The Walt Disney Company Board of Directors has nominated Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook Inc., to be a new independent director, effective upon her election at the Company’s next annual meeting.
Among Women, Facebook Dominates and Twitter is Growing Rapidly; But Study Reveals Important Differences in Social Network Usage
Women have truly integrated social media into every part of their lives, from friends and family, to networking, to shopping. SheSpeaks today announced the findings of a new study, revealing 86% of women are now using popular social networks, a 48% increase compared to one year ago. In addition, social networks including Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, have emerged as key drivers of purchase intent among women, with one-half (50%) of social media users reporting they have purchased products because of information on social networking sites, and 40% reporting they have used coupon codes found on social networks.
The second annual Social Media Study of the national SheSpeaks membership, yielding more than 1,500 responses, revealed the most dramatic increase in social media use was among women 50+ years of age, whose participation grew from 31% in 2008 to 70% in 2009. Social media participation was up across all age groups this year, with participation among younger women up 10% compared to 2008. In addition, more women are frequently logging into social networking sites since 2008, with 36% more women reporting they log in at least once per day (73% vs. 53%).
“Last year our members were going online primarily to research purchases, but now they are looking to social media to help them research, guide and facilitate every kind of transaction, from social exchanges to purchases,” said Aliza Freud, Founder and CEO of SheSpeaks. “Women have become more comfortable using social media, and for marketers, the overall growth and habitual use of social media represents opportunities to reach and engage women of all ages, and influence their purchase decisions.”
Facebook has dominated social media this year with 95% of those women who use social networks on Facebook, up 46% from one year ago. MySpace participation declined over the last year (63% to 42%), while nearly 40% of the women surveyed reported they have Twitter accounts. Although many women use both Facebook and Twitter, an astounding 80% prefer Facebook. In fact, 25% of those surveyed abandoned Twitter after creating their accounts, while Facebook use only declined 7% for women after creating Twitter accounts. Facebook users also reported they are two times more likely to log in daily (72%), compared to Twitter users (36%).
“Although Facebook is currently more popular than Twitter among women, they each share a purpose in women’s lives,” said Freud. “Facebook serves women’s need to interact with friends and share photos, while Twitter has become a tool that is primarily used for professional networking and learning about up-to-the-minute news, promotions and deals.”
The study also found online video has grown in popularity over the last year. Almost 40% of the women surveyed reported they frequently watch video and TV content online, and 85% say they watch it frequently or sometimes. A separate poll of SheSpeaks members found that clips from news and TV programming were the most commonly watched type of online video in the prior week (68%), followed by videos that are forwarded (49%), full news and TV programs (40%), and videos posted by friends (40%). Entertaining advertisements were the least popular type of video, but were still watched by one-third of women within the last week.
“Our members are spending more time watching video on the Web, especially now that more premium content is available,” said SheSpeaks CMO Fiona Pietruski. “It is important for marketers to recognize that influential female consumers are spending their time with many types of digital media, where they can be reached with advertising and marketing messaging.”
Additional results from the SheSpeaks Second Annual Social Media Study can be found at: www.shespeaks.com/research.
About SheSpeaks
SheSpeaks is a social media platform that creates and operates consumer insights and influencer communities. At Shespeaks.com, women members gain access to products and services, and a forum to offer their honest feedback directly to the companies that create them. For participating brands, including Garnier, Heinz, Food Network, Philips, AOL and more, SheSpeaks offers a tremendous opportunity to spark consumer’s interest, obtain candid feedback, grow word-of-mouth awareness and build long-term brand advocates. Clients also work with SheSpeaks to facilitate branded experiences, including home parties and branded online communities. For more information, visit www.shespeaks.com/corp.
Hillsides Wins Nonprofit PR Award for Its Foster Soles Campaign
Year over year, the finalists for PR News’ Nonprofit PR Awards raise the bar for doing well by doing good, and 2009 was no exception. This year’s finalists, which represent industries and interests as diverse as organ/tissue donations, influenza preparedness and hunger prevention, overcame economic, social and political barriers to deliver results that exceeded even the loftiest of expectations. Hillsides, a foster care children’s charity serving families in Los Angeles County, including Pasadena, was among the winners at the Nonprofit PR Awards held at the National Press Club in Washington D.C.
