Today we shared the results of a six-month study tracking Twitter usage by consumers and marketers. This whitepaper, Twitter & the Consumer-Marketer Dynamic, analyzes the current state of Twitter when it comes to how consumers and brands relate. Why are people using Twitter – and how? And given these insights, how can marketers use the service to create deeper connections with consumers?

Just four years after its founding, Twitter has more than 100 million registered users that log a collective 65 million tweets each day. Beyond that, the site records 190 million site visitors per month – indicating that a large volume of people are reading content on Twitter, even if they aren’t participating in the conversations themselves.

The surge of consumer interest has inspired brands to follow suit, and today, businesses great and small are signing on in force. Our whitepaper looks at where brands fit in — and how they can make the most of opportunities on Twitter.

Download the full report: http://www.360i.com/TwitterWhitepaper

Key Findings:

Twitter is primarily for people, not corporations. Those of us in the marketing industry tend to see Twitter as a marketing or professional networking tool, but it’s important to remember that it is a consumer-dominated medium.

• More than 90% of tweets come from consumers
• Only 12% of consumer tweets mention a brand
  • When someone mentions a brand name on Twitter, they’re most likely talking about a Social Network (22% of mentions), or an Entertainment (17%) or Technology brand (17%)
  • The top brands mentioned on Twitter are Twitter itself, Apple products/brands and Google

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Twitter makes the private space public. While marketers have a voice in the mix, Twitter remains an important tool for listening to what consumers are saying in a mostly un-filtered, un-moderated environment. There are ripe opportunities for brands to get to know their customers via online listening.

• 94% of tweets are personal (vs. professional/self-promotional)
• 92% of users keep their tweets public
• 85% of tweets reflect original content (non-RTs)

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Companies tend to talk at people – not with them. The opportunity for marketers to become part of the conversation remains vast. For example, many brands use the channel to pass along information, but fail to capitalize on opportunities to truly connect with consumers via two-way conversations.

• 43% of consumer tweets are conversational (@replies to other users)
• Yet only 12% of all marketer tweets demonstrate active dialogue with consumers, signifying that most of them aren’t tapping Twitter’s full potential
• Only 1% of consumer tweets that mention a brand are part of a conversation with that brand

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Research for this report was spearheaded by Lara Hejtmanek, Director, Insights and Planning, and Connie Hsu, Analyst, Insights and Planning, with help from Marc Geffen, Jesse Sheriff and Natan Edelsburg. Special thanks to Scout Labs for providing the raw posts needed for this analysis.

Applications have become an enduring form of mobile media, thanks in large part to the ease of buying apps from Apple’s App Store and the increasing usage of apps on Google Android handsets. With apps’ popularity come new challenges for marketers, as consumers’ attention is split between apps and the mobile web. Marketers will have to prioritize and make tough decisions when allocating finite resources. You can learn more about the challenges and opportunities by reading or downloading the full report below.

360i POV on Mobile Applications

Key Takeaways

• Mobile app usage is on the rise. One of the biggest drivers of app usage is smartphone penetration. In fact, by late 2011, roughly half of all US mobile subscribers will use smartphones (source: Nielsen).  Other studies from AdMob have found that consumers spend about 80 minutes a day engaging with apps.
• How can marketers get involved? Marketers have three primary options when it comes to mobile apps: advertise (via ad networks), integrate (to develop custom experience within established app providers) or build (custom apps).  We also dive into how marketers can prioritize when it comes to building a mobile-friendly website or creating an app, and what’s in store given the recent release of the iPad.
• How marketers are using branded apps? We look at specific case studies from Universal Pictures, Kraft and Tiffany & Co.

For the foreseeable future, apps will only consume more of consumers’ time and attract wider audiences, especially as smartphone penetration keeps rising. The competition for attention within the app market is daunting, and standing out requires a marketer’s steadfast commitment. If creating a branded experience isn’t the best fit for a marketer’s plans and goals, there are still other ways to reach app users. Marketers will increasingly want to explore such options as mobile applications attract more of consumers’ media consumption.

Read the blog and follow us on Twitter to learn more about how you can make the most of mobile marketing through apps in the future.

Mobile social media, any form of social media accessed through mobile devices, has much in common with online social media: the power of building relationships with consumers, the large and rapidly growing user base, and the potential to incorporate sharing and community functionality into every form of content. In this report we dive into the new opportunities created by mobile social media and how marketers can make the most of them.

