Have you ever given thought to the way you share the things you love with friends online? Or how you are being marketed to when on the internet? Sure cookies track the websites you visit but what about your social media presence? Or the way you use your smartphone?
From the things you talk about on Twitter, pin on Pinterest, or like on Facebook, savvy companies are taking notice of the growing digital space and seek to create personal relationships to foster brand awareness and loyalty not only through social media but also through and mobile apps on our smartphones.
Last week I attended Digital Summit in Atlanta for a day and a half long conference that was rich in content and discussed social media trends. Twitter, Pandora, Mail Chimp, DailyWorth, Coca Cola, AOL, The Huffington Post, YouTube, Google, Mashable, Turner Media Group, ESPN Mobile, and more were there to discuss the economy of the internet through a variety of sessions that made my tech savvy social media nerd heart go pitter patter. As a consumer, it was a fascinating peek into how much value brands are putting into our conversations online.
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| Incredible sponsors but even more amazing panels |
Have you ever clicked on a shopping site because you saw a friend’s Facebook update featuring a gorgeous photo of the item they just bought?
Peer influence flows through small groups and recommendations from friends drive sales because if you love something you tend to share it. Sharing through Facebook is more likely to drive a purchase than talk over the garden fence or a mention in a phone conversations.
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| Someone is more likely to buy something recommended by a friend via Facebook than in person, through an article mention, a print ad, or an online mention by someone you don’t know |
In his session, CrowdTap CEO, Brandon Evans, stated 70% of 1000 people surveyed said that they made a purchase after seeing a friend or family member’s suggestion on Facebook whereas only 61% of respondents said they purchased a product via word of mouth marketing from an in person recommendation.
Before you say that you’re not an influencer, you are!
Your peer influence comes from your close network of personal connections. If you have between 50-1000 Facebook friends, you’re considered a peer influencer. Those with under 50 friends are social laggards (sorry- Anatomy of Facebook word as taken by CrowdTap for their session, not mine!) while those with over 1,000 connections are viewed as social broadcasters. Social broadcasters tend to be well connected in terms of numbers but don’t have personal relationships with those in their networks.
Your peer influence comes from your close network of personal connections. If you have between 50-1000 Facebook friends, you’re considered a peer influencer. Those with under 50 friends are social laggards (sorry- Anatomy of Facebook word as taken by CrowdTap for their session, not mine!) while those with over 1,000 connections are viewed as social broadcasters. Social broadcasters tend to be well connected in terms of numbers but don’t have personal relationships with those in their networks.
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| The majority of us are peer influencers whether we believe it or not. |
Given the personal influence that we have online as well as in real life, the spending of ad dollars is shifting to become capitalize on personal connections. A company like Gilt Group makes it their business to capture information about a customer’s “digital lifestyle preferences.”
In her keynote, Gilt Group Co-Founder, Alexis Maybank, shared that Gilt sends out over 3000 different emails daily, all of which are customized according to a user’s preferences and past purchases. Sending targeted personal emails based on past purchases and browsing history has proven effective for Gilt. Gilt shoppers help turn over inventory 150 times a week and have generated half a billion dollars in revenue for products that tend to sell within the first 90 minutes that Gilt’s sales open. Incredible!
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| Gilt Group cofounder, Alexis Maybank |
Besides more personal outreach from companies, consumers will start to see an even bigger shift towards optimizing content for our smartphones. With iPads outselling laptops and the prevalence of smartphones, the market demands mobile content. Visually appealing well optimized mobile content is eye candy for our brain and what we will see more of in the near future.
What are some social media trends that you love? What do you hope will disappear in a blink of an eye? I have lots more about Digital Summit to share. This is only the tip of the iceberg of content!
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I attended Digital Summit as an AMD Tech Mom and while AMD provided a conference sponsorship for me to attend and the Acer Iconia Tab to use during my trip, all opinions are my own.
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Original post by Tech Savvy Mama
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