FreshNetworks Blog

China has the biggest market for social networks in the world. Restrictions by the Chinese government has caused several western social networks (e.g. Facebook) difficulty from entering the market, while naitve platforms have thrived. One of these is Sina Weibo, a microblogging service or, as many call it, ‘China’s Twitter’.

Why register an account on Sina Weibo?

Businesses who have brands operating in China, or who are planning to enter the Chinese market(s), should capitalise on the opportunity to protect their brand by ensuring they are properly registered before someone snaps up their name. Sina Weibo is growing quickly and the microblogging platform has recently surpassed 200 million users.

How to secure your brand name

Sadly, Sina Weibo can be a little impenetrable for western eyes. The language barrier has rendered the sign-up process less than UK user-friendly. We thought it would be helpful to take you through the registration process, step-by-step so you can make sure your brand is protected, even if you have no plans to invest in the market quite yet.

In an article published online today, Andrew Walmsley, talks about some of the studies which indicate that social media is a lead indicator of share-price performance.

Walmsley notes that as players of the stock market are always seeking a lead on rivals and a signs of things to come,  it’s no surprise that social media monitoring has been seized upon as a potential forecasting tool – people who ‘like’ a brand, become a fan, discuss it in forums, tweet or blog about it are expressing their interest or approval in dozens of ways.

Walmsley then goes on to describe 3 examples of where there appears to be  a statistically significant relationship  between the stock price and the buzz that’s been monitored:

1. Altman Vilandrie

US based management consulting group Altman Vilandrie conducted a proof-of-concept study in the US, looking at the iPhone 4 antenna problem in 2010. Though only a preliminary study, they found social media to be a good proxy for consumer sentiment as it acted as a lead indicator both for the stock-price decline and news sentiment. It was also more reliable than online news sources, which lagged behind and were sometimes sensationalist in tone.

2. Pace University and Famecount

Pace University in New York collaborated with Famecount, the social analytics company, in a study to examine the relationship between the stock prices of Coca-Cola, Starbucks and Nike and the number of fans they had in social media. All three brands were shown to display a significant correlation and a relationship that worked on a 10- to 30-day lag of stock price to social media, making it a useful predictive tool.

3. Sntmnt.com

A start-up stock market and trend analysis company called Sntmnt.com, based in the Netherlands, is applying machine learning to pick out the correlations between 10,000 buzz sources and the stock prices of 25 funds on the Amsterdam exchange. Early results from the beta stage claim 56% accuracy in its predictions.

What is interesting about these studies, as Walmsley points out,  is that if the market starts to believe that buzz is a predictor of stock performance, then whether this is real or not ceases to matter; buzz spikes will start to be reflected by jumps in stock prices as traders begin to follow the metrics.

Obviously we shouldn’t take anything as read just yet as these studies are still in the early days of examining the influence of social media on share prices, but it will be interesting to see if anything more develops over the coming months.

Image by dobrych via Flickr

The latest data from the Office of National Statistics n the UK shows that, for the first time ever, over half of adults accessed social networking sites in 2011. The annual British Internet Habits survey showed that in 2011, 57% of over-16s in the UK are using the internet for social networking, as opposed to 43% in 2010. This is a significant landmark, and the rate of growth is impressive and it shows the importance of social networking in the lives of British adults.

Digging deeper into these statistics we can start to understand more about use of social networking in the UK:

• Women are more likely than men to have used social networks, with 60% of them using such sites in 2011 (compared with 54% of men)
• Social networks are all but ubiquitous for the 16-24 year olds, with 91% of this age range using them. Usage is high for the 25-34 year old (76%) and 35-44 year olds (58%).
• Almost one in five of those aged 65+ use social networks (18%)

Alongside this marked increase in the use of social networks in the last year, the survey data reveals more about how British adults are using the internet:

• The most popular activity online is, unsurprisingly, to find information about good or services that people want to buy – this reinforces the importance of his channel in the education and buying process
• Men are more likely than women to consume news online (57% compared with 47%)
• Almost one in three UK adults (31%) have sold their own goods online
• Professional networking (such as LinkedIn) is most popular with those aged 25-34 and 25-44
• The use of internet for phone calls is increasing – with 29% of UK adults making a call over the Internet in 2011
• Internet access from mobile devices is increasing dramatically – with 45% of UK adults accessing the Internet from these devices, up from 31% in 2010.

