Latinas, Social Media and Buzz influence

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How much do you know about Latinas online habits? This Social Media and Buzz study unveils key purchase + influence patterns to marketing success.

One does not simply ignore Latino women - Aragorn

One does not simply ignore Latino women – Aragorn

63% of the women interviewed use Orkut, Facebook, Twitter and other social media networks to search for information before purchasing a product or service. Books, magazines and electronics are the categories consulted the most.

Latinas consult with their social network before they make a purchase

Women now represent the majority of users of social networks in the world, a trend that continues to grow. And they do not use these networks just to communicate with friends and family, read on subjects of interest or for academic or professional purposes. Every day more women search for information on products and services on their social networks.

A survey of 3,274 women from 18 to 60 years old, residents of Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and U.S. Latinas, conducted by Sophia Mind, a market intelligence company, indicates that 63% of these women use social media to gather information before making a purchase, and for 70% of them the probability of purchasing a major product or service increases if it is recommended by a social media friend.

Electronics are the products most consulted by them – 66% consider important to exchange information on them on the web before committing to their purchase. Forty eight per center do the same with magazines and books; 47 %, with songs; 45 %, with movies and products related to tourism; and 42 % with cosmetics.

Jewelry is an exception, the great majority of Latinas (89 %) believes this is a personal choice.

Social Media and Buzz Influence

Social Media and Buzz Influence

Brazilians (66 %) and latin americans (56 %) are the greatest contributors and generators of buzz influence as they share most to their experiences in social media recommending or not a product or service. In all of the countries surveyed the rate of positive comments was greater than the negative. Another similarity amongst the women in these countries is that 50% of them may give up a purchase if a product or service is not well rated in social media networks.

Social Media and Buzz influence regarding Latina purchasing decisions

In Argentina, the United States and Mexico, 87% of women cite Facebook as the most influential. And 25% of them say they have already made purchases based on comments or indications of friends of that social network. Twitter appears in second place, with a 17% buzz influence. Advertising also has greater influence on Facebook: 18% of the respondents have already purchased products based on messages or announcements viewed on this channel. Also, on Facebook, one in five women have already withdrawn from making a purchase due to negative buzz about a product or service.

In Brazil, Orkut remains as the social network with greater penetration amongst women: 85 %. Sonic, Twitter and Facebook are tied in second place, with approximately 21 %. Twenty-nine percent of brazilians have made purchases in Orkut based on announcements or messages of companies and 21% are no longer using some products because of negative comments.

Cry as hard as you want to, but just make sure that when you stop crying, you never cry for the same reason again

Cry as hard as you want to, but just make sure that when you stop crying, you never cry for the same reason again

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Semantic Search Engine Polaris uses Pinterest Data

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A semantic search engine named “Polaris” powers Walmart.com, as well as the company’s mobile web and mobile apps, and it has a 10%-15% increased likelihood that a customer will complete their purchase.

Walmart has struggled in the past to compete against Amazon.com when it comes to Internet sales. But this giant is serious about e-commerce and m-commerce.

The semantic search engine was built by a small team of fifteen engineers within Walmart’s @WalmartLabs division, an internal group of technologists which grew through the acquisition of startups like Kosmix, OneRiot, Grabble, Small Society, and others.

Social Genome Semantic Search Engine Technology

Polaris takes advantage of Kosmix’s semantic technology, which includes something it once called the “Social Genome” – a way of enabling discovery using algorithms that rank results via social signals from around the web.

Kosmix’s Social Genome technology was used in an earlier @WalmartLabs creation known as “Shopycat,” a social-gifting platform that debuted just before the 2011 holiday season as a Facebook application. With Polaris, that same technology has been expanded upon in order to help return better search results on Walmart.com’s e-commerce and m-commerce destinations. Algorithms take into consideration the number of “Likes” a Walmart product it has on Facebook, and at the number of pins it has on Pinterest, as well as user ratings and reviews when ranking results. Reviews are sourced from Walmart itself, but further down the road, Polaris may pull in reviews from external properties through partnerships with review providers.

It’s a notable development for Walmart to consider using the “signals” from Pinterest which was young and  often seen to drive traffic, but, at the same time, increasingly questioned on its ability to convert clicks to sales back in 2011. Making this Semantic Search Engine and Walmart pretty much visionaries in the field at a time where even Zappos failed at increasing revenues with its Pinpointing tool, a website feature which suggested products based on Pinterest Board Pinned content.

Social Genome Semantic Search Engine Technology - Image Credit: TechCrunch

Social Genome Semantic Search Engine Technology – Image Credit: TechCrunch

In addition to social signals, Polaris focused on the semantic technology Kosmix had developed as a part of the Social Genome. This allows Polaris to understand and analyze the relationship between people, events, places, and products.

This means that when a user searches for “garden furniture” on Walmart.com, the semantic search engine knows the search is for the category “patio furniture,” and displays results from that product group. It also helps to categorize product descriptions in order to extract more meaning out of the text provided. For example, it can pull out “14 Karat”  into an attribute from a description of a gold necklace, and then that attribute becomes searchable.

14 karat search on Walmart with Polaris the Semantic Search Engine Technology - Image Credit: TechCrunch

14 karat search on Walmart with Polaris the Semantic Search Engine Technology – Image Credit: TechCrunch

 

Walmart Engagement Scoring

The third key piece to Polaris is what Walmart calls “engagement scoring.” This was designed in-house using Walmart’s own internal metrics. The scoring uses and measures Walmart shoppers actually do following a search: what they click on, add to cart, and what they purchase. This trains the system to know that a customer searching for “house” is more likely looking for something related to the TV show “House,” as opposed to “dog house” or “doll house,” for example, or that the word “flats” shouldn’t have the “s” removed in order to return results about “flat screen TVs” but should rather present a selection of shoes.

