Resonance

Ninety-one percent of the online population in China has an account on a social media site (compared to 67% in the USA). For more stats, view the whole infographic here: FULL INFOGRAPHIC

Content Marketing Inst.

Businesses are flocking to video content marketing as an efficient and wickedly effective content tactic. But the focus on making the video often overshadows the marketing of it. And winning followers on YouTube requires different strategies than doing so through other types of content marketing.

We conducted a YouTube video study of the Top 100 brands from Interbrand’s 2012 Best Global Brands. After analyzing 200,000 business videos across 1,270 YouTube channels, we discovered more than 50 percent had fewer than 1,000 views. ROI fail.

Enter the YouTube nation

First, let’s look at the facts. Our study of Interbrand’s Top 100 shows YouTube video production in that cohort increased from 4,760 videos per month to 7,175 per month, with an aggregate production value of more than $4.3 billion.

The research also shows that brands — including Coca-Cola and Toyota — are not just creating effective YouTube channels, they’re also embedding YouTube videos on their own websites. In fact, 61 of the Top 100 brands now embed YouTube videos on their websites (further blurring the lines between digital channels). We’re also noticing more diverse video methods and styles. Intel, for one, effectively combines both professionally produced content with user-generated content.

So how is it that brands are investing so much in online video, but are reaching so few followers? Is it a content issue? Maybe, but after analyzing millions of videos, we think it’s acontent marketing issue. Specifically, the top 100 brands — along with the rest of the YouTube ecosystem — are burning their online video budgets on video production, while ignoring an equally important element: video content marketing.

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eMedia Vitals

As publishers add native advertising and other content marketing services to their product portfolios, there’s a growing need for business-side editorial teams to manage this content. Sales teams have staffed editors as part of their custom publishinggroups for decades. But the role of business-side editors is expanding as native advertising programs lead to more commingling of editorial and sponsored content.

Publishers that are experimenting with or considering a native advertising program may need to invest in a dedicated editorial team to help advertisers develop, optimize and publish content. Deploying “brand journalists” on native advertising projects – separate from the rest of the editorial staff – will also help publishers protect their own brand from thinly veiled press releases or other low-quality drivel that advertisers submit under the guise of “real” editorial.

There’s an urgency to get this right. In a recent study from Econsultancy and Adobe, content marketing was deemed the top priority for 2013 among digital marketers. And native advertising – in which branded content is published on third-party media sites – is quickly becoming a key piece of brands’ content marketing strategies.

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MediaPost

According to the Experian Marketing Services market survey addressing email acquisition and engagement tactics, 44% of total opens occur on mobile devices; 52% of marketers have used animated gifs in their email campaigns; marketers are seeing strong survey completion rates, regardless of offer; email is a strong performer as a generator of both website traffic and revenue; email marketers are testing subject lines and creative more than any other factors; 78% of brands use sales associates to collect email addresses.

Email marketing continues to be the hub and a driving force in cross-channel integration, says the report, as marketers’ email strategies act as connectors to Website, mobile, social and in-store channels. The study surveyed email marketers across eight verticals about their email-marketing initiatives.

Peter DeNunzio, general manager at Experian Marketing Services CheetahMail, says, “… more email marketers (are) testing new engagement strategies to expand their reach into other marketing channels… (as) a spearhead… towards true cross-channel optimization…” The continued efficacy of email marketing makes email address acquisition a prime tactic for high return on investment (ROI). Today’s email marketers are using multiple channels to acquire new subscribers. Key findings show that:

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Adweek

Making predictions in digital media can be a dangerous game. Conjecture such as “2006 is going to be the year of mobile” come to mind. How many of us this time last year even knew what Pinterest was, let alone predicted its popularity explosion? With that being said, Adweek is attempting to make some educated guesses about where this industry might be headed. Here are eight trends to watch for as 2013 unfolds:

Brands as Publishers

Content marketing became all the rage this year as brands from IBM to Amazon to Unilever started thinking more like publishers. Most of the conversations centered on embedding companies within digital consumer experiences by way of visual or text-based content. Paul Polman, Unilever chief exec, planted his firm’s flag in the movement by saying it “is reallocating budgets to enable us to make content in an always-on world. Agencies need to organize themselves around the consumer, not the client.”

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CMO.com

Marrying marketing efforts to specific business outcomes is a tricky business. But difficult as it is, CMOs eager to please their bosses must be able to do so and report back that information. But which metrics are of most value? Following are seven that prove marketing’s worth, along with tips on avoiding the most common mistakes surrounding their use and advice on taking them to the next level.

Some of the seven topics include: Return on Marketing Investment, Brand Equity, Product, Segment and Campaign Performance, Employee Advocacy and more…

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The Wall

With half a billion Twitter accounts, over 1 billion Facebook accounts and an estimated 200m more online users across the world by end 2013, social media is changing the way media brands connect and engage with their audience. Over the past four weeks, we’ve interviewed experts across all media channels – TV, radio, magazines, newspapers – and asked about the challenges they’ve faced from social media, the lessons they’ve learnt and their preparation for 2013.

From this audit with heads of social media, communications experts and business leaders, along with our own experiences working with UK and international media owners, we’ve put together a series of observations and insights, identifying clear trends for social media use by media brands in 2013:

http://bit.ly/TWHYvN

Technology Consumers Are Devoted Web, Video, and Mobile Users

IDG Research Shows How Much Digital Is a Part of Consumers’ Lives

IDG Research Services surveyed more than 3,100 visitors to IDG technology media sites in the U.S., such as PCWorld, Macworld, CIO, and Computerworld, to determine information consumption behaviors.  The research—“The Echo Effect: Understanding the Value of Tech Buyers”—underscores the power of social media, the widespread use of mobile devices, and the reliance on video to make purchase decisions.

Ninety-five percent of the respondents use one or more social media sites.  Exposure to a tech product in the social web positively affects likelihood to purchase (44%), overall satisfaction with a company (44%), willingness to recommend a company (42%), and feelings of brand loyalty (40%).

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