Social media and Web 2.0 statistics: a round-up

In order to truly understand a business sector and develop an expertise, an avid reading habit is required. thebluedoor is a digital PR agency so consequently our reading material is quite varied to cover both the PR sector and those of our clients. Our PR focused reading list is quite broad (both online and in dead-tree format), and includes Wired, New Media Age, .Net, PR Week, Marketing Week, B2B Marketing and The Economist.

I thought it might be useful to post some of the recent digital media and online PR statistics that we have read about.

Facebook:

• 300 million global active users
• 22 million UK active users
• 50% log in and spend 25 minutes daily
• Average 'heavy' users spent 125 hours over the last 12 months
• 59% year on year growth
• 75% of all time spent on social networks
• 8,325 billion minutes spent in the UK in September 2009

(Sources - B2B Marketing; NMA/Nielsen)


LinkedIn:

• 52 million users globally
• 3 million in the UK
• Growing at 1 million every 12 days

(Source - B2B Marketing)


Twitter:

• 1,959% year on year growth
• US leads by Twitter countries, followed by UK
• 6th largest social media site
• There have been over 8,000,000,000 Tweets to date, and counting

(Source - NMA: Nielsen; GigaTweet)


Wikipedia:

• 3,1720,120 articles in English
• 19,245,419 pages in English
• 684,000,000 visitors in 2008

(Source - Wikipedia)


iPhone App Store:

• 30 million iPhone users
• 20 million iPhone Touch owners
• Over 2 billion apps have been downloaded from 100,000 apps
• AdMob estimates that $200 million worth of apps are downloaded per month ($2.4 billion per year)
• By June 2009, the app software-development kit had been downloaded 1,000,000 times

(Source - Wired: AdMob)


3G Phones:

• 3G mobile penetration in western Europe has risen from 17% in 2007, to 29% in 2009
• It is forecast to reach to 67% in western Europe by 2011
• In Japan penetration rate is 67%
• $43 billion was made from mobile Internet in Japan in 2008
• 610 million of the first two billion App Store downloads were for paid applications

(Sources - Wired: Morgan Stanley, Pinch Media)


Blogs:

• 133,000,000 blogs indexed by Technorati
• 3,561,000 RSS subscribers to TechCrunch
• 346,000,000 people read blogs
• 900,000 new blog posts every 24 hours

(Source - Technorati)

I tend to bookmark interesting articles on Delicious. Do have a look at what I've been reading recently, and I would be grateful of any recommendations. Thanks!

Technology and PR networking events for January 2010, plus a review of TechCrunch (#xmascrunch)

Tuesday's TechCrunch for the UK and Europe's vibrant start-up sector, organised by @mikebutcher, @PetraJohansson and @rassami, was excellent. This now-regular gathering provides a place and a space for the latest thinking in the technology space, attracting start-ups such as Catwalk Genius, established businesses such as Skype, VCs and angels such as Balderton, as well as journalists, PR and SEO communities. Here is an excellent review of the day's proceedings by Basheera Khan.

In front of an audience of almost 1,000 (including those via live-streaming) key notes speeches delivered by TweetDeck, Festbuzz, Seesmic, The Filter and Tweetmeme provided some interesting insights into developments in the Web 2.0 space. Key themes for 2010 that came up again and again were hyperlocal, sentiment analysis, and real-time.

