Consumerism

50 Free Social Media Tools You Can't Live Without. A couple years ago, Jay Baer wrote a great blog post called ‘The 39 social media tools I’ll use today’ which was an all-in-one toolkit for social media marketers (and still is).

A lot has changed in the two years since that post was published so here is a ’2012 remix’ featuring 50 (mostly free) tools you can use on a daily basis. [STUDY] How Americans Feel About Personalized Search & Targeted Ads. A new report out today from the fabulous folks at Pew reveals something that you, Internet user, probably already know.

Most Americans are "anxious" about the personal information that search engines and websites collect from them, according to the study. The majority of 'Net users disapprove: 65% say that search engines collecting information is a bad thing because it narrows the type of information you'll get online, effectively creating a Filter Bubble type effect. Conversely, only 29% think search engines collecting information to shape future search results is a good thing because it tailors searches to you. In the age of oversharing on the Internet, Google's newest privacy policies and Facebook Timeline of your life, is it right to collect and use personal data? Google's new privacy policy is essentially a single privacy policy, working toward one unified product. What else did Pew discover? On the whole, search engine users were quite pleased with search tools. Even on $15,000 a Year, Most Young People Buy Smartphones [STUDY] When a twentysomething's budget is tight, her smartphone is far from the first expense to go, suggests a new study from Nielsen.

The survey of 20,000 U.S. mobile customers found that smartphone ownership skews toward the young and the wealthy — exactly as you'd expect. What is more surprising, however, is this nugget: smartphone penetration among young people in the lowest income bracket is higher than it is among older people in the wealthiest bracket. Among 18- to 24-year-olds, more than half of respondents who make less than $15,000 each year said they own a smartphone. This might be explained if the parents of many college-age students footing their children's phone bills. Still, even in the next oldest, post-college age group, the percentage of those in the same income bracket who own a smartphone was a mere 13% lower.

H&M Under Fire for Using Fake, Computer-Generated Models. Recently, Swedish fashion chain H&M came forth and admitted to using computer-generated models to showcase a range of collections on its website.

The virtual models look completely human, but if you look closely, they all have the same body shape and pose. The real model’s head has been superimposed on the body and the skin tone has been digitally altered to match her complexion. It was Swedish website Aftonbladet that first noticed the uncanny similarities of the models. How to Time Your Facebook Posts to Reach the Most Fans. Jeff Widman co-founded PageLever to provide better Facebook analytics for marketers.

PageLever measures more than 650 million Facebook fans across customers like YouTube and MTV. Jeff has been cited as an expert in Facebook analytics by Mashable, AdAge, the Wall Street Journal, Wired, InsideFacebook, AllFacebook, etc. I get asked all the time, "How frequently should I post on my Facebook page? When is the best time to post? " Answer: Post whenever the most recent status update for your page stops showing up in your fans' News Feeds. Social Media Engagement in China: Top 20 Luxury Brands. A new annual report from the L2ThinkTank has been released today, giving insights into which big-name luxury brands are best engaging with Chinese consumers in 2011.

The researchers dub it a “China IQ” – a measure of a company’s effectiveness on the web and social media among China’s growing middle-classes. The report’s authors stress that “success in the world’s fastest-growing prestige market is inextricably linked to digital competence.” They’ve identified a list of top 100 companies in this regard, but we’ll boil it down to 20 top web and social media engagers. Before we identify those brands, how big is the luxury market in China?

Looking at the above graph, we see a realistic, “addressable” market amongst the world’s populace who have an income of over US$30,000. Top 20 “China IQ” List For 2011 And the winner is… Audi. Social Consumers and the Science of Sharing [INFOGRAPHIC] If you're buying a car, do you check Facebook?

Or do you read up on Kelley Blue Book values and scour the company website for every spec, from horsepower to miles per gallon? What about music — do you check Top 40 radio charts or scope out what your Facebook friends are actually listening to on Spotify? Social media has infiltrated the purchasing funnel, helping consumers make informed decisions, from what to have for lunch to where to go on vacation. Depending on the decision, sometimes you turn to your social graph, and sometimes you turn to Google. So, as a brand marketer, you want to know what online channels you should be targeting in order to reach the perfect audience for your product.