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There’s no escaping social media and the rise of social commerce as the new marketing frontier. Trendwatching.com just released their latest brief on the influence of friends, fans, and followers on consumers’ purchasing decisions, and the sophistication and power of that influence. They call it the F-Factor, and it’s never been more important for brands to make sure they too have “it.”

Why is the F-Factor important to consumers? Offering a more efficient, more relevant, and more interesting purchasing experience, consumers no longer have to spend endless time and effort trying to discover the best of the best or rely on distant, unknown or untrusted (read: brand-driven) sources that could be potentially unreliable or irrelevant.

Sure, consumption has always been social: people have forever been influenced by what others think and buy. KellerFay, a U.S. word-of-mouth marketing research consultancy, estimates that there are nearly one trillion conversations about brands every year in the U.S. alone. And while the core consumer behavior isn’t new, technological developments are enabling new forms of that behavior, amplifying its importance and impact.

The F-Factor is being fueled by new tools and platforms available to consumers and brands. Both groups are evolving and improving these tools as well. A few recent stats demonstrating the reach and power of the F-Factor and how brands are leveraging this power today:

• The F-Factor is currently dominated by Facebook, as more than 500 million active users spend more than 700 billion minutes a month on the site. (Source: Facebook, April 2011)
• Every month, more than 250 million people engage with Facebook across more than 2.5 million external websites. (Source: Facebook, April 2011)
• The average user clicks the “Like” button 9 times each month. (Source: Facebook, 2010)
• Three quarters of Facebook users have “Liked” a brand. (Source: AdAge/Ipsos, February 2011)
• Juicy Couture found that their product purchase conversion rate increased by 160% after installing social sharing features. (Source: CreateTheGroup, February 2011)
• Incipio Technologies, a gadget accessory retailer, found that referrals from Facebook had a conversion rate double the average. (Source: Business Insider, March 2011)
• But it’s not just about Facebook. Take for example the explosive rise of the daily deal site Groupon, which used referrals from friends and colleagues to drive sales of more than 40 million deals in the 2-1/2 years since it launched in November 2008.

And five ways that the F-Factor is influencing consumption behavior:

1. F-DISCOVERY: How consumers discover new products and services by relying on their social networks.

2. F-RATED: How consumers will increasingly (and automatically) receive targeted ratings, recommendations and reviews from their social networks.

3. F-FEEDBACK: How consumers can ask their friends and followers to improve and validate their buying decisions.

4. F-TOGETHER: How shopping is becoming increasingly social, even when consumers and their peers are not physically together.

5. F-ME: How consumers’ social networks are literally turned into products and services.

Are you seeing conversion improvements like the examples above? Does your brand have the F-Factor?

If you’ve ventured into Facebook as an advertiser — social marketer, I should say — you know the hell that awaits as platform changes fly out from nowhere, guidelines vaporize before they can be found and apps that promise relief do little but confound your efforts. Well, you can rest now, weary Creative, for the fine folks at Facebook (actually a new crew brought in to create this new initiative) have brought you Facebook Studio.

This community site is “a place to celebrate the agencies and marketers who are creating and innovating with Facebook.” Actually, it’s an online space where agency creatives can submit work on behalf of their clients, comment on and “like” the work submitted by others, and with enough positive feedback make it to the “Spotlight” position and then on to the “Awards” area. For a publisher/portal that’s pretty much stayed hands-off when it comes to giving guidance and forewarning on rules and redesigns this would appear to be a welcome — and much needed — change.

“We need to do a better job of engaging with agencies,” said Blake Chandlee, head of Facebook’s newly formed agency relations team, adding that the site will focus on best practices and highlight quality campaigns uploaded by the creators.

One quick read, however, of the comments on a recent post shows that Facebook will need to do much more than throw up a creative “contest” and stroke those agencies that stuff the ballot box, so to speak. I pulled up the “Most Liked” and “Most Shared” tabs on my first tour of the site and was not surprised to see a Coke campaign sitting in the number one position. The beverage brand seems to have cracked the code early on and typically appears in how-to resources for “Build Your Brand on FB” along with other brands with enough firepower to make the social network “work” for them.

If your client does business in a highly regulated industry you may be charmed by the display of love and appreciation for “good” creative. Aren’t we all? But it’s something altogether different when you’ve finally convinced your financial services or pharma client to dip a toe into social and you’re on your own in navigating the space. It has not been uncommon for those of us adventuring out to be “on hold” indefinitely, given conflicting instructions or none at all, or surprised to find (just when we thought we had it down) that wholesale changes had upended our efforts. Made for quite a rocky ride.

It’s been a week and already there are plenty of submissions to review and remark on. Time will tell if this becomes the resource that is so sorely needed or if it’s just another creative cul de sac for self-reflection and snarky comments. Facebook’s continued involvement, pro-active engagement, assistance, and active listening will be the first hints that this might be real help and not hype.

