Earlier this week I posted an article examining the percent of the world’s population that had a facebook account. During the course of researching that article, I took a look at what was happening in the developing world. Not surprisingly, the data showed that Facebook activity in poorer countries was far more dominated by individuals under the age of 35. The 18-24 age cohort contained the highest percentage of Facebook accounts globally.
Though this was consistent with the perception of social media being dominated by Millennials, it raised the question in my mind of what technologies they were using to access Facebook. This week, in an article posted on NielsenWire, Venkatesh Bala, Chief Economist for The Cambridge Group, reported that mobile technologies are providing increasing access to the internet for the emerging middle class. In the article he states that ” internet penetration for established economies follows a fairly typical pattern, rising with income levels, and requiring a threshold of around $20,000 of per capita GDP to achieve 50% penetration.” In developing countries instead of a $20,000 threshold, “mobile phone penetration exceeds 50% with a per capita GDP as low as $5,000″ and that “mobile phone penetration rates are even higher than those of more advanced economies such as the U.S. and Canada because mobile is an affordable, accessible alternative to the Internet.”
He concludes that this will have a significant impact on advertising:
A vibrant set of mobile advertising solutions will be an essential ingredient for long-term growth in emerging markets to ensure adequate trade-up to higher price points and brands as per capita income rises. The respective importance of different media by market development suggests that mobile serves as a substitute for the Internet among the middle class in emerging markets for the distribution of broad-based marketing messages, and a complementary platform in established economies. Like any good investment, timing is everything, and mobile should be the leading-edge technology deployed by advertisers in developing markets and added to the portfolio in established sectors.
Granted, in the US and other developed countries, a majority of those accessing social media sites are using computers. Nevertheless, every year an increasing number of people are using mobile devices to access the internet and social media sites. According to Nielsen last March:
Mobile is a natural fit for social networks, as consumers are used to connecting with friends via mobile calls and text. UK mobile web users have the greatest propensity to visit a social network through their handset with 23% of them (2 million people) doing so, compared to 19% in the US (10.6 million people). The numbers of people doing so are a big increase on last year – 249% in the UK and 156% in the US.
With social networking dominating on-line activity, and mobile technologies playing an increasing role in that activity, individuals and businesses need to evaluate how they can effectively convey their messages on these channels and platforms. Not only do we need to determine how to effectively message and advertise on Facebook, but we need to understand how that message will be seen on a mobile device using a mobile app. For example, today Facebook’s mobile app on the Blackberry and iPhone has no room to display advertising impressions. On the other hand, those who watch shows and videos on their mobile devices see the embedded advertisements.
If your Facebook marketing strategy relies on direct advertising, you will need to factor in mobile usage as you estimate what percent of your audience will be exposed to your advertising. That factor will vary significantly depending upon the age demographic you are trying to reach, and whether that cohort is domestic or international. If you are considering a social media marketing strategy, take the time and see if your advertising or media buying agency understands the social media space. It is easy to understand the frustration of C-level executives when they see little return on their investment. As with any new technology or communication channel, knowledge and research will give you the greatest opportunity to be successful. Have you started advertising on social media platforms yet? How has your experience been?
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