Here a selection of my Tweets from the day:

• Tweetdeck - has 19% of non twitter based applications
• Tweetdeck 10million downloads to date - but what's next! Funding, services eg: LinkedIn, updates to directory, mobile
• Tweetdeck essentially locks people in via lists/organised experience
• Sentiment companies are chasing the Holy-Grail. There will always be a trade-off in real-time.
• What does 'real-time' mean to you? Immediate? Soon? Later?
• It is reputation, content, context or location that makes information relevant
• Same content different delivery: successful paywalls are rare
• Location in online delivery is going to be a significant theme for next year. 09: cloud + real time, 10: real time + hyperlocal
• Quality journalism is not dead, long live quality journalism
• Info about info is more valuable than the info itself
• Vertical and real time is where the true value of search lies

Networking is an essential part of building any business. January 2010 is much quieter (probably due to detoxing requirements after December's frenzy of events), however here are just some of the technology and PR events happening up in London that we could find:

21/1/10: CloudCamp London - unconference style event striving to advance cloud computing
27/1/10: Digital Lounge - topic to be announced, but always a great group of people
28/1/10: MashUp - Apps: What's your strategy? - investigating the link between mobile web strategy and apps
2/2/10: First Tuesday - To charge or not to charge - though leadership seminar
15/2/10: The Debating Group - topic to be announced, but a great proper debate held in the heart of the House of Commons

PR: wait... I: wait... L: wait... LD: wait... I: wait... wait... Rank: wait... Traffic: wait... Price: wait... W: wait... BL: wait... C: wait...

Social Media and Online PR: Econsultancy's 2009 report

PR has been through a torrid 18 months, as have most sectors across industry. We launched thebluedoor in Surrey 20 months ago and have grown through the eye-of-the-storm. By taking the necessary lean approach, we are winning business, growing accounts but most importantly delivering our clients fantastic results and great service - exactly what we are paid to do.

Key to our offering is integrating online into PR communications strategies, which is why yesterday's report - 'Social Media and Online PR' from Econsultancy has been a must-read for us all.

WPP's Sir Martin Sorrell has been extremely vocal about the role online has in taking PR out of recession - it has an important role within any communications strategy. And this report into the state of the Online PR industry certainly demonstrates that his prediction is more than just crystal ball gazing.

Econsultancy is (in their words) "an invaluable resource for Internet professionals who want practical advice on all aspects of e-business". And, as a word of caution to the results, by its very nature, the people involved and interested in its community and research are digital practitioners or at the least curious about the role online has in business.

Just some useful insights into the social media and online PR industry include:

• Just 10% of businesses are not engaging with any social media activity
• Smaller companies are quicker to jump into the digital space and use the digital tools, due to their inherent ability to be flexible, as well as willingness to experiment
• Twitter's 'darling' status is clearly demonstrated: micro-blogging is the most widely adopted tactic used by 78% of companies
• 59% of respondents do not have social media rules in place for employees to follow

I was interested to see that 24% said that measurement - or lack of - was a significant barrier to more effective social media engagement and direct traffic to sites was the most commonly used metric to measure social media activity. I am currently working with Kate Hartley of Carrot Communications to produce the first online PR measurement guide for the PRCA. To be published in 2010, it is planned to be a useful, practical and informative overview of the best practice methods currently being used.

I have also got a keen eye on the types of agencies delivering social media and online PR for companies - particularly as the SEO industry is going through significant changes. Search is loosing its snake-oil qualities and its value is moving into reputation management, conversations and transparently - the pillars of PR. In Econsultancy's report the highest supplier sector is traditional PR agencies at 15%, followed by Digital agencies (11%), followed by Specialist online PR agencies and Search agencies level-pegging at 8%. (Interestingly 42% responded by saying that no external agency was involved in delivering social media and online PR activities.)

In Econsultancy's 2010 report, I am sure that we will see significant changes in this pecking order, unless traditional PR agencies work harder to up-skill and jump into the digital space properly. And this means using it and doing it rather than simply reading the books, blogs and research papers.

PR: wait... I: wait... L: wait... LD: wait... I: wait... wait... Rank: wait... Traffic: wait... Price: wait... W: wait... BL: wait... C: wait...

Surrey strides out for charity

It was fantastic to take part in the Farnham Stride on Sunday - a 10Km sponsored walk around the beautiful Surrey countryside, taking in the Frensham Ponds area. This local event was just one of the many activities being run in aid of Cancer Research.

