For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Targeting Eco-Friendly Consumers

by Emily Riley, October 29, 2009

Eco-friendly consumers are an educated group with higher incomes than most online consumers and a high likelihood of using the Web to research and purchase products. As the green trend rises in Europe, interactive marketers must be keenly aware of how . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Turning Your B2B Web Site Into A Community Hub

Social Media Marketing That Is Persistent, Consistent, And Scalable

by G. Oliver Young, Peter Burris, September 30, 2009

Social media is becoming a major focus in business-to-business (B2B) marketing. However, many marketers are allowing their community marketing approaches to emerge out of piecemeal technology purchases and community participation. To embrace a customer . . .

For Marketing Leadership Professionals

Midlife Australians Flock To Social Media

Thirty-five- to 54-Year-Olds Add Social Networks To Their Online Routine

by Steven Noble, September 4, 2009

Midlife Australians are online and active. This follows a year of rapid change in which Australians aged 35 to 54 increased the time they spend with the Internet along with their use of social media. Today, most online Australian adults regularly use . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

The Broad Reach Of Social Technologies

by Sean Corcoran, August 25, 2009

Social technologies continue to grow substantially in 2009. Now more than four in five US online adults use social media at least once a month, and half participate in social networks like Facebook. While young people continue to march toward almost universal . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Brands Should Reach Gen Xers Through Word Of Mouth

by Nate Elliott, August 25, 2009

The once "ambivalent" Generation X — adults ages 30 to 43 — has become a mainstay of the workforce. This generation has adopted social technologies and is highly vocal as nearly half tell their friends and family about products that interest them. Brands . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Europeans' Social Networking Use Accelerates

by Rebecca Jennings, August 12, 2009

While uptake of social media activities overall has increased slightly in the past year, online European usage of social networks such as Facebook and Bebo has grown significantly — around 30% now engage with social networks regularly, up from 18% last . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Using Digital Channels To Calm The Angry Traveler

by Henry H. Harteveldt, August 4, 2009

Travelers are fed up. There are 15% fewer travelers who enjoy using the Web in 2009 than there were in 2007. Just one in three US online travelers feels that travel Web sites do a good job presenting travel choices, down from 39% in 2008. Travelers feel . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

How Social Media Can Improve The Automotive Customer Experience

by Ron Rogowski, July 31, 2009

A recent Forrester survey of 4,500 online consumers showed that people want auto manufacturers to engage them with social media. For auto manufacturers, a good social media strategy can help strengthen relationships with consumers while providing cost-effective . . .

For B2B Market Research Professionals

Vendors: Leverage How Decision-Makers Use Web 2.0 Technologies To Tailor Collaboration Offerings

by TJ Keitt, July 2, 2009

Web 2.0 technology's use in business is very new, making the success of these initial deployments hinge on how well IT and business leaders understand their value and create implementation plans. We have seen that the more successful deployments have . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Start Your Global Social Media Strategy Locally

Insights From Forrester's Social Media Analyst Day

by Jennifer Belissent, Ph.D., June 25, 2009

A group of tech marketers and Forrester analysts recently engaged in an all-day Forrester event in London on the use of social media in a B2B marketing context. Our discussions focused on trends in social media adoption by B2B technology buyers and nascent . . .

For Customer Intelligence Professionals

Social Tools Help Pharma Marketers Build Customer Intelligence

Why Pharma Should Integrate Social Into The Multichannel Customer View

by Carlton A. Doty, June 24, 2009

The pharmaceutical industry faces significant sales and marketing challenges as many of its blockbuster drugs come off of patent and access to healthcare providers becomes increasingly restricted. In the midst of this doom and gloom, some pharma marketers . . .