Brazil, the first country in the international roll-out

The rollout of the semantic search engine originally began with a small bucket test where small portions (5%-10%) of Walmart.com traffic was directed over to the next engine. Now the engine is live on all Walmart’s e-commerce and m-commerce offerings in the U.S. The metric related to the increased purchase likelihood (the 10%-15% increase reported above) was made after rollout was at 100%.

i stopped fighting my inner demons - yeah!

i stopped fighting my inner demons – yeah!

 

Sears Goes Social with Hispanics

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Sears recently announced several social media efforts aimed at the Hispanic market, including new Facebook and Twitter programs. (It already has three separate Hispanic Web sites, including SearsPR, launched last year, which ships merchandise only to the island of Puerto Rico.)

Sears Goes Social with Hispanics

Sears Goes Social with Hispanics

Marketing Daily caught up with Oscar H. Castro, director/general manager of international e-commerce, for more details on how the Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based retailer hopes to woo the rapidly growing, social-media loving Hispanic market:

Sears Goes Social with Hispanics

Q: How do Hispanic shoppers differ in terms of social media use?

A: Social media is such an important channel for us right now; Hispanic growth on Facebook is eight times larger than the general population, and we know that Hispanic consumers spend more time on it each week as well. So for us, it seems the best thing to do is work with that higher level of engagement. We’re not creating these forums to push products so much as to build stronger relationships. And it’s pretty exciting. In two weeks we’ve gotten 16,000 fans, and a great level of engagement.

Q: But does that mean there is also an increased appetite for retail in social media?

A: Yes, I think Hispanic culture really is different about shopping. It’s much more of a family activity; the whole family goes out to the mall. They are more social about shopping, in general. They want to have more conversations. We want to join the conversation.

Q: Are there gender differences?

A: Well, younger Latinas are more likely to shop online than older women, or men. But other than that, there are not a lot of major differences.

Q: Is it effective for a marketer as large as Sears to focus on a single Hispanic market, when there are so many submarkets?

A: There are so many differences, and that’s what makes Hispanic marketing so difficult. Facebook is a great equalizer, and you can have general conversations with broader appeal. But there are many cultural nuances. What works for a Dominican audience may not for a Mexican one. So some of our efforts are extremely local.

We launched SearsPR.com last year to serve only the Puerto Rican market. We use local terminology, and a completely separate marketing program. Sears offers 290 million products online, and of course, our mission is to help our customer find things anytime, anywhere. But there are items on this site you can’t find in the continental U.S.

Q: Why so many different initiatives?

A: This market is large and projected to grow even further, and we are leaders in it. It’s not going to be a niche market, it’s going to be the U.S. market. And I can’t think of too many brands that have been very effective. McDonald’s now leads with its diversity insights, and Coca-Cola has done a great job in the Latino market. And I think we’ll see more Latin brands crossing over into the mainstream — like Corona beer.

A reminder

A reminder

Social Media Campaign for Travel and Tourism Industry

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Facebook is not always the solution when planning or executing a Social Media campaign, especially when the industry is Travel and Tourism. TripAdvisor, the New York Times Travel section, Driftr.com, TripSay, ThornTree, and many other Social Media sites would be a more suitable choice.

50 million reviews and opinions on TripAdvisor, the world’s largest Travel site, would definitely back this up. TripAdvisor has doubled its content in two years and features more user-generated content than any other Travel website.

Executing a Social Media campaign for Travel and Tourism? See how TripAdvisor did it.

Executing a Social Media campaign for Travel and Tourism? TripAdvisor today reached the 50 million reviews and opinions milestone

TripAdvisor announced today that it has reached the 50 million reviews and opinions milestone

Social Media Campaign for Travel and Tourism Industry

In January 2005, TripAdvisor reached one million published reviews and opinions, then grew to 10 million in June 2007, 25 million in July 2009 and now features 50 million reviews and opinions — more user-generated content than any other travel site.  TripAdvisor currently publishes 25 new contributions every minute thanks to its active traveler community of more than 20 million members worldwide.

“When we first launched TripAdvisor we knew there would be an appetite among travelers for honest reviews written by real people. Eleven years later, we are tremendously proud to have reached 50 million reviews and opinions which help over 40 million travelers a month around the world plan and experience the perfect trip,” said Steve Kaufer, founder and CEO of TripAdvisor.

TripAdvisor Content Fun Facts

  • The first review on TripAdvisor was published on December 11, 2001 on the Roost Lodge in Vail, Colorado
  • The most reviewed property in the world is the Luxor Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, currently with more than 6,100 reviews
  • The total word count of reviews and opinions on TripAdvisor is equivalent to the word count of 9,420 volumes of the novel “War and Peace”

TripAdvisor VERY Interesting Facts

  • TripAdvisor attracts more than 50 million unique monthly visitors* across 19 popular travel brands*
  • TripAdvisor-branded sites have more than 40 million unique monthly visitors*
  • The sites have  more than 20 million members and over 50 million reviews and opinions
  • The sites operate in 30 countries worldwide, including China under daodao.com
  • TripAdvisor Media Group generated $486 million in revenue in 2010

“TripAdvisor has tremendous user loyalty and this is largely due to the freshness of content added to the site every day by our passionate community,” said Kaufer. “We would like to thank the millions of reviewers who have contributed to making TripAdvisor the world’s largest and most relevant travel planning tool.”

Best inspirational Quotes of the week - #Quotes #Words #Sayings

Best inspirational Quotes of the week – Quotes Words Sayings

* Source: comScore MediaMetrix