Mixing It Up: Social and Mainstream Media

A new Hewlett-Packard study disproves the perception that “the most prolific tweeters or those with most followers would be most responsible for creating” the posts that drive trending topics to the top of Twitter. Instead, the study found that mainstream media such as CNN and BBC are actually amplifying topics, contributing to the trending that drives these topics to the top. For example, when mainstream media reported on the new album by Britney Spears, her name shot up on the Twitter trending chart. The marketing take-away: use a mix of media to engage your audiences.

In fact, the mix of social media being used by consumers in different parts of the world offers ample opportunity for communication, says SearchEngineWatch.com. In Japan, Mobage-Town, a mobile-based social media platform, is increasingly popular (and profitable) because of the ability to connect and play games on the go. Now that Mobage-Town (above) is expanding into other countries, will Facebook react? And for marketers, the lesson is: ignore mobile marketing at your peril.

Facebook and YouTube are gaining in popularity among UK consumers, according to Nielsen/Ukom. Facebook has rocketed to #3 among Web sites accessed in the UK; YouTube is #8 (while Twitter is #38). The same study noted the rapid rise of sites from mainstream media, such as BBC. This reinforces the view that a mix of social and mainstream media is needed to reach and involve audiences.