Social media strategies for Irish businesses is the theme of the summer 2010 edition of State of the Net. It also covers trends in online banking, B2B sales, internet use, online scams and business use of online telephony.
State of the Netessential eBusiness intelligence for Irish managers
A quarterly bulletin on online activity in Ireland ISSN: 1649
Compiled by AMAS in association with the Irish Internet Association
w w w . a m a s . i e
issue 17 Summer 2010
growing number who realise the power of social media but often need to be convinced of the business value. The reality is that there can be considerable, tangible benefits, once there is a strategy in place focused on business imperatives, the channels to use and how to manage them. Let’s start with some facts. First Facebook and its use in Ireland. Since January 2009, the number of Irish active users has quadrupled to 1.6 million. Almost a third access Facebook on their mobile phones. 55% of Irish users are female and there is rapid growth in adoption levels among the over-35s, who now account for 30% of users.
Next LinkedIn. Irish stats are hard to come by – recent research from 02 found that 18% of Irish business owners or directors have LinkedIn profiles. A succession of international studies point to its value for business. It rates highest of all social media sites among US sales professionals for generating leads and for building awareness.
What about Twitter? Again there are no Irish stats but growing evidence of its worth as a news channel. Remember Dan Boyle and the Willie O’Dea saga? Or how
Twitter relayed the national shock about the sudden death of RTÉ’s Gerry Ryan? Within hours it was the hottest story among Twitter’s 105 million world-wide users.
And then there’s YouTube. It’s just celebrated its fifth
birthday and the statistics are breathtaking. For
instance, the volume of video uploaded every week is the equivalent of 130,000 full-length Hollywood movie releases.
The reach of social media sites makes them difficult to ignore. But what about the relevance? Here’s a brief overview. Facebook is best used in a B2C context but works better for some brands than others as a marketing
Laptopsovertake PCspage 3
Generate B2B leads online page 5
0 1 2 3 4 5
3.7
2.9
2.6
2.6
2.5
2.1
2.1
1.8
Outbound prospecting
Website
Email campaigns
Inbound calls
Events and tradeshows
Social networking sites
Direct mail
Webinars
Aileen O’Toole, Managing Director, AMAS
Ignore at your peril? Or all fluff and little substance? Social media and their importance attract divergent views and lead to much confusion about their relevance to businesses.
At one extreme, stand the social media “anoraks” who insist that companies that don’t tweet, blog or connect on social networks are dinosaurs. At the other are those who dismiss it all as a fad; as a result, they may miss business opportunities and sometimes are unaware that their corporate or personal reputations are taking a pounding online.
Sources: ComReg Consumer ICT Survey conducted by Millward Brown Lansdowne, December 2009 – January 2010. Based on a sample of 1,003 adults aged 15-74
Broadband: ComReg Quarterly Key Data Report, March 2010. Green line shows all platforms, with the exception of mobile, while the orange line includes mobile broadband
1. Internet useMore people out of work with time on their hands. More using the internet to find jobs. Greater use of social media sites. And, of course, more broadband subscribers.
All these factors have resulted in Irish people spending more time online. In 2009, the average internet user was online for 13.2 hours a week, compared with 10 hours a week the previous year, according to the latest ComReg data. The profile of the heavy users offers
few surprises – they’re more likely to be younger, students and Dublin-based.
Meanwhile, despite the recession there is still considerable demand for broadband. Newly published figures for the final quarter of 2009 show the total number of broadband subscribers at 1.44 million, a 20% increase year-on-year. Mobile subscribers are the fastest-growing category, accounting for 467,000 subscribers, an increase of 51% on 2008 levels.
Heavy internet user
• 25-34 year olds (15 hours)• ABs (14.2 hours)• C1s (14.6 hours)• Dublin based (15.6 hours)• Students (14.2 hours)Times are all weekly
2. Online scamsYou get prompted to change your banking passwords. A distant relative who died in a car crash in Venezuela has left you a $22.56 million legacy. You’ve just won a dream holiday in the Seychelles.
Sound familiar? Our email Inboxes are clogged with email scams. National Consumer Agency research reveals that online scams of all kinds are the most common experienced by consumers. Email is tops, accounting for 52% of reported scam attempts. Social media scams are becoming more prevalent, experienced by 23% of consumers, while 29% recalled receiving scam text messages. eCommerce scams are rarer, reported by just 17%.
Commenting on the findings, market researcher Behaviour & Attitudes reported that internet related scams are much more prevalent among men, among the middle class and among those living in Dublin. This mirrors the structure of the online, working population.