360i POV on Mobile Social Marketing

Key Takeaways

• Introduction to Mobile Social Media: A look at what mobile social media is, as well as the challenges and opportunities it presents to brands
• By the Numbers: Social networking is the fastest growing mobile content category – here we take a look at some stats on consumer adoption rates
• Categories of Mobile Social Media: There are many different kinds of mobile social media, including extensions of online social networks (like Facebook for mobile), mobile-central social networks (like MocoSpace), location-based check-in services (like Foursquare) and more
• Location-based Check-in Services: We take a deeper dive into one emerging field within mobile social media that has garnered significant attention from consumers over the past several months
• Developing a Mobile Social Strategy: So, where should marketers begin? Hint: It’s time to bring back the strategic lens as described in our Social Marketing Playbook

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Social media is driving much of the growth of mobile media, just as it has fueled much of the growth in online pageviews and content. New sites and applications seem to sprout daily, while business models of existing players continually evolve to meet marketers’ needs. Marketers should continue to turn to the strategic lens to evaluate opportunities, as it can increase the chances of success for any social marketing program, mobile or otherwise.

Read the blog and follow us on Twitter all summer to learn how you can make the most of mobile social marketing in the future.

360i POV on SMS (Text Messaging)

>>Download 360i’s report on Mobile Search (PDF).

Key Takeaways

• SMS usage is ubiquitous. Text messaging is by far the most popular mobile activity after talking, and it’s one of the most proven mobile marketing channels. It’s also one of the most universal, as SMS is available on nearly every device – from feature phones to smartphones.
• There are several ways to engage in SMS marketing. Some options for marketers include branded shortcodes, shared shortcodes and in-text advertising. Through SMS marketers can deliver a variety of content such as information, coupons, links or multimedia.
• Some best practices for marketers to keep in mind include staying relevant, presenting a strong call to action, offering value and integrating SMS with other media.

What are the goals of your marketing program? If they can be achieved through reach, offline integration, and ongoing communication with consumers, SMS should be strongly considered. On its own, it’s not the flashiest form of marketing and it doesn’t deliver the richest creative experience, but it can tie together a wide variety of marketing channels and create a richer consumer experience in the process.

Read the blog and follow us on Twitter all summer to learn how you can make the most of the increasingly mobile-centric marketing future.

360i POV: Mobile Search

>>Download 360i’s report on Mobile Search (PDF).

Key Takeaways

• Mobile search is on the rise. Search engine marketing and optimization continue to matter across mobile devices, and Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo are jockeying to serve as the default engines across mobile handsets. Key players are making big moves in the space – signaling even bigger moves on the horizon.
• Search is evolving with mobile devices in a variety of a ways – for example, queries are typically shorter (no matter how much better mobile keypads get) and more local. Further, Google Android devices feature a built-in search button, and the results pages themselves continue to evolve to showcase more mobile-specific content.
• Our POV also lists several mobile search best practices, such as grouping mobile campaigns separately, broadening your scope to encompass more high volume keywords and geo-targeting your campaigns.

For marketers looking to reach consumers wherever they are, mobile search is a great starting point. To get the most out of it, marketers should plan holistically, tying mobile search into their broader search marketing programs.

Read the blog and follow us on Twitter all summer to learn how you can make the most of the increasingly mobile-centric marketing future.

360i POV: Mobile Marketing Overview

>>Download our Mobile Marketing Overview (PDF).

Key Takeaways

• There’s so much buzz about mobile marketing that it’s easy to dismiss it, or to check off a few mobile tactics and say you’re doing enough with mobile right now. That’s probably not the case. This report contains ten reasons why mobile matters right now – and why we recommend crafting a forward thinking mobile roadmap as part of your integrated communications planning.
• In our subsequent mobile reports, you can expect to find strategic recommendations on utilizing search and SMS, entering the world of apps and social-mobile platforms, as well as leveraging mobile for ecommerce initiatives (think next generation barcodes and couponing).

Our Mobile Marketing Overview is just a start – and you’ll find even more insights as the series continues this summer. Mobile may not be a fit for every marketing program today, but it’s getting to the point where it should always be considered. Read the blog and follow us on Twitter all summer to learn how you can make the most of the increasingly mobile-centric marketing future.

360i POV on Nielsen and Facebook’s Advertising Effectiveness Study

Key Takeaways

What prompted the study?: As social marketing continues to evolve, marketers, agencies and publishers have been struggling to understand the impact of social channels on driving brand metrics – and, more importantly, how to measure and compare this impact alongside traditional brand media channels. Measuring brand awareness, ad recall and purchase intent within the context of Facebook advertising will help marketers understand the value of running paid and earned media together and could inform larger decisions around their media mix and budget allocation.