It was a great turn out with people of all ages from around the Surrey area taking part. There was real camaraderie amongst the participants and the ladies from the fitness centre, Curves really showed their team spirit by wearing brightly coloured pink wigs and setting the pace for the entire group.

Events like these are an amazing way for groups and individuals to help to support charities, but they don't just happen overnight. Working in the PR industry, we know what a great deal of organisation is needed to make events a success - from the promotional material, through to the administration and logistics. Whether it's a professional events team or volunteers, the organisers play a vital role that requires dedication and hard work.

To co-ordinate a diverse group of people, as well as motivate, cater for their needs and ensure they get the most out of the event takes a lot of effort, which can often go unnoticed if things run without a hitch. But the knowledge of a job well done can go a long way. So that just leaves me to say a big thanks to everyone involved in making the Frensham Stride such a success - and to share some images from the day!

PR: wait... I: wait... L: wait... LD: wait... I: wait... wait... Rank: wait... Traffic: wait... Price: wait... W: wait... BL: wait... C: wait...

PR sector and recession: in or out?

Last week I, along with many of the other managing directors of the PRCA's PR agency members, attended the PRCA/CorpComms conference optimistically titled 'Emerging from a recession'.

However optimism was certainly not high on the agenda. Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP, delivered the key note speech which firmly stated that any hope of an upturn was not being translated into fees or orders.

However he did highlight three trends for 2010:

1. Geographical focus: although the PR/communications sector is stagnant in Western Europe, there is a 'gold rush' in Asia.
2. Online is key to any PR offering and currently accounts for 25% of the WPP business - and this growing.
3. Agencies offering consumer insights are highly regarded by clients and seen to deliver true value.

In addition, Sir Martin did share the opportunities for the PR world (and as opportunities, these can easily translate into threats if not acted upon):

• Globalisation: there is a key shift in economic power from Western Europe through to Asia, Africa and Latin America. And for those of us in Europe, coming out of recession will be slower and tougher.
• Overcapacity: the PR industry in Europe is bigger than the client need, therefore differentiation is critical.
• War on talent: the global demographics are resulting in a restriction on the supply of talent, therefore it is vital that agencies continue to incentivise, motivate and retain good staff.
• Internet: understanding and embracing Web 2.0 is vital, along with the associated understanding that it is increasingly what we know rather than who we know.
• Retail: this is a powerful force, and brands will need to maintain - even increase - promotional spending in order to main shelf space.
• Internal communications: after this period of deep recession, a focus on internal communications is now more important than ever. It is vital that a 50:50 resource focus is put on internal and external communications in order to ensure that CEOs adequately communicate strategic and structural change.
• Client centralisation: with the opportunities of globalisation and the internet, agencies will experience clients becoming more centralised.
• CSR: even in the dark days of recession, CSR continues to be vital for businesses - not as a charitable or altruistic response, but due to its fundamentals of good business practise.
• Government: as the biggest advertiser, the government is the UK's most significant client and as such represents a huge opportunity for the PR sector.

Sir Martin ended by saying: "Things are less worse, not better.... and those with a strong focus on branding and innovation will win."

As a member of the audience, I feel hopeful that our innovative focus on helping clients to integrate digital PR into their communications strategies will enable us to continue to grow through the death throws of this current recession. I also feel hopeful for our clients who have positively, even ruthlessly, responded to the opportunities that the downturn has brought.

SEO Chinwag London event: a PR's round-up

There were some interesting insights at Chinwag's Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) event 'Search is dead, long live search'.

Chinwag had once again assembled a brilliant panel, all who contributed their expertise and opinions, including: Alan Patrick, Nick Garner and Teddie Cowell. It was chaired by Jon Myers.