Source: National Consumer Agency Awareness and Experience of Scams Research, conducted by Behaviour & Attitudes, March 2010. Based on a sample of 1,007 adults aged 16+
4. Online bankingAt last some good news from the banking sector. Despite the turmoil in other areas of operation, online banking continues to perform strongly. In 2009, some 34.5 million online payments were processed through the Irish banking system, representing 13% growth compared with 2008. The number of banking customers who have registered for online banking grew by 16% to 2.6 million. And the number of times customers accessed their accounts online showed a similar level of growth – up 17% to 136.1 million times.
The taxpayer, who has had to prop up many of our banks, can take a little comfort from the numbers. Strong online banking adoption translates into lower operating costs and, in theory, is good for taxpayers in their new role as bank shareholders.
International payments Mobile top-ups Domestic payments
2
3
4
5
6
1
0
7
8
9
10
Millions
Laptop and PC ownership 3. Laptops and PCs
Source: ComReg Consumer ICT Survey conducted by Millward Brown Lansdowne, December 2009 – January 2010. Based on a sample of 1,003 adults aged 15-74
Laptop ownership is now greater than PC ownership in Ireland. One in three people owns a laptop, which translates into a doubling of market share in about two years, according to computer ownership research. Fewer consumers are opting for PCs, which show a decline in market penetration from 36% to 26% in the course of the year.
Falling prices, competition among traditional retailers, online deals and convenience are all contributing to greater laptop sales.
This research would indicate that gadgets, including laptops and PCs, are weathering the recessionary storm better than other consumer goods. The proportion of consumers with both laptops and PCs stands at 15%, compared with 11% the previous year.
Laptop owner
• 18-24 years old (47%)• 25-34 years old (48%)• Students (47%)• ABC1s (39%)• Owners of mobile phones only (43%)• Those with broadband connection (45%)• Munster (31%)
Online banking payments
Source: Irish Bankers Federation/Irish Payment Services Organisation, quarterly report, March 2010 based on data supplied by 11 financial institutions
5. Online telephonyCost control is the mantra for many businesses. Yet it is larger businesses, rather than SMEs which are achieving significant cost savings on their telecommunications bills. They are signing up to Voice over IP (VoIP) services in greater numbers. Some 50% of corporates were using these services in 2009.
Among SMEs, defined as businesses with fewer than 100 employees, adoption levels are still low – 12% in 2010, from 10% on the previous year. Eircom is the top VoiP provider for the corporate market, with a share of 31% compared with 18% a year ago. Among SMEs, Skype is the favourite, with a 40% share of VoiP services.
Source: ComReg SME & Corporate ICT Research conducted by Millward Brown Lansdowne, February – March 2010. Based on a sample of 497 SMEs and 53 Corporates, SMEs are defined as companies with less than 100 employees
20%
40%
H1’05 H2’05 H1’06 H2’06 H1’08 H1’09 H1’10
0%
80%
60%
SMEs Corporate
100%
2
14
32
3
39
7 59 10
12
40
50
29
44
and communications channel. Managed well, LinkedIn can be valuable for B2B relationship building, lead generation and recruitment (although that can have its downsides as well as an upside). Twitter offers value for customer service, special offers and crisis communications.
All three, and the multiplicity of other social media platforms, present opportunities as well as challenges. Having a social media strategy grounded in the overall business strategy is a starting point. Ignore what the anoraks say – a business does not have to be active across every platform. Instead, you need to select the best channels which deliver on a business goal. Investment will be needed, primarily in time.
Anticipate challenges. There will be more channels to manage
and they’re 24/7 media, There will be more online conversations about your brand or your people. Often they will be different kinds of conversations and your business may not be in control. That said, the business
benefits of social media outweigh the risks.
Aileen O’Toole is currently leading a number of social media strategy projects for AMAS clients.
Source: Google 2010
Top Trends
6. B2B salesWinning businesses in international markets used to be all about shoe leather. Not any more. As Irish businesses strive to land more businesses in international markets, they need to ensure their websites are primed for buyers and for lead generation.
US research shows that a company’s website ranks second to traditional prospecting in generating
qualified B2B leads. Despite all the noise about social media, it still plays second fiddle to email in terms of lead generation.
That said, the research noted that social media is as helpful as direct mail and that more sales professionals are getting harder returns from LinkedIn, in particular. The research found that B2B sales cycles in the US are longer but that pipelines are growing. Green shoots, perhaps.
Source: OneSource B2B Sales Pulse Survey, March 2010. Based on a sample of 136 B2B sales professionals. 1 = least qualified leads, 5 = most qualified leads
The digital economy is the economy – we just need to bring everyone else online. That’s the thinking behind “Digitise the Nation”, the new national campaign organised by the Irish Internet Association (IIA). It aims to showcase the internet’s benefits to business and society, with the simple but ambitious goal of getting Ireland online.
