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Consumers’ reliance on word-of-mouth in the decision-making process – either from people they know or online consumers they don’t – has increased significantly.

According to Nielsen’s (@NielsenWire) latest Global Trust in Advertising report, which surveyed more than 28,000 Internet respondents in 56 countries:

·         92% of consumers around the world say they trust earned media, such as recommendations from friends and family, above all other forms of advertising — an increase of 18% since 2007.

·         70% trust online consumer reviews, an increase of 15% in 4 years.

·         58% (nearly 6-in-10) trust messages found on company websites.

·         Half trust email messages that they signed up to receive.

·         4-in-10 respondents rely on ads served alongside search engine results.

·         36% trust online video advertisements.

·         One-third believe the messages in online banner ads — an increase of 27% since 2007.

·         Sponsored ads on social networks, a new format included in the 2011 Nielsen survey, are credible among 36% of global respondents.

·         Display ads (video or banner) on mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones are trusted by one-third of global respondents, which is slightly higher than the reported consumer trust level of text ads on mobile phones (29%). While the reported consumer trust level in mobile phone advertising is still low, it increased 61% since 2007 and 21% since 2009.

·         When it comes to traditional paid media, while nearly half of consumers around the world say they trust television (47%), magazine (47%), and newspaper ads (46%), confidence declined by 24%, 20%, and 25%, respectively, between 2009 and 2011.

Read this in full.

Interestingly (perhaps confusingly), the 92% statistic above contrasts with April 2012 survey results from Ipsos (@ipsosnewspolls & @ipsosna), which finds that, while consumers worldwide may turn to their friends for advice on purchases, only 38% will trust a product or a service more because friends recommend it. Hmmmmmmm!

Possibly our previous blogpost, "Matching the Medium with the Message in Word-of-Mouth Marketing," might shed some light on the confusion.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you communicate your brand’s message through owned media, consigned media, earned media, and paid media.

Be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard (and tell others about it, too).

An article on Marketing Charts (@marketingcharts) says QR Code scans by consumers were up 157% in Q1 2012 over Q1 2011, according to a report by Scanlife (@ScanLife), the mobile barcode solution provider.

Read this in full.

That’s good news for the town of Monmouth (Wikipedia entry) in Wales (pop. 8,877) which recently embarked on the "Monmouthpedia" (@Monmouthpedia) project — a community-wide 6-month project to affix QR codes to all its landmarks, organizations, and even people, and write Wikipedia entries on each of them, which the codes link to. Adweek (@Adweek) says:

The idea came from a TEDx talk in Bristol, where a Wikipedia editor suggested that Wikimedia's UK chapter should "do a whole town" using QR codes. Residents and businesses in Monmouth stepped up, did all the legwork (there are more than 1,000 QR codes in total), and introduced Monmouthpedia this weekend.

A Wikimedia blog entry says:

Lest you think this is a passing interest, the town of Monmouth is in it for the long haul. Many of the QRpedia codes are printed on ceramic plaques that should last for decades. The information in articles is backed by the Wikipedia community and will be continually improved and expanded. Physical guides and maps will become outdated, but the Wikipedia articles will always be able to be updated. This potential for on-site access to up-to-date information in any language is what makes the Monmouthpedia model so exciting.

A simple concept and coordinated effort put this Welsh community on the social media map. Does this spark any dreams you may have for your own brand?

Read the Wikimedia blog entry in full.

Read the Adweek article in full.

Read coverage by psfk (@psfk), by Amanda Kooser (@akooser) for cnet, and by Joseph Volpe (@jrvolpe) for engadget.

Also see our previous blogpost, "Small Swiss Village Hits it Big with Facebook Fans."

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategize unique promotions for your brand.

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

The above Infographic is by BzzAgent (@BzzAgent). Enlarge it.

At the 21st Annual Minitex ILL Conference in Minnesota, the director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project (@pewinternet), Lee Rainie (@lrainie), gave the keynote presentation on "Learning in the Digital Age: Where Libraries Fit In."

He discussed the way people use ebook readers and tablet computers, and how those devices are fitting into users' digital lives. His presentation below describes how 3 revolutions in digital technology – in broadband, mobile connectivity, and social media – have created a new social operating system that he calls "networked individualism." And he used the Project's latest findings to help describe how librarians can serve the new educational needs of networked individuals.

How does this new way of learning among your consumers impact your publishing agenda? Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you sort it all out.

And be sure to bookmark, use daily, and tell others about the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

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.

The above graphic showing how complicated social media marketing can be is from Buddy Media (@BuddyMedia), announcing a new suite of measurement tools.

Contact Somersault to help you strategically plan and execute effective social media marketing.

Be sure to bookmark and use daily our (@smrsault) online dashboard, SomersaultNOW.

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.

Be sure to LIKE our (@smrsault) Facebook page.

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.

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.

Read this in full.

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.