For Marketing Leadership Professionals

Social Computing Strategies For Luxury Brands

The Key Is To Balance Accessibility And Exclusivity

by Mary Beth Kemp, June 11, 2009

European luxury consumers enthusiastically use the Internet, often to talk about the brands they love. But luxury brands keep both the Internet and these consumers at arm's length. CMOs directing luxury brands can no longer ignore the online conversations . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Crafting An Insurance Social Media Strategy

P&C And Life Insurers Are Getting Social With Customers And Agents

by Chad Mitchell, June 8, 2009

Property and casualty and life insurers market some of the most boring consumer products and brands. Times are changing, though, as emerging direct brands like Esurance and traditional agent-based insurers like Liberty Mutual Insurance are developing . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Navigating The Agency Landscape

A Road Map For Selecting And Managing Interactive Agencies

by Sean Corcoran, May 21, 2009

The drastic changes in consumer behavior due to fragmented media and Social Computing have created a fragmentation of agency services that is a virtual minefield for marketers. Selecting and managing an interactive agency portfolio in this new world can . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Vive La Difference In B2B Buyer Behavior

by Jennifer Belissent, Ph.D., April 24, 2009

Social media is a global phenomenon creating profound change in B2B buyer behavior and the nature of the relationship between technology buyers and vendors. While social media is evolving into a valuable marketing tool, local adoption of social technologies . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Japanese Social Technographics® Revealed

In Japan, Consumers Use Social Media, But Marketers Usually Don't — Yet

by Steven Noble, April 22, 2009

Social media is now mainstream for consumers in Japan, where 81% of online adults regularly use it. However, social media lives in the margins for many marketers in Japan, where most have few social media marketing case studies — or none at all. Against . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Marketing To Recession-Resistant Consumers

by Peter Sargent, April 20, 2009

There's no denying that the economy is in trouble. However, not everyone plans to cut back during this recession. By targeting specific characteristics, interactive marketers can successfully locate consumers who plan to continue spending during tough . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

How To Create A Social Application For Life Sciences Without Getting Fired

Social Strategies That Succeed Within A Regulatory Framework

by Josh Bernoff, April 20, 2009

People with health problems naturally form mutually supportive communities and seek out information about drugs and treatments. And yet, because of restrictive FDA regulations, pharmaceutical and other life sciences companies are terrified to take advantage . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

The Social Technographics® Profile Of European Baby Boomers

Reaching Older Consumers Through Social Media

by Rebecca Jennings, April 10, 2009

Interactive marketers already know that young consumers are very engaged in social media but often fail to appreciate that social tools can be an effective mechanism to reach older users. More than one-third of consumers ages 43 to 63 already read social . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Talk To Youth The Way They Talk To Each Other

by Josh Bernoff, April 2, 2009

Young consumers' close social connections allow them to influence each other's purchase decisions. Seventy percent of youth tell friends about products that interest them, nearly twice the percentage of older consumers. Not only do these consumers love . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

The Social Technographics® Of Business Buyers

How Technology Buyers Engage With Social Media

by Laura Ramos, G. Oliver Young, February 20, 2009

Social media give a voice to buyers who can now describe their experience and disappointment to a global audience. And, wow, are they saying a lot. Forrester surveyed more than 1,200 business technology buyers and found that they exceed all previous benchmarks . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Persuasive Consumers Are Socially Connected

by Josh Bernoff, February 17, 2009

Forty-four percent of US online adults are persuaders, those who tell others about products that interest them. They're brand-motivated, open to ads, and highly active in social applications. To energize persuasive customers, marketers should listen and . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

How To Reach Baby Boomers With Social Technologies

by Jeremiah K. Owyang, January 23, 2009

Baby Boomers aren't technology Luddites; in fact, more than 60% of them consume socially created content. You'll also find Boomers leaving their opinions on Web sites and even joining social networks. Yet this group isn't as active as younger generations, . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Chinese Social Technographics® Revealed

Forty Percent Of Online Adults In Metro China Are Content Creators

by Steven Noble, January 23, 2009

Social media use is surging among online adults in metropolitan China. In particular, 40% are Creators — those who publish blogs, Web pages, articles, stories, videos, or audio/music content using social technologies. There are three groups that use social . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

European Consumers' Social Media Use Continues To Grow

by Rebecca Jennings, December 16, 2008

European online consumers continue their uptake of social media, with more than half now regularly engaging in some type of social content. Interest is wide across both countries and age groups, with one-third of consumers older than 65 now using some . . .