Article by Fiana de Guzman published on August 29, 2008 and filed unter Events, Social Media Monitoring, Word of Mouth Marketing, ethority by using the tags 360 social media strategies, blogger area, Night of the Bloggers, omd, tour guide.
Just like last year, ethority will present its services and new products all around 360° Social Media Strategies at this year’s omd in Düsseldorf, Germany, from the 17th till the 18th of September 2008.
We are looking forward to serve as a tour guide on both days to present the convention’s highlights to interested exhibition visitors. If you are one of them and are interested in taking the tour, please apply here.
Of course, you can come by our stand (J40/Hall 11) without having registered at any time. Assure yourself of our expertise in the field of Social Media Marketing and Research.
Ethority’s bloggers are also thrilled to be there – Nils and David to be precise. They will do their best to give real time updates on omd highlights via Twitter.
Also, they’ve already reserved their seats in the Blogger Area and cannot wait to see who they’re going to bump into at the Night of the Bloggers.
Seat yourself in the Blogger Area here. To be on the guest list for the Night of the Bloggers at the Bar Konvex, Oberbilker Allee 26, follow this link.
Article by Fiana de Guzman published on August 14, 2008 and filed unter News, Reputation Management, Social Media Monitoring, User Generated Content, ethority by using the tags campaign, ceo, CEO reputation index, election, financial times, fortune 500, McCain, media partner, obama, reputation, social media, study, US presidential elections.
At the moment ethority is working on a study about the US presidential elections 2008. Our database for this study is a compilation of user opinions found in social media such as forums, weblogs and newssites.
These user opinions concern the two candidates Barack Obama and John McCain in general, as well as their image, climate protection, immigration policy and campaign topics such as education, trade, health, foreign and security policy. Since this is an international matter, we will account for English speaking as well as German and Spanish speaking internet users. Our crawler technology searches for all relevant user postings, verifies and categorizes them automatically.
The Financial Times Germany (FTD) will be presenting this study exclusively for the German market in August. Moreover, to accompany this study, we interviewed Stefan Prystawik (Republicans Abroad) and Shari Temple (Democrats Abroad) and produced a podcast focusing on campaign strategies 2.0 in the USA. The podcasts will soon be available on our Website.
Another highly interesting project we are working on at the moment, is a CEO reputation index of the Fortune 500. In collaboration with manager magazin, ethority already conducted a similar study focusing on the “German” Fortune 500.
Now, we are looking for a partner outside of Germany who is interested in presenting a social media study. Of course, we are open to further suggestions and appreciate new ideas. You can contact me directly at Fiana.de.Guzman(at)ethority.de
I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Fiana de Guzman
Article by Fiana de Guzman published on August 13, 2008 and filed unter Reputation Management, Social Media Monitoring by using the tags CEO reputation index, corporate communication, monitoring, social media.
| In June, Manager Magazin presented ethority’s reputation index. Next to “image” data, it also displays the overall buzz the CEOs’ names generated. The analysis of over 60,000 contributions in forums and blogs yielded the following ranking: |
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| Furthermore, we conducted a topic oriented analysis of those blog postings. The following graph shows what topics bloggers addressed in combination with the different CEOs: |
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| The findings of this study clearly show that the “commanders” of German corporations are discussed intensely in consumer generated media. Therefore, the question for corporate communication should no longer be if those channels should be integrated but rather how soon the monitoring of social media can be started. Whether you choose to listen to it or not – the buzz concerning companies and their leaders will not stop. And to bury your head in the sand is certainly not the right strategy to achieve new goals. Weblogs, forums, twitter and social networks with their online conversations have long surpassed the state of being marginal phenomena. Today and in the future, public is created and happening online. Therefore, being aware of such channels and monitoring them can only be the first step in this context. Corporate communication departments and PR agencies have to go even further: only the ones that “listen” to discussions in social media and actively communicate online will be able to participate in building the image of their company in this rapidly growing part of society. |
Article by Nils Maier published on May 15, 2008 and filed unter Market Research, News, Online Trends, Social Media Monitoring, Social Networks, User Generated Content, Word of Mouth Marketing by using the tags ethority, international, network, social, study, worlsdwide.
Social networks enjoy increasing popularity with internet users. There is hardly a better way to take care of one’s personal circle of friends or business network. But which communities enjoy a good reputation with their German and English users and which do not? Which networks within the eight surveyed linguistic areas is talked about most frequently on the web? Which opportunities do network operators provide for marketers to use these platforms for advertising purposes?
