After casting my eye on the infographic below there was one particular statement that caught my attention…

Google+ pages appear in search results for 30% of brand terms searches for  brands with G+ pages (up 5% from Feb 2012)

In a bid to do some quick and dirty bit of research into this theory, I picked on ASOS (mainly because they use customer bit.ly links which can be tracked). In a small sample of the last 10 posts on ASOS’s G+ page, there were 414 clicks generated overall, but 40% came from a Google search engine (.co.uk, .ie etc.) rather than from Google+ itself.

If you compare the volume of click throughs on G+ to other social networks you can see that G+ is still a way behind. It would be lovely to get hold of the conversion stats behind these clicks to the website but…

                                              Last 10 post clicks

Facebook                                          26,279

Google +                                               414

Twitter                                                 6380

Facebook generated over 50x more referral traffic than G+ to the ASOS website, whilst Twitter generated over 15x the volume.  So if the value doesn’t really exist in click through traffic, perhaps it is in engagement?

The visual nature of G+ should lend itself to brand like ASOS. But with 1.4m followers on G+ the engagement was low. The average G+ post generated 64.3 engagements (+1s, reshares, comments) whilst Facebook generated 358.1 per post. Essentially, Facebook generated 5x more engagement per post than G+.

Conclusion – the hidden SEO value must be the key

If these numbers (of albeit very quick and dirty analysis) are anything to go by then the real value must come from search performance. The engagement rates and direct referral traffic just don’t add up…

An advanced digital retailer such as ASOS are going to have a firm grip on what works, what drives traffic and conversions. I am sure behind the scenes somewhere there are some great numbers which support the case for Google+.

When already investing in content for Facebook (which ASOS and many other brands do), then extending this to Google+ is not really a great amount of additional resource, particularly as there seems to be little in the way of customer service implications.

Enjoy the infographic below on how users interact with Google+ from Wishpond.

Infographic courtesy of Wishpond

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Have you ever tweeted about wanting a new bag, or the latest bit of gadgetry, or pined over a pretty bit of jewellery?  Well now if you tweet about it you may very well be able to own it with Twitter’s new partnership with American Express. Twitter has made a bold new venture into e-commerce with the card merchant which aims to unlock the purchasing power of the hashtag. American Express card members can now tweet hashtags to buy products on Twitter.

Although the micro-blogging site has yet to comment on the new development, American Express has released a statement explaining the process.

“Card members who sync their eligible Cards at sync.americanexpress.com/twitter and tweet special hashtags to buy a range of items such as American Express Gift Cards, products from Amazon, Sony, Urban Zen and Xbox 360.”

(Click here for the full press release…

http://about.americanexpress.com/news/pr/2013/sync-to-buy.aspx)

This expansion into e-commerce comes after the success of Amex Sync offers on Twitter. The site certainly seems to be following in the steps of Facebook who has already entered into e-commerce with Facebook gifts and the want it button on various brand pages in the US. With e-commerce expected to grow by more than 19% a year, this could potentially be a masterstroke by Twitter.

Until now Twitter had largely made its money via advertising and marketing. However this venture with American Express suggests that they are looking for more ways to monetize the site. With a promoted hashtag costing $200,000 a day to run, this new venture could potentially be a great opportunity for smaller businesses using Twitter to make money. With e-commerce being an ever growing part of our purchasing behaviour this is an interesting development that could give many business opportunities…

Graph courtesy of Retail Touch Points, How Big is E-Commerce

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The recent demise of even more well known High Street retailers such as HMV, Jessops and Blockbuster should serve as a strong reminder that the world has changed!  80% of shoppers were reported to have researched online before making a purchase this past Christmas and the average shopper consumes an average of 10.4 sources of information as part of this research process.

The “consideration phase” of the purchase decision is bloated with resources, content and conversations to help (or confuse!) the process. Brands will need to achieve useful, relevant and concise content which cuts through the noise to get the voices of their products heard.  If you want any more reading, Google’s zero moment of truth research encapsulates the way consumers are behaving incredibly well: http://www.zeromomentoftruth.com/

There are plenty of stats out there to support this shift and the fact is inescapable - retailers large and small need to get on board the multichannel train!  Some do it well and some not so well. You may be interested in this report by one of our clients Tealeaf, an IBM company, in partnership with Econsultancy who delve into the “online customer struggle” from a brand’s perspective http://bit.ly/VTQxX5 . For example, this survey revealed that 70% of brands have limited or no understanding of why their customers abandon their shopping baskets! A sign that there is still a really long way to go yet…

As we watch the high street and its retailers strive for the ultimate multichannel experience here are 6 well-articulated predictions for 2013:

Infographic courtesy of Dan Mortimer, CEO of  www.redant.com

Picture courtesy of ZMOT tool box

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What can social media tell us about the sad demise of high street retailers such as Woolworth’s, Comet, Blockbusters and Jessops? Some quick and dirty research shows these high-street failures were also social media fails.

There could be many reasons for their failure, not least the products they sell, their online strategy, brand, pricing etc…

But out of curiosity I wanted to know how these failed stores fared on social. For simplicity’s sake, I just looked at their Facebook pages for the number of likes.*

As you can see from the table below, (unsurprisingly, perhaps), the numbers seem low.

I then compared them to some of the (what appear to be) more buoyant high street stores. As you can see the average community size of this group of survivors is 384,363, compared to 38,535. That is a 10 fold difference!

I am not claiming this is in any way scientific, but it does beg two thoughts about why the failed high street stores have relatively small Facebook communities:

• Is it because few customers literally liked them? So low levels of engagement on Facebook suggests lower levels of consumer interest and engagement with the brand.

