adults to name the companies they perceived as meeting this criteria.
"Apple is the most inspiring again this year because it has become a part of the consumer's personal identity," said Terry Barber, chief inspiration officer for Performance Inspired.
The main terms associated with Apple include "innovative," "fun," and the idea that it lets customers be more "creative.”
Walmart is praised for its low prices, diverse range of products, and friendly atmosphere. Google is seen as "informative," "good," and "nice."
Target is lauded for the contribution it makes to the local communities it serves. Microsoft is valued for its products at work.
Other brands in the top 25 are Amazon, Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Macy’s, Costco, Nike, Disney, Kohl’s, Ford, The Home Depot, TOMS, jcpenney, Whole Foods Market, Best Buy, Johnson & Johnson, Goodwill, Trader Joe’s, and Pepsi.
"Consumers are not only feeling inspired by certain businesses, but are acting inspired by spending more with these companies while evangelizing to others about their inspiring experience," says Barber.
How inspiring to your consumers is your brand?
Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you strategically communicate your brand message.
Learn about online marketing with SomersaultSocial.
Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.
Be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.
Digital Book World (@DigiBookWorld) reports on new research from Bowker (@Bowker & @DiscoverBowker) that says about 235,000 titles were self-published in the US in 2011; 87,000 of them were ebooks.
While most self-published titles are still print books (some 63%), the ebook category is growing faster. Ebook self-publishing production is up 129% since 2006, versus a gain of 33% for print over the same period.
A handful of larger players dominate the ebook self-publishing market, according to the report. Author Solutions (47,094 titles, now owned by Penguin) and Smashwords (40,608 titles) led the way but Lulu wasn’t far behind (38,005). Outside of these three and Amazon’s CreateSpace, which dominates the print side of self-publishing, no other company has more than 10% market-share.
Also, paidContent’s (@paidContent) coverage, “Bowker: Number of self-published books up 287% since 2006,” says “43% of all print books published in the US in 2011 were self-published.”
See our previous blogposts
· “The Golden Age of Self-Publishing is Driving Title Growth”
· “Ebooks Projected to Comprise 50% of US Trade Book Market By 2016”
· “Extensive New Study: The Rise of E-reading”
On a related note, IndieReader’s (@IndieReader) article, “Are Self-Pubbed Authors Killing the Publishing Industry?” by Melissa Foster (@Melissa_Foster) says, “Self-published authors have created a devaluing of the written word, and, some of them are scrambling to see how low they can go to get noticed.”
And now Publishers Weekly (@PublishersWkly) reports that Random House and Penquin are in merger talks.
Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you take advantage of today's technology to publish and market your content.
Learn about online marketing with SomersaultSocial.
Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.
Be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Publishers tab, which includes links to self-publishing publishers.
Presented by: OnlineDegrees.org
Business Insider (@businessinsider) and Business Insider SAI’s (@SAI) Henry Blodget (@hblodget) and Alex Cocotas (@acocotas) assembled the above presentation on the State Of The Internet: 2012. Notice the predicted continued rise in mobile content consumption, such as ebooks on smartphones and tablets. How should this affect your publishing strategy?
Also see our previous blogposts, “Study: Evangelicals Use Technology in Their Faith Practice,” “The Social Habit 2012 Study,” and “2012 American Media Mom.”
Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you think through your mobile content effectiveness.
Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.
And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.
Above Infographic created by: HackCollege (@hackcollege)
