27% of CIOs say their companies already offer a mobile application, while a further 22% plan to offer one this year, according to a survey released in February 2012 by Robert Half Technology, which polled CIOs from companies across the US with 100 or more employees. This means that by the end of the year, 49% of the respondents expect their companies to have released a mobile app, compared to 43% who currently do not have one and do not plan to offer one this year.
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The presence of social media in a purchase path proves to drive higher value orders, in terms of revenue per order, than natural and paid search combined, according to [download page] a study released in February 2012 by ClearSaleing. Examining more than 56 billion impressions, 2.7 billion clicks, and $13 billion in revenue through an array of channels from January 1, 2010 to August 31, 2011, the study found that a conversion occurring after social media exposure delivered more than $280 per order, compared to less than $100 per order for natural search, and more than double the average order size across all digital channels, of $135.37. Read More »

41% of tablet owners say they use their device to extend their TV experience to various activities such as looking up, posting, and chatting about what they are watching on TV, according to a January 2012 study from Discovery Communications, which surveyed over a thousand Discovery Viewers on their media habits. Additionally, 53% said they use their iPad while watching TV to find other content. In fact, 43% of the device owners surveyed said they watch TV and go online simultaneously either all the time (18%) or some of the time (25%), compared to 33% of the non-iPad owners surveyed. Read More »

US retail e-commerce spending reached a new peak of $161.5 billion in 2011, representing a 13% increase from $142.5 billion in 2010, according to February 2012 figures from comScore. Online retail spending reached $49.7 billion in Q4, marking a 14% increase from $43.4 billion in Q4 2010, and a 27% rise from $39 billion in Q4 2009. In fact, Q4’s growth rate was the 9th consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth and the 5th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth rates. Read More »

The popularity of Google+ has showed dramatic growth recently, according to February 2012 analysis from Compete, which tracked the the landing page for the main feature of the social network, the +1 button (google.com/+1/button, or plusone.google.com), beginning in November 2011. The page drew over 40 million unique visitors in December alone, with more than 10 times that amount in visits, while also passing 3 billion page views. Read More »

Although roughly 3 in 4 SMBs use email marketing tactics such as organic list growth and web-based sign-up forms to generate leads, just 41% include a sign-up form on their Facebook fan pages, according to a survey released in February 2012 by GetResponse. And while a majority optimize their newsletters with clear, recognizable, branded from field names and addresses, less than half include social sharing icons in their newsletters.
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Although men and women report equal awareness of QR codes (77%), men who are aware of them are 75% more likely than women to have used one (28% vs. 16%) to access product information, according to survey results released in February 2012 by BrandSpark International, in association with Better Homes and Gardens. Looking at age groups, 18-34-year-olds (85%) display the highest awareness of QR codes, with 30% of those having used one. 35-49-year-olds are next, with 80% having heard of QR codes, and 23% of those respondents having used one.
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22% of mobile owners used their device during the Super Bowl to watch a TV ad again, while 17% searched for more information about a product they saw advertised, according to a February 2012 survey from InMobi. Users performed a number of other activities directly related to the game or commercials, including downloading a Super Bowl application (27%), discussing the game (23%), and discussing commercials (16%). Read More »

Viewers enjoy online videos they discover from a recommendation more than ones they discover through browsing, according to a white paper released in February 2012 by Unruly Media. Examining 4 social video campaigns from leading brands in 2011, the study found that 65% of viewers who watched a recommended video enjoyed it, representing a 14% increase from 57% who enjoyed a video found through browsing. Additionally, those who arrived at a video through a recommendation were 41% less likely to say they did not enjoy the video than those who found the video through browsing (7% vs. 12%). Read More »

Facebook ad budgets grew 109% month-over-month in Q4 2011, according to February 2012 data from Kenshoo, which analyzed 100 billion ads delivered on Facebook worldwide by its customers through Kenshoo Social. And while the company notes that some of the growth can be attributed to seasonality, the increase in global Facebook ad budgets compared well to search channels like Google, Bing, and Yahoo which, in aggregate, saw paid search ad budget growth of 27% globally on a quarter-over-quarter basis.
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