2. Social media users are older than you think. The largest user group is the 35–44 year-old cohort (in terms of sheer numbers, not percentages). This group uses the major outlets equally except for MySpace, which they are so over. After this group comes the 45–54 cohort. Again, it’s about numbers; this group includes the tail end of the baby boom generation. They are most likely to use Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. After kids and teens, they are the heaviest users of MySpace.

Next come 25–34 year-olds, a smaller cohort. Their social media use is evenly spread among sites, with Reddit at the top and MySpace at the bottom. This reflects their preoccupation with cool new stuff and how they dismiss “not-cool old stuff.” In short, the top three social media user groups are the ones deciding where to get dinner and how much to spend on it.

3. Social media users are well schooled. The vast majority have at least some college education. Those with college degrees are most likely to be on LinkedIn (duh). Those without diplomas are most likely to use Twitter.

4. Social media users are mostly middle income earners ($50–75K). Again, no surprise, since they make up the bulk of the population anyway. They are followed closely by the $25–49K earners, a group likely to include younger adults. So that’s the statistical doo-dah. But it’s a dry description of the distracted, busy, quirky individual receiving your brand message.

Stats are great for media planning, but less useful for defining your brand message. For that, you need to grasp the social media user’s emotional milieu. It may not be what you expect:

1. The social media user does not want you to define your brand for them, thank you. Social media users will do this themselves in the process of sharing, counter-commenting, defending and debating your brand’s merits. If you want to see how this works, find the July 12 Netflix wall post on Facebook announcing its price hike; 81,189 ticked-off comments explain how the company’s brand perception plummeted from the top of the rankings to the bottom in two weeks.

I’m not saying you can’t control your brand message.I am saying that because of social media, it’s not about features and benefits anymore. They are what Alfred Hitchcock would call the McGuffin — what a story is built around but is not about (nobody says North by Northwest is about stolen microfilm). Because with social media …

2.  “It’s the experience, stupid.” Users discuss how they feel about things. None of the commenters on Culver’s Facebook page knows or cares that they source their dairy products right there in Wisconsin. They care about how delicious their bacon burger was or how disappointed they were that the new Tucson location was so packed they couldn’t get in, or how much fun Zyanya had there on her birthday. 

3. Social media users are recessionistas. At the same time social media was blasting off, its heaviest users (middle Americans) were watching the economy bottom out. While social sites have been growing up, their consumer-users have been growing savvier, pickier, more value-oriented and more likely to use social media to tell their friends what’s a great deal … and what’s not.

These are broad strokes, a larger view of how social media has changed the world your restaurant brand inhabits. To fill in the fine detail, you’ll need frank, formal input from people who use (or don’t use) your concept. You’ll also need to know how they prefer to receive your brand message on social media sites and what devices they are most likely to receive it on.

It matters more than you might guess. Find out why in my next post.

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PointRoll’s SmartSocial Powers New ‘Weekly Ad’ for RadioShack on Facebook

NEW YORK, NY, Aug 03, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) –
PointRoll, a Gannett Company and the leading provider of digital
marketing technology, is helping to power RadioShack’s efforts to
connect with consumers where they socialize online. With PointRoll’s
SmartSocial offering, a part of the ShopLocal SmartDelivery product
suite, RadioShack has introduced its new “Weekly Ad” on the
RadioShack Facebook page, incorporating advanced browse-by-page and
dynamic, user-initiated browse-by-item display functionalities that
create a window-shopping experience for consumers on Facebook.

“Based on our proprietary research, we know most RadioShack shoppers
search online and seek referrals from friends and family before
visiting a store. So we’re making it easier for them to learn more on
their terms,” said Lee Applbaum, executive vice president and chief
marketing officer for RadioShack Corp. “Facebook is often a hub for
these information-seeking conversations and provides a great forum
for injecting relevant product details into these discussions.
PointRoll gives us the ability to tie in local deals, dynamic content
and location-specific experiences to make Facebook conversations
around shopping for our products engaging and simple for consumers.”

With PointRoll’s SmartSocial, consumers are now able to browse the
Weekly Ad on RadioShack’s Facebook page in multiple ways, including:

        
        --  Weekly Ad Page Browse - Users can browse the digital circular
            page-by-page and rollover items of interest. This browsing activity
            leaves users a breadcrumb trail so they can easily return to the
            landing page. In the page-by-page browse, users can also choose to
            "Like" the Weekly Ad at any point of interaction and choose to
            showcase this to their friends.
        --  Item Recommendations - Users can browse the most popular items that
            are dynamically presented through a "wisdom of crowds" recommendation
            engine. Brands can also use this feature to recommend special offers
            from specific manufacturer partners.
        --  Item Detail - Users can view all available details about a specific
            item and prominent buttons, such as "Back," "Like," "Other Items You
            Might Like," and "Additional Product Details," prompting users to
            continue window shopping all within Facebook.
        --  Change Location - Users can change their location and/or view other
            stores within their current location with "Maps  Directions" and
            are allowed to "View the Weekly Ad" which sets to their location,
            making the Facebook shopping experience highly localized and personal
            to the user.
        
        

See the functionality in action here.

“As more shopping-related conversations, behaviors and purchase
intents are fostered within social networks like Facebook, the
powerful opportunity for retailer advertisers to engage is
undeniable,” said Rob Gatto, CEO, PointRoll. “RadioShack’s use of our
enhanced Facebook browsing capabilities brings one of the most
important shopping activities — window shopping — right where the
most influential product research and conversations about consumer
electronics take place.”

PointRoll’s SmartSocial offering is part of the ShopLocal
SmartDelivery product suite and helps advertisers create the most
personalized and social consumer shopping experiences. To learn more
about creating dynamic Facebook Pages and Facebook advertising, or
social media enhanced weekly online circulars, please visit
PointRoll’s Resource Center here.

About PointRoll
PointRoll, a Gannett Company


/quotes/zigman/227199/quotes/nls/gci GCI
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, is the
leading provider of digital marketing services and technology.
PointRoll enables advertisers, agencies and Web publishers to create,
deliver and measure interactive and action-inspiring online video,
rich media display, digital circulars, mobile, and social campaigns.
Delivering both the art and science of the digital engagement,
PointRoll provides the creative tools, analytics, distributed
content, and expertise marketers need to effectively engage consumers
and make a memorable and measurable impression. Evolving beyond the
banner, PointRoll allows marketers to find consumers wherever they
are across any digital platform and deliver a relevant and engaging
brand or direct response experience, dramatically improving ad
effectiveness. Serving more than 500 billion impressions for more
than two-thirds of the Fortune 500 brands, PointRoll delivers
measurable online advertising campaign results. For more information,
visit
http://www.pointroll.com or follow us @pointroll.

        
        Corie Pierce
        Horn Group for PointRoll
        (646)202-9758
        Corie.pierce@horngroup.com
        
        
        

SOURCE: PointRoll

        mailto:Corie.pierce@horngroup.com
        

Copyright 2011 Marketwire, Inc., All rights reserved.

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