Earlier this year, CMO.com released their second annual “CMO’s Guide To The Social Landscape.” Billed as an “up-to-date analysis of the rapidly shifting world of social media channels” this color-codified chart breaks down the most popular — and currently most effective — sites according to their value in:

• Supporting Customer Communication
• Furthering Brand Exposure
• Generating Site Traffic
• Enhancing SEO

Working with SEO and social media firm, 97th Floor, CMO.com provides a clear and comprehensive look at a marketer’s social network choices and presents compelling information on how best to move in this ever-shifting landscape. Take a look and see how you’re using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Digg and others — are you optimizing each unique channel? Could you better position your brand for optimal exposure and effect in these social media spaces? And are there others, not mentioned, that you’re having success with?

Download a PDF version of CMO’s Guide for 2011 here.

Please note all copyrights belong to CMO.com and 97th Floor.

Twitter — and some very public Twitter mishaps — have been entertaining to read over the last couple of months. The most recent example is a Friday night tweet-fest and tirade produced by a Marc Jacobs Intl (@MarcJacobsIntl) intern who had time to post and pack before leaving the company. Seems that this temp insider was the social media manager while a Twitter-based search/promotion was in place to find the hire that would permanently hold the position.

Posting to the fashion brand’s official account, the anonymous insider shared his/her true feelings about the company’s CEO, Robert Duffy, calling him a “tyrant” and “difficult.” And as the night turned to morning, the “true confessions” continued to show up. Here’s the thread that’s making the rounds:

Duffy has been “presented… with 50 people,” but is “not happy” with any of them.

Duffy is a “tyrant” and @MarcJacobsIntl followers “have no idea how difficult Robert is. I am only an intern.”

“My last day is tomorrow. I wouldn’t be tweeting this if not!”

“Good luck! I pray for you all. If you get the job! I’m out of here. See ya! Don’t want to be ya! Roberts a tyrant! Seriously! He is tough!”

“I can call him out! I’m out! Won’t work in this town again! I know that! Learned a lot. But, I don’t have the energy for what is expected!”

“Yea, walk in my MJ shoes! Don’t judge me! I’m alone in this office having to try and entertain you all. This isn’t easy. I have tried. Done!”

By 4am Saturday all tweets were removed and replaced with:

“All is well here at MJ. Twitter is a crazy place. Protect your passwords.”

Twitter is “a crazy place” if you’re a brand without a social media strategy, plan and policies for implementation. Aflac fired Gilbert Gottfried (the voice of the duck/mascot for the last decade) for “insensitive” tweets post-tsunami. Chrysler fired agency, New Media Strategies, for the now-infamous f-bomb tweet. And the Green Bay Packers are convinced that they’re suffering from a “Twitter Curse.”

How often are we asked to fire up a Twitter feed, a Facebook page or other social media “must-have”? How often are clients prepared to look internally, at how they’ll manage the care-and-feeding of these fast-paced and very public forums? And how much “trouble” will they (and we, as their representatives or agencies) find themselves in, entertaining — and exasperating — those of us watching?

MarketingProfs’ “Get to the Po!nt” email marketing newsletter highlighted a recent edition of “Which Test Won.” If you’re not familiar with this online resource, WhichTestWon.com is an independent publication with the goal of evangelizing best practices in marketing optimization — in particular through A/B and multivariate testing. If you are familiar with this site and the “How Good is Your Gut?” tests they run, you know the rush of correctly answering each question — finding out that your gut is pretty darn good.

In this example, an A/B test (employed by DIYthemes) invited visitors to sign up for email newsletters. Version A used the headline “Get Email Updates (it’s free!),” and used social proof messaging to encourage registration: “Join 14,752 others and get free updates.” Below this was a box for an email address and a “join” button. Version B was identical, except that it omitted the line about 14,752 subscribers.

Voters at the site overwhelmingly chose Version A: 82% to 18%. But the majority was — in this case — wrong. “Version B, without the social proof messaging, got a 122% lift in email opt-ins,” noted Anne Holland, (@AnneHolland55) publisher of WhichTestWon.com.

“Derek Halpern, Chief Persuasion Officer at DIYthemes, suggested that ‘joining 14,752 others’ just wasn’t compelling enough, or might have distracted visitors from the submit button below,” said Holland. “But we think another factor might be that the messaging didn’t clearly explain what kind of email updates the subscriber would receive — or the benefits of opting in.”

MarketingProfs went on to say that the results sparked a lively discussion in the comment section. Comments included thoughts such as:

• “Maybe the ‘joining’ messaging misled people into believing they were signing up for a discussion list as opposed to the blog’s own updates?”
• “I think with the phrase ‘joining 14,752 others’ it seems to suggest that the sole reason to join is because 14,752 have joined.”
• “My own testing has shown that you should leave the reasons for joining to the Welcome Email. Every single extra character is one more reason to delay entering your email address and hitting Submit.”

And, as the marketing resource wraps each case study, they point out what we know to be true — and benefit from with the review of such a wildly unintuitive example. Even when the answer seems obvious, and you know in your gut you’ve got it, test and test and test again.

