June 2007
← May 2007 | Research Blog Home | July 2007 →
Digital "uploaders," by their very nature, have the tools and the reach necessary to be extreme influencers, according to a study released this month by WOMMA member company Agency.com and research partners Brand Genetics and Hall & Partners. The study defines uploaders as internet users who actively post content and reviews to social networking sites. While only 8% of U.K. internet users fall into this category, Agency.com deems uploaders a powerful resource for brands because their voices can be heard by many people around the world.
According to the study, uploaders are motivated to share content because they want to help their communities; they believe that sharing experiences from real people brings everyone closer to the truth about brands, products, and services. Uploaders, according to Agency.com, are twice as likely as average internet users to be category opinion leaders. They also belong to twice as many offline clubs, communities, and societies as other internet users and belong to four times as many online communities.
According to Agency.com, inviting uploaders to become brand advisors and to weigh in on marketing or product innovation increases their Net Promoter Score by 19 points.
Learn more (Press Release)
Learn more (Brand Republic)
Learn more (MediaPost)
Think the online video craze has reached its peak? Think again. Weekly online video viewing has grown 18% from 2006, and daily use of online video rose 56% in the same period, according to a March 2007 survey from Magid Media Futures.
According to the survey, over 30% of Americans turn to online video to watch news stories -- the highest ranked category of videos. Jokes/bloopers, weather, and movie previews were tied for the second most popular categories, followed by music videos and user-generated content.
Other findings:
* 52% of 12- to 64-year-old internet users watch online videos weekly -- up 18% from 2006.
* 80% of 18- to 24-year-old male internet users watch online videos at least once per week, and 35% watch on a daily basis.
* 53% of 18- to 24-year-old female internet users watch online videos weekly.
* 39% of 55- to 64-year-old female internet users watch online video weekly -- the lowest rate of viewership among the age groups surveyed.
Learn more
IT decision-makers spend an average of 3.5 hours per week participating in social media, so it's no surprise that a May survey found that two-thirds of IT executives say social media and user-generated content informs their purchase decisions. The survey, which was conducted by ITtoolbox and PJA Advertising + Marketing, also found that three-quarters of IT execs say social media and user-generated content has made their lives more efficient.
Social media and user-generated content garner as much or more attention from IT executives as editorial or vendor media, according to the survey. While vendor websites remain the most-referenced resource for IT decision-makers, social media and user-generated content follow close behind.
Other findings:
* 53% of IT executives turn to social media and user-generated content for product purchase information because it provides access to objective feedback from multiple sources.
* 24% turn to this content because it offers the opportunity to converse with peers.
* 12% turn to this content because it offers more accurate information related to news and trends.
* 11% turn to this content because it provides information that allows them to stay ahead of the competition.
Learn more (ITToolbox)
Learn more (BtoB Online)
While the majority of podcast listeners are young, male college graduates, that doesn't mean 23-year-old degree-holding dudes are the only ones downloading. According to an October 2006 comScore study, sponsored by Ad Infuse, half of all podcast listeners are between ages 35 and 54. This finding, according to an eMarketer article, titled "Podcast User Demographics," should remind marketers not to think of podcast listeners as a "single composite entity."
According to comScore, podcast consumption increases with both income and education. For example, individuals in households making at least $100,000 annually are 28% more likely than the average internet user to download podcasts, and college graduates are 25% more likely. According to Nick Tabbal, comScore's SVP of media and entertainment solutions, this correlation can be attributed to the fact that "many of the top podcasts are in the educational and business genres."
Other findings:
* 63% of podcast listeners are male, and 37% are female.
* 29% of podcast listeners are aged 18 to 24, 14% are aged 25 to 34, 27% are aged 35 to 44, and 23% are aged 45 to 54.
* 28% of podcast listeners have a high school education, 34% have some college or an associate's degree, and 37% have a college or graduate degree.
Learn more (eMarketer)
Learn more (Media Post)
While some online shoppers are goal-oriented, a May Gartner study indicates that an equal or larger pool of online shoppers crave a social experience -- even if they are shopping from the comfort of their computer desk. Social shoppers seek pleasant experiences and emotional connections to other shoppers, the research report reveals. The study states that these shoppers' needs can be met by incorporating things like consumer-generated reviews, bulletin boards, blogs, or shared video into shopping sites.
Companies that might otherwise shy away from incorporating these platforms on their sites might be swayed by the study, which indicates that social shopping often leads to unplanned purchases prompted by social features. Marketers can cozy up to social shoppers, according to Gartner, by participating in community-based online environments that "deliver an integrated social experience."
Learn more (MarketingVOX)
Learn more (AdWeek)
Business professionals have joined the stampede to social networking sites, with 65% signing up and logging in, according to a recent survey from the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp). A whopping 47.4% claim they use social networks for professional purposes, and 40.8% fess up to using them in their personal lives to connect to friends and family.
According to i4cp, business professionals turn to LinkedIn as their social network of choice, followed by Yahoo! 360 and MySpace.
Other findings:
* 52% of business professionals who use social networks within their organizations do so to connect with internal staff members and remote workers.
* 47% use social networks to connect with potential clients and show off their skills.
