Millennial Consumers: Engaged, Optimistic, Charitable [STUDY] A study comparing Millennials with non-Millennials sheds light on some of the key behaviors and attitudes of the generation. Currently numbered at 79 million — and growing in influence — Millennials are expected to outnumber the Baby Boomer population 78 million to 56 million by 2030. The Boston Consulting Group recently surveyed 4,000 Millennials aged 16 to 34, as well as 1,000 non-Millennials aged 35 to 40. The report's complete findings are available online. Here's a summary of the key takeaways of the survey, and what marketers and companies need to keep in mind as the generation continues to become more dominant. Millennials are actively engaged in consuming and influencing In contrast to the stereotypical view that they are lazy and entitled, Millennials are extremely optimistic about the ability of business and government to influence global change. Millennials favor recommendations from peers or friends Millennials are "digital natives" The upshot?
The Life and Times of Steve Jobs [INFOGRAPHIC] Mashable The Life and Times of Steve Jobs [INFOGRAPHIC] | The top source for social and digital news Steve Jobs packed a lot of living into his 56 years. If his career had ended 30 years ago, he still would have made history for helping popularize the personal computer. But he did so much more than that. As we all know, Jobs defied F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous quote, "There are no second acts in American lives." The below infographic, from Infographic World, lays out Jobs's life and accomplishments. $4.7 Billion in Digital Goods Will Pass Through PayPal This Year eBay says that its PayPal division expects to hit $4.7 billion in total payment volume (TPV) of digital goods in 2011. The projection, announced at eBay's X.commerce Innovate developers conference, would be a significant increase in transactions for digital goods — up 28% from 2010, when digital goods accounted for a TPV of $3.4 billion. PayPal defines digital goods as the "direct or indirect payment of any digital asset." This includes virtual goods, digital music, news, media, online video and virtual currencies like Facebook Credits. "The big message is our belief that there's a lot of opportunity in digital goods," PayPal's Senior Director of Emerging Opportunities Carey Kolaja told Mashable. The company also announced that it is teaming up with Microsoft to bring in-console payments to the Xbox 360 before the end of the year. PayPal is working with publishers, such as The Wall Street Journal, on figuring out how best to monetize their content on the web.
The Millennial Generation INFOGRAPHIC - Embrace Disruption After posting about the generational gap this week, I came across some very interesting (American) infographics. Have a look: What are your thoughts about the millennial generation? Is there a big divide between this generation and the last? How Non-Profits Are Using Social Media Craigslist founder turned philanthropist Craig Newmark set out to discover which U.S. non-profits were the most effective social media users. It turns out, there doesn't appear to be a correlation between social media savvy and an organization's net worth. "The deal is, it's not about money, it's about getting people to talk with each other to make people's lives better," says Newmark, who now focuses his energies on his non-profit craigconnects, which seeks to maximize the use of online tools for the common good.
Next Generation Media Quarterly October 2011 The Rise of the Slacktivist Is there any value in a Slacktivist? Can 500,000 people on twitter actually change something? Is hitting the streets and protesting the only real way to cause social change? Sortable takes a look at the rise of slacktivism, and the power this movement has. Feel free to embed the infographic on your blog using the embed code below:<a href=" width="600" height="3877" src=" title="Slacktivism infographic" alt="The Rise of the Slacktivist"/></a><br /><a href=" href=" Rise of the Slacktivist</a> Sources:
Infographic Of The Day: The Fantasy Sports Economy Is Rip-Roaring | Co. Design I’ll admit that I don’t understand a lick about fantasy sports: So you get together with your friends and invent make-believe teams? Then you trade your players in such a way that you effectively rip off your buddies? And you have to pay money for the privilege? But if I were a marketer, I’d do my damnedest to try and grasp this stuff, because as Good and Column Five Media show, the folks who play fantasy sports are an extremely attractive bunch. [Click image for larger view] The infographic also suggests something interesting about sports journalism: In a way, fantasy sports now subsidize sportswriting. [Top image via ArchDaily.com]
Mobile Trends - June 2011 - Trending The Future Understanding Gen Y [INFOGRAPHIC] The up and coming Generation Y, age 18 to 28, will be the next core segment of consumers. To effectively communicate and connect with them, it is essential to understand their media consumption behavior. Ethan Bloch of Flowtown, has crafted an infographic to provide us with some insights. Note that the data only represents the U.S Gen Y population. If it doesn’t apply to your market, you might want to take it as a good-to-know information. The Gen Y, also known as the Net Generation, experienced a surging growth in social media usage, where usage proportion jumped from 7% in 2005 to 75% in January 2010. Interestingly, more than 5 out of 10 Gen Y visit social sites more than once a day. TV (65%) remains to be the most popular source of news but with the Internet (59%) closing in tightly at second place, surpassing TV is highly likely. More infographics here . Report an error
The Economics of Social Gaming [INFOGRAPHIC] The Social Media Infographics Series is supported by Vocus' Social Media Strategy Tool, a free, six-step online tool that lets you build a custom social media framework tailored to your organization’s goals. The only thing cooler than a million dollars is, well, a billion dollars. Fortunately for social game creators, that's just how much the industry is set to rake in this year. Indeed, it's big business, and it's not just for Internet nerds. In fact, one out of every five Americans over the age of six has played an online social game at least once — that's 56 million people, all told. Zynga alone has 232 million monthly players and nearly $600 million in revenue, and the industry is poised to keep on growing. Are you a social gamer? Infographic design by Nick Sigler Series supported by Vocus This series is supported by Vocus' Social Media Strategy Tool, a free online tool which lets you build your own custom social media framework in six easy steps.
The Rise of the Connected Customer and the New Era of Relevance Brian Solis inShare231 It’s not a widely kept secret, but customers do indeed keep companies in business. While businesses have long invested in improving customer relationships, the time has come to think beyond efficiencies and automation and examine new opportunities to rethink customer experiences overall. Why? Customers are more connected than ever before. It’s said that your brand is defined by what your customers and employees say when you’re not in the room. My good friend Becky Carroll just published her new book and I was honored to write the foreword. Good customer service used to be one of the secrets to business success. Let me ask you a question: When you picture customer service, do you see it from the standpoint of you as a business owner or stakeholder in a company, or do you think of it from the customer perspective, where your experiences as a customer remind you of what good service is and isn’t? Great—not just good—customer service is necessary for business survival. Care.
Following Brands on Twitter Increases Purchase Intent [STUDY] People who follow brands on Twitter are more likely to both buy and recommend those brands’ products, according to a recent study of online consumer behavior. The study, conducted by Constant Contact and research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey, analyzed the behavior of 1,491 consumers ages 18 and older throughout the U.S., and revealed a number of details about how people interact with brands on the world's beloved 140-character social network. So, just how powerful is the Twitter connection between consumers and businesses? The study found that 60% of brand followers are more likely to recommend a brand to a friend after following the brand on Twitter, and 50% of brand followers are more likely to buy from that brand. These findings mirror those from a previous report, detailing how consumers interact with brands on Facebook. Any increase in customer loyalty is great news for brands, especially those lucky enough to make the coveted list of followed companies.