Digital American Newsletter

Marketers are excited about retargeting ads, behavioral analysis, and other tactics that leverage consumers’ personal information to increase marketing impact. But, how do consumers feel?

• The average American considers their location data almost as sensitive as a list of the medications they take.
• 18-29 year olds are more likely than any other age group to take steps to hide their digital footprint. (Really. Forget everything you’ve read about Millennials not caring about privacy.)
• Consumers believe there is a big gap between the personal data they knowingly share and the data that companies collect. They deeply resent that gap.
• The majority of Americans are conflicted about trading personal information for discounts or benefits. They often make the swap and then regret it because their data is used in ways they never anticipated.
• Consumers frequently use the word "creepy" to describe how businesses use their personal data.
• Almost 75% of Americans are not confident that retailers and brands keep their personal information secure.

What’s a marketer to do? Consumers are comfortable sharing if a company provides a concise, complete description of how their data will be used and delivers compelling, personal benefits in return.

While we were busy talking about big data and marketing ROI, emoji marketing caught fire. Should your brand participate? Here are the fast facts.

• Psychologists say consumers respond to emojis the same way they react to a live person making the same expression. Smiley face emojis make your customers smile.
• 92% of the online population uses emojis, and the majority in all age ranges utilize the symbols frequently.
• 84% of women and three quarters of men believe emojis express emotions better than words.
• Humans process visuals much more rapidly than text, so emoji messages are absorbed fast when consumers scan their social feeds.
• 40% of top brands used emojis on Facebook in Q4 2015, up 46% versus a year ago. The number of emojis on Twitter is increasing rapidly too.
• Brands are driving sales with emoji marketing. For example, Dominos created a custom pizza symbol that customers can use to place an order with just one keystroke on Twitter.

marketers talk about social media, they almost never mention LinkedIn. If they do, it tends to be an afterthought or in the context of career development.

That’s a mistake.

Here are 6 powerful reasons why you should be marketing on LinkedIn, no matter what you sell.

• The average consumer who clicks from LinkedIn to an ecommerce site spends $207, $42 more than via Facebook.
• Before you say, “But nobody buys anything based on a LinkedIn post,” the social network has the second highest growth of clickbacks to ecommerce sites, surpassed only by Facebook. (Really. I double checked.)
• More US adults use LinkedIn than Twitter. And, that gap is widening over time.
• The majority of content marketers (aren’t we all doing content marketing now?) say LinkedIn is the most effective social channel.
• LinkedIn users are an attractive target market: well educated, with high household incomes, and crossing all age ranges.
• The network is responsible for over 80% of all B-to-B leads generated by social media.

Sounds like an interesting marketing channel, doesn’t it?

For years we have heard that high income Americans are the heaviest users of technology. It turns out that is not exactly true.

According to Nielsen’s latest Total Audience Report, higher income consumers own more devices and services, but lower earning Americans spend more time with every one they have. This relationship holds true across all income levels and technologies—including TV, smartphones, tablets, game consoles and video streaming services.

Households with annual incomes under $25K watch twice as much TV as those who earn over $75K. They spend 50% more time on the Internet, and 24% more time online via their smartphone.

Americans who earn less have fewer devices and services. Virtually everyone in the top income bracket owns a smartphone, versus only 64% of those in the bottom bracket. As a result, poorer consumers spend a greater percentage of their media time with TV than do wealthier Americans. The reverse is true for digital technology.

Income has a stronger correlation with technology usage than race does. Within the same income band, device ownership and time spent with each technology is almost identical across ethnicities.

The #1 reason why Americans share content is to make people laugh. In fact, when asked if they were more likely to pass on information that was funny or information that was important, the vast majority of Americans chose humor.

The powerful emotional driver underlying sharing is the desire for interpersonal connection. However, consumers tend to have specific motivations for re-posting different types of content. They share inspiring content to express their creativity. Cause-related posts to belong and earn respect. Controversial material to seek opinions. (The researchers did not analyze why people post political content, so I’m going to go with my gut and say it is to piss off others.)

75% of Americans share others’ posts. They are most likely to pass on content from friends and family, followed by work colleagues. Material from third parties (news sources, brands etc.) is shared less often.

UM Wave’s research shows brands can most effectively achieve specific marketing objectives by creating different types of content. Controversial content is best for driving brand awareness. Entertaining material is most likely to create product desire. Educational posts excel at driving trial, and highly sharable content is most powerful for promoting brand loyalty.