Why is this important to marketers?: Looking at the bigger picture, this study highlights the importance and impact of online media, both paid and earned, on driving brand metrics. Social marketing as earned media is becoming a bigger part of the marketing mix, but is often planned and evaluated separately from traditional digital media channels. Thus far, there has not been a definitive study showing the complementary connection between paid and earned media. Nor has there been the framework through which marketers and agencies can plan these two mediums together.

Next Steps: Marketers need to begin looking at paid and earned media initiatives as complementary and know that planning them together can impact brand metrics. Marketers and their agencies will need to develop strategies that include both, clearly laying out how they’ll play off each other.

When planning a campaign that’s meant to engage consumers beyond the initial click, it’s imperative that consumer behavior and social context are taken into account. Marketers and agencies have the ability to drive that behavior by including the right tools and support to help their audience connect with their brand and amplify their message.

Stay tuned for more thoughts right here on our blog and via Twitter at http://twitter.com/360i.

360i Report on Facebook’s Social Plugins and Open Graph

Key Takeaways

Facebook has changed the Web:  Facebook, now 400 million users strong, has announced several new features that will change the way users interact with and share content online.  Social Plugins – such as a Like Button, Recommendations and others – make it easier for site owners to add social components to any site and empower visitors to share content via their Facebook activity streams. The Open Graph connects websites with Facebook users’ profiles, and allows publisher to reach such users through their News Feed streams.

Who’s on board so far: More than 75 sites were included in the launch as partners in Facebook’s new Social Plugins and Open Graph initiatives, including Microsoft’s new Doc.scom, Sephora and Pandora.

Which marketers should consider it: Any marketer should consider using Facebook’s Social Plugins and Open Graph to increase engagement on their sites, drive traffic, encourage consumer advocacy of their content and products, and potentially improve conversions due to increased personalization.

How this could look: Retailers could allow any user to Like their products or comment on them – and then deliver endorsements to their Facebook feed. Entertainment marketers could encourage advocacy of a range of content (movies, actors, episodes, etc.) and CPG brands could encourage conversations about specific products. Moreover, travel marketers can now personalize recommendations for consumers based on specific criteria (properties, destinations, itineraries, etc.).

If there were any doubts before, the Web is shifting to a completely social phenomenon. Anywhere consumers go online, whether they’re shopping, planning a trip, or reading news, is becoming a social experience. Social personalization is now possible in ways that could never scale so easily before.

Marketers and site owners should embrace these opportunities and envision how this will impact their relationships with consumers in the years ahead.

Stay tuned to the 360i blog and follow us on Twitter for more insights on the developing news.

360i Report on Twitter’s Promoted Tweets Platform

Key Takeaways

• How it Works: Marketers using Twitter will be able to buy “promoted tweets” on a CPM basis. Users can retweet, favorite or reply to the ad as they would any other tweet.
• New Metrics: Twitter’s key metric will be “resonance,” which takes into account consumer engagement via clicks, re-tweets, favorites, etc. Marketers will be best-served if they tie these real-time analytics back to their overall marketing objectives.
• Marketer Challenges: Marketers won’t just need a Twitter ad strategy to take advantage of promoted tweets — they will need to be participating on Twitter to take part. This is a true hybrid of earned and paid media models.
• Who Should Consider It: Marketers should establish a foothold on Twitter before using Promoted Tweets; no one should get on Twitter solely for the advertising options. That aside, the platform could be ripe with opportunities for entertainment, CPG, travel and retail brands.

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Stay tuned to the blog and follow us on Twitter for more news and insights on Promoted Tweets.

Image Credit: Facebook “Language Change” document (March 26, 2010).

Facebook has announced to its partners that in the next two to three weeks, the “Become a Fan” concept for branded pages will be replaced with the more prevalent “Like” button and brands will no longer accumulate “Fans,” but “Connections” instead.

This change narrows the list of actions available to Facebook fans, and consolidates the bulk of interactions fans will have with brand content to “Like,” “Comment” and “Share.” Brands will still be able to communicate with opt-in users on a regular basis, but only users who have “liked” their page itself — not just one of their updates.

The change also affects engagement ads — the “Become a Fan” verbiage will disappear, being replaced by the simple “Like” button and thumbs up icon.

For the complete scoop — and to learn what the shift means for marketers — read David Berkowitz’s latest Ad Age Digital Next column.