• Or is it because of a lack of investment in digital and social specifically to drive up numbers? If so, this demonstrates they were generally a business behind the times anyway…

There seems to be some form of correlation but I would love to know your thoughts…

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Shortly after my last post on Pinterest this insightful infographic circulated giving further evidence that the platform could really become a big player in 2012 – check out “is Pinterest the next social commerce game changer“

After making such a huge splash in the US last year (with over 31 million visits) it is only a matter of time before the platform starts to attract UK brands.  Whilst Pinterest rose to number 7 in the Hitwise top 10 social networks of 2011, this was for the US and there may be some way to go before the platform makes a full impact on the UK social media scene.

I was within one short click of buying a new watch from Amazon after following a board called “cool watches” on Pinterest and clicking through the shop site.  What put me off?  I was directed to the US site, all in dollars and whilst I pondered shipping details the moment was lost and I clicked away.  This got me thinking about the UK and when brands will start to adopt the platform and seek to reap the clear social commerce benefits.

This infographic delves into the Pinterest users and provides some interesting initial insight into the UK user base.  Critically though, as of December 2011 there were an estimated 200,000 UK users compared with over 12 million in the US.  Is there enough of a lure for brands quite yet?  My advice to brands would be to get curating, it is only a matter of time.

Find out more about Pinterest’s rapid growth in the USA

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With the launch of 60 new applications using the Timeline and Open Graph, Facebook is about to expand beyond the Like.  The new functionality will allow users to share perpetual actions (‘love’, ‘want’, ‘need’) via applications through the Open Graph. There are obvious benefits for brands, especially given the buying signals of user actions such as wanting and needing.

But beyond brands and their products, publishers also have a unique opportunity to create content that can be ‘watched’, ‘listened’ and ‘read’. Many Facebook users will be familiar with the Guardian’s integration, which creates a ticker stream of stories that have been ‘read’ or ‘watched’ via the application, as well as providing the opportunity to share and recommend stories to friends.

It won’t be long before other publishers take their lead and leverage the social searching benefits of reading content this way. This will undoubtedly be welcomed by Facebook and draw yet more content into the platform, further enhancing the user experience.

As always with Facebook developments there are drawbacks and this time, it boils down to privacy and the potential vulnerability for users of sharing this level of data with the platform.   Once you have granted access to the application it does not require any further permission to post to your Timeline  and a number of applications seek extensive access to your settings, preferences and the pages you Like. For example, the Ticketmaster application combines events you and your friends are attending, your location, the artists and teams you Like, and the music you have listened to on apps such as Spotify, to pre-empt events you will love.

While the Ticketmaster app is innovative, it is still only in beta format and seems to have its flaws. Since beginning this post, the app has been trying to access my data, but appears to be stuck on the same loading screen. This could well be because it is fishing for so much of my data!

Here are a few other examples to watch out for amongst the new launch applications…

Where I’ve Been – tell the world places you have been

Rotten Tomatoes – share reviews and create a ‘want to see’ list

Turntable.fm – listen with your friends and host virtual ‘DJ’ events

Foodspotting – users can share recipes, dishes they have eaten and dishes they want to try

Pinterest – this social network is expected to arrive in the UK this year after jumping into the top 10 US sites of 2011 with over 31 million visits

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We love purple as much as the next company, but it appears Cadbury have decided to take it to the next level in a recent trademark dispute settled yesterday with Nestlé. Cadbury wanted to trademark the tint and made the case that it has used the colour on its packaging for more than a century.

There were a few concerned looks around the office when we realised the similarity between Cadbury’s Pantone 2865c and our own Pantone 275c. This prompted an official statement.

An unnamed insider from social media consultancy, immediate future (established in 2004)  said: “If they come after our purple they should be prepared for a long, drawn out and debilitating battle. You may have beaten Nestle to Pantone 2865c, but we’ll defend our beloved Pantone 275c to the death. Plus we’re not bloody redecorating, alright!”

The company is awaiting an official response from Cadbury.

p.s. We might consider negotiation if Curly Wurlies are part of the deal

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Before hastily setting up a Google+ page for your business, you need to step back and consider whether there is any value in joining the early adopters. We pulled together 4 points to help you evaluate whether it is worth your company embracing Google+:

The promised land?

1.  Objective – Are you targeting your Google+ to generate awareness and buzz about your company? Or do you want to generate engagement and build upon relationships with customers? Google+ is in its infancy and audience demographics are unclear, there’s scant information about how active these profiles are. You’ll need to bear this in mind when contemplating what your objective is.

2.  Time and resources – Your time is important so you need to evaluate whether it’s worth launching a page and the continual maintenance and monitoring of that page. Content is also key. The page requires rich content to be shared and engaged with. As Google+ prevents competitions or promotions, it’s perhaps best to use content from assets that you already have.

3. How will Google+ fit in with your other branded web estates? – Do you really need to include it in your marketing mix? Will it play a large part in your online marketing ecosystem or are you just securing a simple branded profile? Perhaps wait and see what happens in the next couple of weeks, and then, venture into investing resource.

4.  Outcome – So far the main benefit is that Google+ has connected social with search. For those who participate in this opportunity it is likely that your page rankings will get a boost. And for those who do not, we anticipate that you may lose rankings or be displaced amongst your competitors who have a Google+ presence.

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Ikea vs. Apple via Fixr

We like this visual representation of how the Swedish and US companies stack up (no flat pack puns intended.)

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