Sing, Dance, Market — What Justin Bieber Can Teach Us About Today’s Digital Channels

Believe it or not: An 18-year-old boy wonder has the magic viral touch that only a marketing wizard can possess. I’m talking, of course, about pop phenom Justin Bieber, whose new album, Believe, will be released June 19.

How contagious is Bieber Fever? Basically, when he sneezes (or gets a haircut, or goes to bed), 17.8 million Twitter followers take note.

Ever since his mom posted homespun YouTube videos of the then 14-year-old Canadian teeny bopper, he has been the ultimate rags-to-riches story of social media fame, consistently among the most Tweeted, shared and viewed celebrities on the social web. His astounding digital reach has made beliebers out of the most skeptical of marketers.

Consider the numbers that show his vast online influence: In 2010, Justin accounted for 3 percent of all Twitter traffic. He has also clocked in 37 million Facebook “likes” and was the first to reach 2 billion views on YouTube last year. Love or hate him, this teen idol’s social media marketing strategy is such a stand-out that he was the number one trending topic of 2011.

Bieber by the Numbers:

• Ranks third on 100 top celeb list
• 15 million albums sold
• Concert film Never Say Never pulls in $100 million
• Someday fragrance, does $60 million in sales during first six months
• Grand total: $55 million over the past 12 months; $108 million over the past two years

So what’s fueling this digital phenomenon? How can your brand attract such fervent, devoted fans?

Four in Ten US Mobile Subscribers Now Use Smartphones

With the increasing sophistication of smartphones, the growing popularity of tablets and the ever-expanding ubiquity of wi-fi, the future of mobile marketing is not only bright, but blinding.

In its most recent annual report on this topic, comScore highlighted a number of factors that point towards nothing short of a mobile marketing groundswell.  Take a look at these key findings:

• The number of people who use mobile devices to surf the internet, download information or access apps continues to grow.  More than four in ten American (42 percent) and EU5 (44 percent) mobile phone subscribers now have smartphones.
• During 2011, growth in the use of mobile apps in the US and EU5 (comprised of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK) exceeded growth in mobile browsing, with the retail category coming in second only to health-related apps.
• More than 50 percent of US smartphone owners used them for retail research, such as price comparison while shopping at a brick and mortar store, demonstrating an increasing comfort level with the technology at their fingertips.
• Speaking of comfort level,

Consumers Still Prefer Laptops, PCs for Online Shopping

Here’s an interesting question:  Does the type of device used to go online affect what we do once we get there?  Or, put another way: Do consumers shop differently online if they’re using a laptop rather than, say, a smartphone?

Apparently the answer to both of those questions is “Yes,” according to a new report from Zmags, and the idea that consumers may demonstrate category-specific device preferences when they shop online potentially adds a whole new layer of complexity for developers of B2C marketing strategy.

The Zmags’ survey of 1,500 Americans looked at the behaviors and profiles of online and mobile shoppers.  The results, analyzed in the report Meet the Connected Consumer– How Tablets, Smartphones and Facebook are Changing the Way Consumers Shop Across Retail Categories, showed that:

Social Media Increasingly Important for Customer Service

Although social platforms are still a long way from replacing traditional call centers, a new study from Sitel provides statistics supporting what I wrote about a year ago: Social media is becoming increasingly important for customer service initiatives.

Sitel, a customer care outsourcing company in the UK, asked 1000 people between the ages of 16 and 64 about their customer service preferences. The results of the survey indicate that more and more consumers (especially younger ones) expect be able to find answers to questions or resolutions to complaints online.

Among the key findings in this study:

Social Media Key Driver for Black Friday and Holiday Buying

Merchants may have good reason to feel jolly this holiday season.

A preliminary Black Friday shopping survey, conducted for the National Retail Federation by BIGresearch, found that as many as 152 million people plan to shop Black Friday weekend (this Friday, Saturday and Sunday) –and that’s up significantly from the 138 million people who planned to do so last year.

Interestingly, the study also identified social media as a key driver of holiday buying behavior this season.

• 17.3 percent of those polled said they will monitor retailers’ Facebook pages, and 11.3 percent will check out group-buying sites like Groupon and LivingSocial.
• Of those who own tablet devices and who plan to shop for or research holiday items this year, about one-third (31.2 percent) will check out retailers’ Facebook pages, and one in five (21.3 percent) will seek out group buying sites.

Another survey conducted by BIGresearch took a look at how retailers will be doing their part to use social media to connect with consumers. According to the Shop.org eHoliday Survey: