Key Findings: December 2012
Study Finds Good Content Fuels Effective Social Media Strategies for B2B Audiences
In a study of analytics from more than 300 companies, Compendium found that effectively engaging B2B audiences requires marketers to tap the power of social media marketing by creating content that makes their business relevant and helpful. In addition, that content should be pollinated across multiple channels to get the most bang for your buck. For example, promoting a company’s blog(s) on social networks will boost ROI. Then, if it is truly helpful, followers are more likely to share your content with their followers, resulting in more exposure for you. The report also reminds B2B marketers that blog content is permanent while social content is not. So, for optimum effectiveness and efficiency, include all of your best content in blog posts. This will also boost SEO. (Compendium.com)
Marketers See Branding Potential in Popular Social Media App Instagram
Nearly 1.3 million photos and images of Superstorm Sandy were uploaded and shared through the mobile app Instagram in the days following the storm’s landfall. According to observers, that marks it as the biggest single event captured by Instagram users yet. (Some 85,000 shared images related to Super Bowl KLVI via Instagram in February formerly held that accolade.) What makes this activity different from well established social media sharing platforms of Facebook and Twitter, Instagram, like social networking site Pinterest, primarily focuses on photos and images, not text. About 100 million Instagram users capture photos with smartphones, touch them up with filters and share them immediately with their Instagram followers in real time. One marketing executive noted, “Images are at the root of much of brand advertising, so marketers are excited about the potential of Instagram to help them deliver strong brand images in a fast-moving social environment.” (Houston Chronicle)
Report Cites How Information Technology is Radically Reshaping the Energy Industry
According to a recent report by Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions, an energy revolution is taking place globally and in the U.S. thanks to cutting-edge information technology that is transforming energy companies into the most sophisticated companies in the world. Thanks to sometimes stunning breakthroughs and application of this technology, not only is innovation changing the game for exploration, it is also enabling energy management systems and efforts to significantly impact energy demand, while the renewable and alternative energy markets evolves at a record pace. For example, the renewable energy market is expected to reach $800 billion by 2015 and to generate 17% of the world’s electricity by 2030. Yet, the economic, environmental and geopolitical consequences of this technology transformation is where the real change is taking place and dramatically reshaping the global energy map beyond anything anyone could have predicted. North America’s massive shale gas and oil reserves, combined with the technological innovations that unlock their potential, are inspiring many to consider the prospect of energy independence for the United States in the not too distant future.
Hospitals Turn to the Healing Power of Gardens
The idea that fresh air, dappled sunlight and the greenery of a garden can be good for what ails us has its roots in ancient tradition and common sense. However, this concept was largely dismissed as peripheral to medical treatment for much of the 20th century. Today, gardens are increasingly being featured in the design of most new hospitals, according to the American Society of Landscape Architects. In a recent survey of 100 directors and architects of assisted-living residences, 82 percent agreed that “the design of outdoor space should be one of the most important considerations in the design.” But can gardens, in fact, promote healing? “Yes they can,” says the findings of a much cited study published in 1984 in the journal Science by environmental psychologist Roger Ulrich, now at Texas A&M University. He was the first to use the standards of modern medical research to demonstrate that gazing at a garden can sometimes speed healing from surgery, infections and other ailments. Ulrich found that patients of all ages seek relaxation and restoration from mental and emotional fatigue. “Tree-bordered vistas of fountains or other water features, and lush, multilayered greenery of mature trees and flowering plants appealed most.” What patients can do in the garden is as important as what they see, Ulrich and other researchers have found. Patients enjoy strolling along tree-lined paths, sitting in the sun or shade and resting near naturalistic landscaping that lures birds, squirrels and other wildlife. One finding surprised those studying hospital gardens. Stressed hospital employees accounted for as many visits to hospital gardens as stressed patients. One hospital staffer admitted she comes to sit amid the trees of a rooftop garden daily to relax and meditate. “It’s a big mental, emotional lift,” she said. (Nature that Nurtures)
Bullets
Business to Business
- Compared to 2011, nearly 50% more B2Bs now identify Social Media as having the most impact on lead generation. (Webmarketing123.com)
- Blog articles that include infographics generate an average of 178% more inbound links and 72% more views than all other posts. (Hubspot)
- The ideal social message length matters! 11-15 words up to 25 for Twitter and 16-25 or less for LinkedIn. (Compendium.com)
- 75.4% of the U.S. workforce will be mobile by 2013. (IDC)
- The top goals of marketers using content marketing are: brand awareness (69%), customer acquisition (68%), lead generation (67%) and customer retention/loyalty (62%). (Mediabistro.com)
- Most marketers agree email is less effective as a silo – 47% say they will increase investment in email to drive the growth in social media channels. (Ragan.com)
- 36% of emails today are opened using a mobile device. (eMarketer.com)
- The U.S. manicure-pedicure business is now a $7 billion industry employing a quarter million people. (Bloomberg Businessweek)
Brand Strategy
- Hispanics are the largest minority in the U.S. with a population of 52 million; their buying power will jump from $1 trillion in 2010 to $1.5 trillion by 2015. (Nielson)
- By 2015, consumers worldwide will buy $1.3 trillion worth of goods with their phones or tablets, four times today’s amount. (Jupiter Research)
- Gift basket sales in the U.S. in 2011 were $304 million.
Energy
- Today less than 1% of cars driving American roads are fully electric; in 1900, 34% of cars in New York, Boston and Chicago were powered by electric motors. (NY Times)
- Oil Exploration and Production activity in the Gulf of Mexico since the Macondo incident has rebounded in 2012; more than US$20 billion will be spent drilling development wells through 2015. (Oil & Gas Financial Journal http://bit.ly/T8vAKS)
- Deepwater Gulf of Mexico E&P is expected to attract US$70 billion investment in the region by 2030, more than all other deepwater provinces combined, creating about US$30 billion of value. (Oil & Gas Financial Journal http://bit.ly/T8vAKS)
- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received 18 combined lisence applications for 28 new reactor units as of June 2012; only two have been approved: two units at Georgia’s Vogtle site and two units at South Carolina’s V.C. Summer site. (U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission)
Healthcare
- Apple’s App Store currently offers 9,000 mobile health apps (including nearly 1,500 cardio fitness apps, over 1,300 diet apps, over 1,000 stress and relaxation apps, and over 650 women’s health apps) and this number is expected to reach 13,000 by the end of this year. (MobiHealthNews, September 2011, Trendwatching)
- 55% of doctors routinely use electronic health records in their practices. (AARP.com)
By 2030, every state in the nation may well have obesity rates above 44% with most having rates above 50%. (http://lat.ms.PwMpKC) - Regardless of where people live, in warm climates or cold. They are 26% – 36% more likely to die of heart related problems in the winter than in the summer. Triggers are linked to weight gain from poor diets and less exercise, flu, respiratory infections and depression. (WebMD.com)