As well as covering and debating current ground, the panel were asked to look into the future, and the following points were highlighted:

• Discount Bing at your peril: definitely one to watch and is growing share quite dramatically at the moment,
• the future of search is about conversations i.e. PR, and these conversations must be helpful and truthful,
• real time search is growing in importance: Google was taking four to six days to index Twitter, now it is six hours,
• hyper local relevancy is going to gain in importance,
• there are many people focusing on tackling filtering / relevancy of search results – these will lead the game,
• the war on spam from affiliates has only just begun,
• ignore mobile at your peril: markets such as Korea and Africa where mobile penetration is at 120% will be leading the charge imminently,
• there is currently a changing of the guard re: Google – they are the incumbents: innovation is being driven by the new kids on the block.

The event delivered lots to think about, but interesting that the SEO sector is moving ever closer towards PR. Therefore, an understanding of SEO is a vital skill for any PR agency to embrace.

PR vs. SEO: the great debate

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) agencies have been extremely vocal about how the PR (Public Relations) industry apparently does not understand digital. Let's just knock that myth on the head - we do.

In this month's Communicate magazine's regular @loggerheads slot, I was given the opportunity to debate with Andrew Girdwood of Bigmouthmedia. Neil Gibbons, the editor, asked: "Who is better placed to assist a company in its social media strategy - a specialist PR firm or a SEO consultancy?"

The @loggerheads debate format doesn't really allow either side to win, and when two opposing sides are arguing from thought-out (dare I say, entrenched) sides it would be unlikely for either side to concede ground in such a public forum. However I stand by my principle that I have argued before and with Andrew during the debate: PR and online PR, and SEO are different but hugely complimentary skills.

The argument that SEO agencies such as Bigmouthmedia keep on recycling - that PR agencies just don't get digital - is null and void. We do. The standard of best practice and knowledge that I see coming out of the PRCA and its Digital Committee, as well as the industry in general, is amazing. Genius practitioners such as Mat Morrison at Porter Novelli, have deep and clear knowledge of both PR and the web (its technologies, its algorithms and its psychologies).

As an industry, PRs should stand up and be proud of our digital knowledge, our multi-channel experience and our online skills. SEO is extremely important in any social media strategy, however just one part of an online / off-line delivery specific to each client and their objectives. It's vital that both sectors understand and value each others' benefits, and work together in a way that delivers meaningful results.

PR: wait... I: wait... L: wait... LD: wait... I: wait... wait... Rank: wait... Traffic: wait... Price: wait... W: wait... BL: wait... C: wait...

Online PR vs. SEO? It's time for mutual respect

Online PR (Public Relations) and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) have had a recent history of competing for each others' businesses. The time has come for this to stop. It's vital that both disciplines start to respect that each needs to champion and celebrate their sector-specific expert understanding and experience. Indeed, the time has come to start working together.

Key to brokering this peace is to concede that both disciplines have different end-games and techniques, as well as accepting that those in the PR sector practicing online PR have a deep technical knowledge of the web, its structure and behaviours. 'Digital natives' work in both sectors bringing their valuable technical experience to bear on their daily working lives.

PR - just because it is online (or can be online) - has not changed during this online revolution. Public Relations is just that: a relevant interaction with people who are a businesses' stakeholders, its past/present/future customers, its critics, as well as its die-hard fans.

Online PR must be integrated into our PR agencies and our PR strategies, not protected by the high-walls of geek-speak which results in making online the preserve of those in-the-know. Instead, online has to be normalised and we must encourage understanding of the tools.

At thebluedoor we have always worked with specialist SEO partners such as Guava for Mars Drinks, as this collaboration makes for a powerful team-effort. It's time to for digital PR and SEO to start working together in order to mesh mutually supportive techniques and strategies to drive and deliver meaningful results for our clients.

PR and SEO: living in harmony?

PR is currently experiencing a squeeze from other disciplines. As 'Search' becomes increasingly reliant on good content, SEO agencies are becoming full service agencies. Offerings are becoming broader to include PR. Perhaps this is not surprising as PR has traditionally provided the good, interesting, robust content.