The international social network study illustrates: within the channels of communication in German user generated media, SchülerVZ receives the worst image values according to the evaluations. In English-speaking areas, xanga.com achieves only bad image values whereas the international buzz is focussed on Facebook, Myspace and LinkedIn. In German-speaking areas, StudiVZ achieves the first place in the buzz index ranking. Concerning marketing strategies, traditional banners are still the prevailing choice for marketing within the social networks. Widgets are up and coming. The appeal of these small web applications lies in their immensely far range of coverage and they are increasingly provided by networks.
„The results of this study illustrate the prominent role of social networks within the environment of user generated media. No matter if within the EU, North or South America – In the future, social networking will more and more become one of the established social channels of communication. This is the specific reason why the appeal of networks will become particularly stronger for marketing departments. Although the first large-scale behaviour-targeting attempts of various network operators had to be classified as failures, the general marketing qualification of social networks should not be questioned. Take widgets, for example. These small programs are just one of the possible methods which lead to successful marketing.
But although they have many tempting possibilities in social networks, advertisers should not lose contact with the users. The key for successful marketing of social media offers lies in the direct and outspoken communication with the users…” says David Nelles, Company Spokesman of ethority GmbH & Co. KG.
For more than 10 years, ethority GmbH & Co. KG is successful at the market being experts in semantic web analyses and online marketing. ethority’s expertise includes market research and online marketing as well as the analysis, initiation and realisation of word of mouth campaigns in Germany. Here, ethority is not confined to the German-speaking market but is able to serve all international markets by means of their multi-lingual approach.
Article by Nils Maier published on May 13, 2008 and filed unter News, Online Trends, Social Media Monitoring by using the tags analysis, ethority, media, monitoring, network, social, travel, trends, vacation.
Within the channels of user generated media, family holidays are the most frequently mentioned issue. Users in weblogs like to discuss the topic of winter holidays, whereas a vacation in the snow does not enjoy great popularity in online communities. Here, users prefer to talk about cruises, while this topic cannot be found under the bloggers’ top 5 ways of travelling. Moreover, and in contrast to active online community members, bloggers rather choose to have conversations about package tours. Concerning the ways to travel, bloggers and online community members seem to agree on adventure and city travels. In both channels of communication, they are the most frequently discussed.
Top Ways to Travel - Online Communities:
Cruises
Last Minute
Adventure Vacations
City Trips
Family Holidays
Top Ways to Travel - Weblogs:
Package Tours
Adventure Vacations
City Trips
Winter Holidays
Family Holidays
Users in weblogs and online communities also agree on the way of booking travels. At this, statements for booking offline have the lion’s share of the topics. About 2/3 of the statements on both channels are allotted to the traditional booking method. This confirms the results of the recent AGOF study. Consumers like to obtain detailed advice in the user generated channels but prefer to book offline in a travel agency.
Booking Methods – Online Communities:
Internet
Travel Agency
Booking Methods - Weblogs:
Internet
Travel Agency
The here described booking behaviour indicates the path that marketers have to take in the future. The increasing consumer focus on information concerning products or travels in online domains sets new benchmarks for a successful marketing mix. No matter if it is a large-scale print campaign or an elaborate TV spot – traditional forms of advertisement impress consumers to a lesser and lesser extend. Therefore, it is essential to meet the consumer where he increasingly searches for information. More and more often, customers use portals such as Holidaycheck, TripAdvisor or Opodien in order to obtain information about their potential travel destinations and holiday accommodations before booking. In any case, marketers of the tourism industry should be prepared for this tendency, especially in consideration of the current number of internet users. By now, according to the latest survey of Bitkom, already 63% of the Germans roam the internet.
Article by Nils Maier published on May 13, 2008 and filed unter News, Online Trends, Social Media Monitoring by using the tags analysis, ethority, media, monitoring, network, social, travel, trends, vacation.
Regarding travels outside Europe, the US and Asia are clearly the main topics in weblogs and online communities. This resulted from the quantitative analysis of consumer comments in the current study. For the intense buzz in the United States, surely the decisive factor is the favourable dollar exchange rate because of which the US has become something like a shopper’s paradise.
In online communities, the African continent ranks third as a potential travel destination, whereas it ranks fifth concerning the overall buzz in weblogs. Bloggers show a greater interest in American Oceania and South America.