Digital literacy is increasingly seen as an essential life skill,
with clear benefits for our economy and community. For example, a recent white paper1 by the Digital Media Forum estimated that providing digital literacy training will give Ireland:• Productivity gains of €2.1 billion per year• A 3-10% wage premium for those who choose to upgrade their ICT skills in Ireland• Benefits of €1.6 billion per year in communities at risk of poverty
The “Digitise the Nation” campaign runs from 16-21 May, including the anchor event of the IIA’s Annual Conference on 20 May. This is an exciting opportunity for IIA members to collectively promote our internet industry, building awareness and ultimately sales. For “Digitise the Nation” the association’s members will bring their skills and
capabilities to the widest possible audience, showing how the internet can be used to communicate with friends and family and do business in exciting new ways.
IIA members will use the campaign to reach out to local business and community groups, organising a wide range of activities for businesses to improve performance online, as well as helping communities to come together and communicate.
The campaign’s themes include:• Business productivity• Connectivity• Entrepreneurship• Ireland as a European hub• The consumer and social media
The IIA will have daily updates on a microsite at www.iia.ie/digitisethenation, from webinars and workshops to animators and treasure hunts. The IIA has also partnered with SiliconRepublic.com, which will cover the events across its titles and feature online video interviews with key industry thought leaders and the keynote addresses at the IIA Annual Conference, Vision2020.
Source: 1 “Why Digital Skills?”, The Digital Media Forum, 1 March 2010, http://bit.ly/b4thpO
One year on, the “Best Job in the World” social media marketing campaign is still making the news and promoting Queensland. A TV series arising from it is about to go on air and the team behind it is working on another
major campaign. The campaign has transformed the Queensland tourism industry and set a new benchmark for viral marketing campaigns using social media. Jane Nicholson, UK and Ireland Director of Tourism Queensland, drew a full house at Internet World when
she spoke about the campaign.
The objective was to raise the tourism profile of the islands on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The idea was simple: to advertise the dream job of being
caretaker on an idyllic island for six months on a handsome salary. Applicants had to make short videos saying why they should get the job and from these a shortlist, a group of finalists and a winner were selected.
Insider’s viewThe Best Job in the World campaign has been extensively studied and described, but Nicholson gave an insider’s view from its early stages right through to today. She said that the team behind it was
confident that it would work. But they could not have known how well. The headline figures are: • Media coverage estimated to be worth AU$400 million (€278m), including a BBC programme and a special slot on Oprah Winfrey’s show• An audience reach of 31 million people• 34,684 one-minute video applications posted on YouTube from 200 countries• 8.75 million visits to the campaign online
Read the full report on the AMAS blog www.amas.ie/blog
Fiachra Ó Marcaigh, Director, AMAS
AMAS’s website has been relaunched with new features and functionality developed on the world’s favourite online publishing platform. The site integrates and showcases the most popular AMAS content -- the online versions of State of the Net and our blog which offers insights and analysis on digital trends.
Internet users can get updates through a new research alerts function or on Twitter. Blog content is syndicated throughout the site, with feeds providing contextual links across the main channels through RSS (or Really Simple Syndication). Also, clients can access project documentation through the website’s extranet.
In planning the new site, we took a large dose of the medicine we dish out to clients:• The site had to support business strategy with goals measured through site analytics• Graphic design had to be “on brand”• The site had to be powered
by a scalable, flexible and free technology platform (WordPress, now used by many Fortune 500 companies)• Content had to be reviewed, revised, originated and optimised• It had to achieve a high standard of usability
• The site had to be accessible to AA level of WAI WCAG 2.0 (great for the search engines robots, but also for the humans)• An effective site-wide search had to be incorporatedNext on the agenda is a mobile version of the site, in recognition of higher mobile internet usage in Ireland particularly among our target audiences.Visit the new site on www.amas.ie
Follow AMAS on Twitter
@AMASInternet
Reuse State of the Net
graphics www.slideshare. net/AMASinternet
Get research alerts on new AMAS website
Contact Aileen O’Toole, Managing Director on +353 1 6610499 or [email protected]
AMAS: what we doAMAS is an internet consultancy with a simple goal – help our clients to exploit the internet. Large corporates, government bodies and, increasingly, high-potential businesses retain us to develop and help implement internet strategies.
We cut through the clutter and the complexity to allow our clients to capitalise on the unlimited opportunities offered by the internet.
Services:• Strategy• Research• User experience• Content• Training • Marketing• Project management