However, I believe that this encroachment presents a Pandora's Box of potential problems. Granted - SEO and Digital PR agencies essentially want the same thing - a client with strong search rankings, with traffic converting into leads, even sales. But, the ways of getting there using each discipline is different.

As the PRCA says - PR is all about reputation. PR communicates compelling, robust messages - stories - to a target audience who finds it interesting, useful and relevant. Although 'reputation management' is a bit of a red herring, PR professionals are expert in finding the 'so what' factor - is it new and why would a journalist (and ultimately his or her readers) care.

At thebluedoor, we start at the beginning by understanding a client's objectives in order to advise on a route forward. And in the shiny exciting world of all things digital, this approach to delivering excellent PR must remain the same. The strategic rules of PR have to stay solid - whether it is online or off-line, and wherever possible it is our job to ensure that these channels are integrated. In order to understand the rules of PR, specific industry experience is a must - which is perhaps what not all SEO agencies have. Yes, all industries have good and bad practitioners, but good PR professionals have spent time in the ring. Results don't just happen (in the main): we will have taken time to understand a journalist's agenda, followed their published articles, read the relevant publications and obsessively followed the news agenda.

I feel that it is vital for the different disciplines of SEO and PR to remain true to their origins and not become diluted. Instead of becoming an 'expert' in all things to all people, our combined challenge is to understand each others different but related areas of expertise. Agencies must work together, complementing each other, to achieve the best results for our clients.

PR: wait... I: wait... L: wait... LD: wait... I: wait... wait... Rank: wait... Traffic: wait... Price: wait... W: wait... BL: wait... C: wait...

Surrey PR agency (that's us) awarded industry standard for excellence

As we move into our second year of business, thebluedoor is celebrating! Last week we were awarded the Consultancy Management Standard (CMS) by the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) – an internationally recognised gold standard of excellence. Of the UK’s 2,000+ PR agencies, only 109 agencies have passed this rigorous external audit which examines standards in management, communication and service delivery.

Since our launch last April, thebluedoor has defied the economic slowdown. thebluedoor works with a variety of national and international companies, delivering strategic, creative and valuable PR consultancy and services from press office function, crisis communication through to copywriting, growing in size and client base every quarter.

The timing of the company going live has been interesting to say the least! - the global economy has been extremely turbulent. However we are weathering the storm: we’ve doubled in size, increased our client base, are growing the team, and have begun our second year by achieving an industry standard that is recognised globally.

And in the words of Francis Ingham, director-general PRCA: “Well run businesses consistently deliver the results clients are looking for. The Consultancy Management Standard was developed specifically to ensure that PRCA members have the systems and structures in place to meet and exceed clients’ expectations. The Standard has been so successful that it has now been adopted in 14 countries around the world.”

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Digital Media, Online PR, Social Networks: is measurement just a giant red herring?

I’ve been a busy bee recently: up in the smoke 8 working days out of 10.

Highlights? Loads of them, but particularly the FreshNetworks gig on Tuesday looking at Social Networks with a specific focus on monetisation, and last night’s inspiring Digital Britain Unconference (organised by @billt and @kcorrick) in London. And, as an aside, if anyone still wonders about the magic of Twitter, just the very fact that a diverse group of 80 to 100 people turned up to the ICA to provide a response to Lord Carter’s Digital Britain 2012 says it all. Similar important events are happening across the country, all mobilised through Twitter, blogs and networks and organised in just 2-3 weeks.

Forgive the nascent nature of my ramblings but I’ve got a collision of thoughts stacking at the moment. I’ve got to get them down, and would love any feedback and opinions that might help me make some logical sense of it.

