Dannielle Kawamotodkawamoto@emarketer.com

@DanniKawamoto

MAY 15, 2012

Social Networks: Stats, Challenges and Success Stories

Overview

Usage Trends

Facebook Dominates

Ad Revenues

The Measurement Challenge

Case Studies

Key Takeaways

Social Media Usage

Half of the US population will use social networks in 2012

Two-thirds of US internet users will use social networks in 2013

The US is a mature market with slowing user growth

Usage skews female and 18-59.

Asians, blacks and Hispanics are heavy users

Even in the older age ranges, at least 4 out of 5 US internet users use social media once a month

A majority of moms use the internet and social networks, particularly Facebook

Facebook Dominates

Facebook is on top, but visually-focused sites like Tumblr and Pinterest are attracting attention from marketers

90% of social network users are on Facebook

Mobile usability still needs to catch up

Social Network Ad Revenues

Worldwide social network ad revenues will approach $8 billion in 2012

The US will account for almost 50% of worldwide social network ad revenues

Facebook accounts for a majority of that money

Facebook is the dominant force in social network advertising

Facebook trends to watch in 2012:

Privacy. The FTC agreement doesn’t mean Facebook’s privacy challenges are over. There will be more attention than ever on how Facebook uses its members’ information.

Ad revenue. To keep ad revenues growing, the company will spend more time evangelizing the benefits of buying ads to support a Facebook marketing presence.

Mobile. Facebook needs to make its mobile platform even better to attract international audiences. And mobile ads are long overdue.

Twitter. Will see US ad revenues nearly double from 2012 to 2014, rising from $234 million to a projected $448 million.

LinkedIn. US ad revenues will grow 68% over the next three years, increasing from $145 million to $243 million.

Other social networks. Ad spending on other networks, which include the fast-growing Google+, will double from $354 million in 2012 to $700 million in 2014.

Social games. Will see 36% growth in ad revenues, increasing from $248 million in 2012 to $336 million in 2014, with FarmVille creator Zynga the leader in this space.

Social apps. Revenues from paid ads appearing in social apps and widgets will increase 69% from 2012 to 2014, rising from $68 million to $115 million.

But growth among other networks and venues should not be underestimated

Social Media Measurement

The state of social media measurement

Companies say measurement is not very effective. Even though there are many ways to measure, concrete success metrics remain elusive.

Fan count is still a top metric. 60% of marketers use friends, followers or “likes” as a success measure (Chief Marketer, 2011).

The ROI question is unanswered. Return on investment is a top challenge, making budgeting difficult.

Marketers are drowning in metrics. This has led to paralysis by data overload.

Marketers are more apt to count fans and ‘likes’ than sales

Marketers do not have consistent ways of measuring social media success

Few tools are fully integrated and many use none

Getting to the metrics that matter

Social media measurement has evolved, but still doesn’t satisfy most marketers. The effectiveness question remains top of mind.

Measurement and budget go hand in hand. Marketers need adequate metrics to be able to determine budget allocations.

Marketers are still too reliant on counting what is easy to measure. Counting fans and followers is fine as a basic benchmark metric, but marketers must strive to understand what those hand-raisers do for them.

How to get to the metrics that matter

Measure (something!)

Know your business goals

Don’t wait for the silver bullet

success metric

Look at more than branding

results

Be a leader in the next phase of social media measurement.

Three goals for increasing measurement sophistication in 2012

It’s not the fans, it’s what you do with them. Understand who your brand followers are and how influential they can be on your behalf.

Go beyond brand metrics. The more marketers can work toward understanding how social media impacts actual business, the better.

Integrate social analytics and marketing analytics. Understand how social media can make other media spending more efficient, and how online buzz relates to overall marketing performance.

Case Studies

Case study: Adobe Photoshop engages its loyal fans to share the love

July 2009: 240,000 fans of Facebook page, without any active involvement.

Product management team took over the page and asked fans what they wanted.

The team posts questions, tips and tutorials, and video demonstrations five times a week.

“I think about it as if I’m designing the product. I think about the user. Is this piece of content we’re about to share useful to them?”—Maria Yap, Adobe’s director of product management

What Photoshop achieved:

February 2010: 500,000 “likes”

October 2010: 1 million “likes”

December 2010: 1.5 million “likes”

July 2011: 2.6 million “likes”

“You’re not making the community—you’re part of it.”—Maria Yap

Case study: Clarisonic builds support for a cause via Facebook

Clarisonic, a skincare company, partnered with nonprofit Look Good…Feel Better in May 2010.

“Like” campaign: Donated $1 for every new “like” during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, October 2010.

Promotion: social networks, email blasts, Facebook ads, and company website and blog.

The campaign led to increases in several key Facebook metrics

Facebook campaign netted $30K in donations

Clarisonic’s Facebook Page now has more than 119,000 fans

Will leverage relationships with celebs like “Black Swan” star Mila Kunis for Look Good…Feel Better

What Clarisonic achieved:

Case Study: Discovery manages a network of pages

Nearly 75 Facebook pages for its networks and TV shows.

Managed by a social media team of eight. The social media team works directly with the

network and show teams and meets regularly to discuss best practices.

Posts include video clips, chats with show talent, news articles and cross-page promotions.

What Discovery achieved:

As of July 2011, Discovery had 39.7 million “likes” across all its pages, adding 500,000 a week.

“MythBusters” is Discovery’s largest page, with 4.4 million “likes,” up from 808,000 in July 2010.

Facebook chat with Buddy Valastro from “Cake Boss” had over 5,000 comments in 60 minutes.

“Each network retains its own voice, priorities and personality, but you get all the benefits of a central team.”—Gayle Weiswasser, Discovery’s VP of social media communications

Key Takeaways

Best practices for marketers

Let fans create the community. Rather than force interactions among fans, let the community grow and bond organically.

Know what topics and issues are important to your customers. Learn from fans’ interactions and mesh offline behaviors with online promotions.

Short-term promos need long-range planning. Discounts can help buy “likes,” but that is only the start of the brand relationship.

Link and integrate Facebook pages to maximize interactions. A network of branded pages can be stronger than the sum of its parts.

Thank you!

Dannielle KawamotoeMarketer

dkawamoto@emarketer.com

@DanniKawamoto