* 35% turn to social networks for their job hunts.
* 55% use social networks to share best practices with co-workers, and 49% to get answers to questions they are facing.
Learn more (Marketing Charts)
Learn more (MarketingVOX)
Savvy online shoppers can peruse user reviews in a variety of ways, from reading message boards and doing blog searches to utilizing ratings and reviews functions on retail sites. Now, though, shoppers are getting choosey about the format of those reviews. Over one-third of internet users, for instance, indicate that adding video reviews would improve their preferred method of product research, according to research commissioned by WOMMA member company ExpoTV.
According to the research, which was conducted by research company Socratic Technologies, seven out of 10 internet users rated video reviews, specifically ExpoTV's Videopinions, an "easy source of information to utilize."
This study confirmed ExpoTV CEO Daphne Kwon's standing belief that video has a place in word of mouth marketing's future. "Consumer-generated video product reviews combine the best of all worlds by marrying the incredible power of the visual medium to convey vast amounts of information quickly with the authenticity of a word of mouth experience," Kwon said.
Learn more (Business Wire)
Learn more (Adotas)
Based on the mass proliferation of social networks -- from "mega mall" sites like MySpace to targeted niche sites -- eMarketer recently upped its projection of the U.S. advertising dollars that will be spent on social networking sites in 2007 to $900 million from $865 million.
According to a May eMarketer article, "The Crowded World of Social Networks," the company predicts that ad spending on social networking sites will increase to $1.3 billion in 2008 and will reach $2.5 billion by 2011 if current trends persist. The article also notes that MySpace and Facebook account for 72% of all U.S. revenues from social networks, and that as recently as February 2007 MySpace was rated the top U.S. site, with 5.93% market share.
eMarketer also raised its predictions for spending outside the United States to $335 million from $260 million, and estimates that the international market will spend $1.1 billion in 2011.
Learn more
This is the last time you'll receive WOM Research as a stand-alone newsletter. But don't fret. We're rolling all of our great word of mouth marketing research content into our Womnibus Weekly newsletter. This way, you get everything about word of mouth marketing -- INCLUDING research -- delivered to your inbox in one easy-to-read weekly newsletter. Womnibus Weekly is now your one-stop shop for all things word of mouth.
Don't forget to subscribe to WOMMA's Womnibus Weekly newsletter so that you can continue to get your weekly word of mouth marketing fix.
Subscribe now:
http://www.womma.org/newsletters/
When it comes to making purchase decisions, BtoB business executives are most influenced by word of mouth, according to a research report that was released last month. Sponsored by WOMMA member company Jack Morton Worldwide and conducted by WOMMA member company Keller Fay Group, the report shows that executives credit word of mouth with more than twice the influence of advertising. The research also suggests that business executives are extremely influential individuals because they are more likely to discuss and recommend brands than the general public.
Other findings:
* 50% of executives say they are highly likely to buy a product or service based on word of mouth.
* 49% pass the information they hear along to others.
* 75% say word of mouth occurs face-to-face, and 60% of word of mouth conversations include advice to buy, try, or consider a brand.
* 86% make recommendations based on personal experience.
Learn more (Jack Morton Worldwide)
Learn more (Promo Magazine)
In a recent global study conducted by WOMMA member company Weber Shandwick, 45% of consumers were identified as advocates. A top 9% of advocates were dubbed "high-intensity advocates," identified based on their ability to more actively influence others and their quick speed-to-action time. High-intensity advocates are critical to reach, according to the research, because of their enthusiasm for action. This segment, Weber Shandwick says, is also more strongly influenced by media than non-advocates.
"Badvocates" -- advocates' negative counterparts -- are also extremely active and are quick to start the word of mouth wheels turning. According to the research, 76% of consumers classified as badvocates say they express their displeasure in a product or service within one week of experiencing dissatisfaction.
For the purposes of this Weber Shandwick survey, the term "advocate" included consumers who "take action to support or detract from issues, causes, companies, and products, such as making recommendations, sending a letter to a company or elected official, or organizing a protest or boycott."
Learn more
Millennials, people ages 13-24, spread rapid-fire word of mouth, especially when it comes to things they like, according to the "State of the Media Democracy," a research report commissioned by Deloitte and Touche and conducted by the Harrison Group. Part of the reason Millennials are so adept at spreading information, according to the report, is that they have large lists of people to whom they send text and instant messages. Millennials, on average, have 37 people on their friends lists, compared with an average of 17 among all age groups.
Apart from spreading the word, Millennials are also extremely receptive to word of mouth prompts. According to the research, the majority of Millennials say that word of mouth is the main reason they visit websites. And if they find a website they visit WOM-worthy, Millennials will tell an average of 18 people, compared to the average 10 people among all age groups.
Other findings:
* 71% of Millennials say they watch or read online content created by others.
* 51% say they read/post on message boards.
* 62% say they socialize online.
* 55% say they read blogs.
* 35% say they maintain their own blog.
Learn more (eMarketer)
Learn more (Deloitte)
← May 2007 | Research Blog Home | July 2007 →
This is old content! The Research Blog has been retired. For the new stuff, visit 
