Hitwise: MySpace leads social networks but Facebook is growing faster

MySpace remains the king of the social networks with a nearly 72% market share, but close competitor Facebook isn’t giving up. According to a new report from Hitwise, US consumers continue to choose MySpace over other social nets but the trend is beginning to change. MySpace shows -6% growth from June 2007 through June 2008 which Facebook showed 40% year over year (YoY) growth. Hitwise reports that Facebook has a 16% market share. >>

E-commerce

Study: Teens buy online but prefer reality to the virtual world

Virtual worlds may be garnering a lot of headlines across the US, but according to at least one report, these headlines may be a bit premature - at least for the teen segment. According to a new report from OTX and The Intelligence Group, teens actually prefer real world interaction to the virtual worlds offered online. >>

Advertising

comScore: Branded websites increase marketing efforts

Forget display ads, paid search and even online video. A recent report from comScore indicates that branded websites are the #1 thing that will improve the marketing efforts of a brand. This doesn’t mean that display ads, video and paid search don’t have their place, however. All of these aspects improve the performance of a branded website in providing the consumer content, offers and information. >>

Trends & Ideas

Downloads killing the video store?

For how much longer will video stores be a feature in the mall? Not long if a recent CinemaNow survey is to be believed. >>

Mobile Marketing

DMA: Text message campaigns most successful

Text message promotions are the most successful mobile marketing campaigns, found the Direct Marketing Association in its first ever quantitative research into the medium. >>

Search Marketing

Google Aotearoa launched

Here in New Zealand we’re celebrating Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2008. To mark the event, Google has launched a version of their search homepage in the language of New Zealand’s indigenous people. >>

Advertising

GroupM: Interactive media spend to reach 15%

According to a recent report from WPP’s Group M, interactive media will account for about 15% of the worldwide advertising spend by 2009. This is a nearly 50% increase over 2004. Interactive advertising is expected to remain the biggest source of ad revenue growth for the foreseeable future because marketers are turning away from traditional media in favor of the digital realm. >>

E-commerce

Nielsen: Offline retailers must have an online strategy

Even local businesses need to invest some of their marketing budgets on a solid website, an online advertising campaign and a little bit of content production. That, according to a new report from Nielsen Online. The metrics firm reports that online strategies are linked closely to offline retail dollars. >>

Advertising

How widgets can increase content, ad revenue

Widgets, new just a year ago, are now becoming old hat to online marketers, but content providers still haven’t used the modules to the maximum of potential. Consumers continue to download widgets to their social spaces but they are also placing widgets on their desktops to receive news and sports headlines, weather information and even entertainment information. >>

Social Marketing

Social media and the tribalization of business

Google recently commented that social media will become a “big part” of Internet marketing strategies in the future. New research from Deloitte suggests that before businesses implement such strategies they need to fully understand what drives social media to gain maximum benefit. >>