This quantitative netnographic study was based on 6500 user opinions in weblogs and online communities concerning the topic of Social Networks. The categorized and evaluated comments originate from ca. 1000 blogs and 400 online communities which have been located with the assistance of the gridmaster technology. Within the scope of this process, the respective channels of communication, topics and the tonality of the comments have been recorded.
The ethority study illustrates the importance of the channels of communication within web 2.0 for the tourism industry. Online communities and weblogs are increasingly used by consumers as relevant sources of information. Furthermore, recommendations, which are exchanged in these channels of communication, exert direct influence on booking decisions. The studies conducted by the American market research institute eMarketer, in collaboration with Deloitte (2007), are able to document this influence by means of their data.
Article by Nils Maier published on April 7, 2008 and filed unter News, Online Trends, Social Media Monitoring, Social Networks, User Generated Content, Word of Mouth Marketing by using the tags 2008, destination, ethority, top, travel, trends.
Surely, several families are already busy with planning their next summer holiday. By now, as the recent AGOF Study was able to show, about 50% of the internet users arrange their holidays online. On holiday portals such as Opodien, users exchange their opinions about their favourite travel destinations and types of leave. The study Travel Trends 2008 conducted by ethority GmbH & Co. KG intended to record the holiday-buzz, at which the base data were provided by 6500 authentic user opinions. Here, the first part of the study was concerned with the evaluation of the most popular destinations within weblogs and online communities.
According to the ethority results, Germany is the top destination for german bloggers and community users. In the course of the analysis it became clear that the German’s favourite type of leave is a short trip betweentimes. At present, short trips to Berlin or to the Baltic Sea at weekends are extremely popular. The top 5 ranks regarding travel destinations are represented by the German tourism industry’s usual classics such as Austria, Italy and Spain. However, it is astonishing that the classics Greece and Turkey cannot be found among the most popular destinations of German internet users - both travel destinations are not represented within the 5 top countries. In the second part of the study Travel Trends 2008 the international top destinations of German users, the top types of leave and the favoured booking methods are presented.
Article by Nils Maier published on March 17, 2008 and filed unter News, Online Trends, Social Media Monitoring, Social Networks.
The last part of the ethority Social Network Survey analyzes the communication channels which picks social networks out as a central theme. Especially noticeable regarding the results was the total distribution of the Buzz concerning the issue of web communities. The communities’ percentage of the Buzz was merely 10,9%, whereas the blogosphere was able to obtain almost 90% of the total conversation quantity within user generated media in regard to the issue of social networks.
(- Grafik -)
Consequently, social networks are a popular subject for bloggers. This is not surprising, given that social networks have been the major topic on the web during the last month. Especially the bloggers’ topical affinity to the virtual networks allows them to become experts in this field. A discussion about data security, marketing attempts or “Kifferzitate” (see recent discussion about an interview with StudiVZ boss Riecke) – the networks provide the opinion leaders in web 2.0 with more than enough issues to write about.
Which bloggers and weblogs, however, stand out against the masses with regard to their reports about social networks?
(- Grafik -)
By means of his blog basicthinking.de, Robert Basic, the German blogger number one, causes the highest Buzz (33.1%) concerning the issue of social networks. The ethority survey was able to verify Mike Schnorr, blogger and publicist at Sevenload, to be the second largest Buzz-generator (24.6%) with his blog sichelputzer.de. With 14.8%, the weblog Werkkanon.de from Düsseldorf achieves the third place in this ranking. The following ranks are taken by Fischmarkt, Don Alphonso, Bernd Röthlinghöfer and Spreeblick.
The survey demonstrated that topics such as marketing and data security are favoured issues for bloggers. Again, this is not surprising, because most of the bloggers are experts on these internet topics after all. This is the reason why network operators should be aware of bloggers as web experts and opinion leaders. Some companies, such as Holtzbrinck, could utilize this know-how in order to save them and their users further PR ordeals. The major issue in online communities are recommendations. Thus, for the network operators, word of mouth marketing is the most important tool for generating new users. Xing, StudiVZ, Facebook, etc. should therefore place more emphasis on improving their reputation among bloggers as well as among their non-blogging clientele.
Article by Nils Maier published on March 14, 2008 and filed unter Social Media Monitoring, Social Networks.
Here is a very interesting article by Chalene Li, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester:
The future of social networks: Social Networks will be like air
