Article by Fiana de Guzman published on August 28, 2008 and filed unter News, Reputation Management, User Generated Content by using the tags campaign, McCain, media consumption, obama, US presidential election, web 2.0.
ethority analyzed around 90,000 authentic user opinions found in forums, blogs and news sites concerning the two candidates running for president of the USA. German-, English- and Spanish-speaking contributions on the internet were evaluated and show that the democratic candidate Barack Obama has a greater buzz (percentage) compared to his republican competitor John McCain. However, in terms of sentiment, especially among German- and Spanish-speaking internet users, McCain and Obama are nip and tuck. Buzz-wise both candidates’ scores are almost even throughout English-speaking contributions on the web.
Never before has a US presidential election attracted that much attention and raised such an interest in Germany, as it is the case today. One of the most crucial reasons most likely to cause this effect is its strong presence on the internet. Both campaigns actively use web 2.0 services such as forums, blogs and social networks to get their “word” across. But what campaign related topics are discussed most frequently on the web and how do internet users react to or reflect those topics? How high is the buzz on the internet concerning the two candidates? Are there differences across various language areas when it comes to user opinions of Obama and McCain and their political views?
This buzz analysis shows that campaign managers in the US are not only aware of the change of social media consumption but anticipate it. User generated communication channels are used in the USA, as well as in German- and Spanish-speaking communities, to discuss political topics related to the upcoming presidential election this November. This change of media usage should inspire German campaign managers to follow this example. If the big German parties still want to reach their voters in the future, they have to make room in their campaigns and integrate digital communication channels, because they constitute an unprecedented opportunity to participate in the decision-making process. Internet users have long reached beyond classic forms of media such as print and TV. While it was hard to form a political opinion aside from traditional media and the circle of family and friends before there was web 2.0, YouTube & Co. provide a platform with exponential growth where opinions are formed and decisions are made.
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 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 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.