However, this data also highlights the 23% of the UK population who have no access to the Internet at home, with half of these people saying that they have no need for the Internet at all.

82% of TV adverts generate negative ROI, according to the book The Social Media Management Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Get Social Media Working in Your Business, written by a team of three from Accenture.

If this is actually the case, it begs the question: Why are we all so obsessed with social media ROI?

Given that the first TV ad was broadcast over 70 years ago, and social media has only really come to the forefront for business use in the last 5 or so years, it make little sense that brands and businesses are reluctant to invest in social media due to a lack of hard ROI statistics, but are happy to pour millions into TV advertising.

So why is this the case? I’m not really convinced that brands and businesses themselves understand why social media ROI is so fundamental to its adoption. Is it because the likes of Facebook and Twitter are still viewed to be ‘free’ thus there is a reluctance to invest? Or is it a case of waiting to see if someone comes up with the equivalent social media metric for what ‘reach’ is to PR?

To me, I think we’re obsessed with social media ROI because social media, unlike TV advertising, is so much more than just another channel.The smart brands and businesses want a social media strategy that includes measurements, KPIs and metrics that deliver value across the whole business, rather than just for PR, marketing or other one-off initiatives.

This type of adoption- social business- requires uptake from the top level down, cross market, cross department and cross discipline. And for businesses to invest in social media in this way,  it’s vital to understand the value it can generate before taking that leap.

Becoming a social business, and using social media in a way that is potentially transformational to an organisation, requires heavy investment in both financial, resourcing and strategic terms. So for business to willingly adopt this model it’s wholly understandable to see why we’re all obsessed with social media ROI.

Data is the new oil. Apparently.

While this may be a slightly strange and annoying cliché by now, data is vitally important for enabling businesses to learn more about their customers and their audience.

I went to a talk this morning titled ‘The importance of growth and the data economy’. There were a number of speakers at the event, but with data at the heart of each of their presentations, there were some key questions answered:

1. Where is all this data about us coming from?

In short, cookies. Cookies are small, often encrypted text files, located in browser directories. They are created when a user’s browser loads a particular website. Cookies can track your surfing habits, that over time build up a profile of your interests.

2. What is being done with this data?

This data is used to target you and show adverts that are meant to be the most relevant to you. For example, on its website, HP is transparent and answers the question about how it uses automatic data collection tools

“HP or its service providers send cookies when you surf our site or sites where our ads appear, make purchases, request or personalize information, or register yourself for certain services. Accepting the cookies used on our site, sites that are “powered by” another company on HP’s behalf, or sites where our ads appear may give us access to information about your browsing behavior, which we may use to personalize your experience.”

This implies that as soon as you enter the HP site that they will be harvesting all of your personal data.

3. So should I be concerned?

What is most important to note about cookies is that you provide the information to them. If you fill out a form on a website and provide sensitive information such as your name, address, email, credit card etc, then this data can be stored in a cookie. If you are concerned about a certain site, you can of course choose not to accept a cookie. In this instance however, I doubt you would want to enter your information into that site anyway.

Ultimately, cookies provide personalisation for each user and the ads that you see are targeted so that they are most relevant for you. After all, an advertiser selling life insurance for over 40′s will not want you to see the ad if you are a healthy 25-year-old.

4. What is the role of data in social media?

Ensuring that there is a joined up approach across the organisation is key. When running a campaign, it is essential that the target audience is the same for the various activities, be it ATL or social media.

Targeting these people can then be done with social advertising on networks like Facebook. However, beyond this it’s important that personalised conversations are happening within your target audience and this is the key place where social activity can differentiate itself.

Establishing relationships with people in of social networks and online communities will help create a more engaged audience and increase the likelihood of these people becoming customers and, in turn, brand ambassadors or influencers, thereby spreading the word in the communities they are active among your key audience.

5. How can I engage with my target audience?

In order to engage with your target audience, you first need to identify them. This can be done by carrying out social media monitoring or using the various listening tools that are avaliable on the market place.

This is only the first step, though. While automated solutions are a great way to keep your costs to a minimum, the real work is then in reviewing the information and then refining it.