PR and measurement

• PR: PR has long struggled to justify its existence through our clients’ evergreen, and justifiable challenge to demonstrate the value in pounds and pence.
• Equivalent Advertising Spend: Yes there are many ways – Equivalent Advertising Spend, share of voice, circulation – but they are all flawed for one reason or another.
• Influence of PR: PR impacts (or perhaps ‘influences’ – tricky word I know) behaviour online and offline, over a period of time – and this human behaviour cannot be measured. Also sustained PR can positively impacts the way people feel about a company – again, how do you measure that, particularly if money isn’t plentiful to carry out before and after attitudinal surveys.
• Brand Effect: That bluebottle-sized fly in the ointment called ‘Brand Effect’ is notoriously hard to track, measure or quantify.
• PR Measurement: Recently I have often heard my peers and colleagues waking up to online (at last!) and greeting it with the grateful and hopeful cry ‘And it’s measurable!’

Is it? I personally find this justifying statement worrying. Yes it is certainly more measurable, particularly if realistic metrics are built into campaigns from the start. However these can run the risk of turning people off, making the conversation unnatural and doing quite the opposite of the end goal.

Social Networks and monetisation

• Similarly, there is a huge amount of talk about monetisation of Social Networks – Facebook, Twitter – at the moment. Can they be? Should they be? After all companies have to see a bottom line return on investment, don’t they?
• As Joanne Jacobs was saying on Tuesday, Social Networks perhaps should not be seen as purely a vehicle to see a return on investment, and if they cover their costs that’s fine. People go shop later, online or offline – and if the network just serves to build that feel good factor (that many hard nosed marketers call ‘fluffy’) that’s significantly fine too.
  
  

Digital Britain Unconference

And then on to last night’s Unconference. Without sounding too much like I’m on a soap box at the moment perhaps monetisation, value, ROI of everything that needs to happen in the run up to 2012 should all be seen in a different light. Dare I think that perhaps ‘Brand Effect’ thinking should be woven in? Yes, infrastructure, education, technology etc etc all costs hard cash and those providers naturally want to see a return, particularly when all our pockets are not particularly deep at the moment. However, look at the steaming pile of compost we’re in now due the hard-nosed greed of the banking sector. Surely inspiring Digital Britain to become Digital Britons (as one of the attendees shouted) is key to this. And by communicating the benefits using everyday language and real world on the ground examples could be key to driving this revolution. Perhaps bottom line measurement should be seen for what they are: a diversion that steers us away from what really matters.

Am I barking up a tree, going down a blind alley? Any thoughts that you could add to this would be very gratefully received!

One nation – the world of cyberspace.

Some people find the Web 2.0 confusing, some people dismiss it as irrelevant and some people want to be ‘online’ 24 x 7. For me, the great thing about the Web is that it’s there if I want to it and not if I don’t. I can just switch it off and on like my other electrical appliances.

Having spent large amounts of my life online, I have learned to pick and choose what I do on the Web, where I shop, where I go for conversation, where I go for information and what kind of news I read. At work, the value of the Internet cannot be overstated, being able to access new information and technology quickly is extremely important.

However, I understand that my view of the Web is not shared by everyone and there are still people out there who are afraid to believe anything they read online. But to those people, I would say read ‘The New Rules of Marketing and PR’ by David Meerman Scott. Scott’s brilliant view of the Internet paints a picture of a place that I truly recognise.

He dismisses the view of many people that the Web is like a large sprawling newspaper and rather describes it as a huge city teaming with individuals. “Craigslist is like the bulletin board at the entrance of the corner store; eBay, a garage sale; Amazon, a bookstore replete with patrons anxious to give you their book tips. You’ve even got the proverbial wrong-side-of-the-tracks spots via the Web’s adult-entertainment underbelly.”

In this online world blogs are the sound of independent voices, just like those of your friends telling you about the latest book they have read. When you find a reliable friend you will keep on going back to them for advice and knowledge. It’s the same with blogs, when you enjoy the content and it’s reliable you will keep going back for more.

We all pick and choose where we go and who we socialise with – the Web is just an extension of this. It is another ‘city’ that we can visit, learn from, contribute to, socialise in and enjoy.