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ComScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, released a study of online engagement at the top worldwide properties based on data from its comScore World Metrix service. The study found that Microsoft Sites captured nearly 15 percent of time spent online worldwide in September, making it the most engaging global property, followed by Google Sites and Yahoo! Sites. Facebook.com, which continues to see significant growth on a worldwide basis, was the fourth most engaging destination with visitors spending 1.4 billion hours on the site in September, up 193 percent from the previous year.
The Institute for Interactive Journalism at American University has received a $200,000 grant from the McCormick Foundation to fund eight women-led start-ups over the next two years that will generate new ideas in the world of news and information and model a spirit of journalistic entrepreneurship.
A new study by University of Maryland researchers finds a growing use of Twitter among members of Congress, but that the purpose and content of their messages fall short of improving government transparency.
Jennifer Golbeck, assistant professor, a doctoral student and an undergraduate assistant analyzed more than 5,000 tweets sent by 69 members of Congress in February. They found that House and Senate members were using the social media platform mostly to promote themselves, rather than engage in dialogue with constituents and the public at large. (more…)
ABC News is coming — to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications.
The college will open the newest ABC News On Campus bureau this month, offering students the opportunity to work with and learn from professionals at a national broadcast news network. The On Campus program is a partnership between the ABC television network’s news division and seven leading journalism schools.
Thank you to everyone who attended the IABC Phoenix luncheon today to hear me speak about personal branding. It was fun to present and I hope you had fun participating. Great questions!
You can download a copy of the presentation at this link: http://tinyurl.com/JoePRguyonBranding
Unfortunately we ran out of time- great questions and dialogue about social media, branding, and how to approach people for testimonials. The final point of my presentation was cut short, so I thought I’d share it with you now. As I emphasized in the presentation, it’s important to be visible in the community. A great way to do this is to be a professional volunteer for a nonprofit organization or charitable cause. Here are some points I didn’t get to about being a volunteer:
If you attended the event I would like your feedback! Complete this short survey and you’ll be entered into a drawing to win your own customized, personal brand t-shirt! http://tinyurl.com/IABCfeedback
If you have any comments or additional questions feel free to post them below. Thank you!
Brand YOU: It’s Time To Get Personal
Whether you are one of the many communications professionals looking for a job in today’s economy or you are happily employed, you need to take advantage of the many online tools available to build your personal brand. You already have an online reputation if you are using any social media or networking websites- what are you doing to manage it? Have you developed a strategy to increase your professional network?
Building a personal brand starts with your digital identity, but it’s more than using Twitter and LinkedIn- you have to be a presence in your industry both online and in the community. I’d like to invite you to join us for the IABC Phoenix luncheon on August 20, where I’ll be discussing personal branding strategies, both online and in-person.
Some of the things I’ll discuss you already know, but you’ll learn some tips and techniques you might not have thought about. It’s a fun and informative presentation you won’t want to miss!
IABC Phoenix Luncheon
August 20, 2009
Joe PR Guy: Brand YOU: It’s Time to Get Personal!
Register: www.iabcphoenix.com
Thanks to Kevin Horton, tvkevin productions, for sponsoring the event with this video.
A report released today by Forbes ranked West Point, The U.S. Military Academy, the top college in the country in their America’s Best College report.
“Marked by an intense work ethic and drive to succeed on all fronts, the West Point undergraduate experience also allows graduates to leave without a penny of tuition loans to repay,” Forbes stated in their release.
The Center for College Affordability and Productivity staff gathered data from a variety of sources basing 25 percent of the rankings on seven million student evaluations of courses and instructors, as recorded on the Web site RateMyProfessors.com. Another 25 percent depends on how many of the school’s alumni, adjusted for enrollment, were listed among the notable people in Who’s Who in America.
The other half of the ranking were based equally on three factors; the average amount of student debt at graduation held by those who borrowed; the percentage of students graduating in four years; and the number of students or faculty, adjusted for enrollment, who have won nationally competitive awards like Rhodes Scholarships or Nobel Prizes.
To see the complete rankings go to www.forbes.com.
