Wealthy Influenced by Social Media on Luxury Purchases by Erik Sass

Over half of high-net-worth individuals (defined as people with $1 million or more in assets) are influenced by social media when buying big-ticket luxury items, according to a survey conducted from July 6-13 by Unity Marketing, a boutique market research firm specializing in consumer insights about luxury goods and experiences. ...Read the whole story

For Marketers, Social Isn't Quite The New Search by Ryan DeShazer

My friend and colleague Scott Gillum recently wrote a piece arguing that social warrants experimentation, but until more is known about its impact on the bottom line, marketers should be sure the basics are covered. Gillum's piece and my recent MediaPost column, "Social Is the New Search," have been positioned as a point-counterpoint of sorts. I'm on record saying that the future of search appears destined for decentralization into social venues; Gillum advocates that organizations place social opportunities on a shelf until the search house is in order. Who's right? Or is it just a matter of perspective? ...More

  • Share Buttons on Social Sites Increase Exposure Sevenfold by Jack Loechner

    According to BrightEdge, an in-depth analysis of more than 4 million tweets shows pages that display Twitter share buttons get 7 times the social media mentions than sites that do not, pointing to enormous social marketing opportunity. The September issue of the BrightEdge SocialShare Analysis shows that almost half of the largest 10,000 sites on the Web still don't display any kind of social sharing links or buttons. ...More

  • What Will Facebook's New Lists Mean For The Omnipotent News Feed -- And Marketers That Swim In It? by Catharine P. Taylor

    Well, that was simple enough. In launching improved, automated Lists of friends, Facebook has easily -- and almost without notice -- exploited Google+'s biggest advantage: that it makes grouping friends the default, and sharing with discreet groups of people clickably easy. (Oh, God, that sounds like part of a future tagline.) ...More