In my previous post, “The Rise of The Citysumer – Part 1” (appearing on Talent Zoo Media blog, Beneath the Brand) we took a look at how the increasing consumption taking place in urban settings and “Citysumers” who play a critical role in how markets and brands act and react. These experienced and sophisticated urbanites will demand brands that show some personality, loosen up, and embrace urban culture.

Trendwatching.com, a leading consumer trends firm, notes that many brands are already delighting Citysumers around the world. In the eight areas highlighted, where do you see opportunities for the brands you represent? Are there other success stories that you can share?

Opportunity 1: Celebrate Urban Pride

• Fragrances are a popular way to capture a city’s essence. Fashion brand DKNY released a fragrance “Love from New York for Women.” Beverly Hills created their own line of three scents that are meant to “evoke what life is like for the Beverly Hills woman.”
• The Absolut Cities Series first launched in New Orleans, when the brand developed a special mango and black pepper blend inspired by the city. The taste of Boston saw the brand launch a black tea and elderflower vodka that has a backdrop reminiscent of Fenway Park’s Green Monster, while 2010′s Absolut Brooklyn was a red apple and ginger flavored vodka with a Spike Lee-designed brownstone themed bottle.
• In August 2010, Starbucks announced the launch of a new range of ultra-premium, single-origin coffees that will be only available in limited quantities in metropolitan markets including: New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Miami.

Opportunity 2: Enabling Urban Encounters

• Geomium is an iPhone app launched in September 2010 in London that informs the user of where their friends are and what events are on in their area. It also helps them discover local bars, restaurants, and places of interest.
• Gowalla curates content for select cities via City Pages, providing a display of popular places, what’s “hot now,” and highlights from a variety of venue categories (e.g. best burgers, best coffee).
• In May 2010, Yahoo bought Indonesian social networking service Koprol that allows users to connect based on location. Mobile users can post a 200-character status message and use the site as a positioning service without the need for a GPS receiver. Once logged in, users can see other members who are in the same location.

Opportunity 3: Enriching The Urban Canvas

• In July 2010, Volvo London’s Starlite Urban Drive-In featured a full-sized, outdoor screen along with 25 preparked Volvo cars ready for patrons’ viewing, reminiscing, and snacking pleasure.
• Adidas has added Hamburg to their Urban Art Guide, following the success of their iPhone travel app that guides users around Berlin’s best graffiti spots.
• Snickers hosts festivals of youth street culture in various cities across Russia and Mexico. “Snickers Urbania” features nearly all major areas of street culture: extreme sports, graffiti, breakdancing, beatbox and freestyle. It encourages young people to express themselves and their talent.

Opportunity 4: Pushing The Urban Envelope

• In July 2010, Calvin Klein posted a large QR code across two billboard locations in New York City. Passersby who used their smart phones to capture the QR code were then shown a 40-second ad featuring model Lara Stone.
• Also in July 2010, Mini Cooper launched an interactive billboard campaign in the red light district of Hamburg, featuring the back of a Mini with an automated S&M whip hanging over the back that could be triggered to “spank” the vehicle.
• Spanish-based boutique hotel chain, Axel Hotels, partnered with New York-based Parkview Developers to launch a resort in New York targeted at the gay community. The resort, called Out NYC Urban Resort, will have an Axel Hotel, a spa, several restaurants and bars, stores and a dance club.

Opportunity 5: Go Eco-Urban

• US-based Urban Green Energy launched a wind turbine called eddy GT. The product boasts a special vertical axis design that enables power to be generated without making much noise and regardless of wind direction. The turbine was specifically designed for city rooftop use.
• Japanese car manufacturer Mitsubishi has partnered with appliance chain Yamada Denki to sell its i-MiEV electric vehicle from 17 stores within the Tokyo area. Mitsubishi has sold 3,000 i-MiEVs in Japan since sales began in April 2010, but is hoping to boost these figures by taking the vehicle in-store.
• A prototype of an environmentally friendly black cab was unveiled in London in Summer 2010. It runs on a hydrogen fuel cell system, converting hydrogen into electricity with the only emission being water vapor. The plan is to have 150 of these cabs running on the road in time for the Olympic Games in 2012.

Opportunity 6: Urban Escape

Brands that take Citysumers temporarily out of the city and into peace and quiet—away from crowds, noise, concrete, and foul air—will find innovation pays off nicely.

• Meine Ernte, a German agricultural start-up, is offering couples and families the opportunity to rent plots of land for farming vegetables near six of the largest cities in the country, including Frankfurt and Bonn. Tools and advice from an expert farmer are included.

Opportunity 7: Urban Transcendence

For those Citysumers unable to escape, how about bringing peace and quiet, greenery, and other rural qualities to the city?

• Property developer The Albanese Organization announced its collaboration with Holton Farms to deliver fresh, local produce to the residents of its properties in New York every week.

Opportunity 8: To Buy Or Not To Buy

• New York’s Department of Transportation’s partnership with Zipcar to share hybrid cars between employees and the public.
• SoBi, the first public bike share system where the authorization, tracking and security systems are attached to the bicycle itself.
• Snapgoods enables NYC residents to rent other people’s belongings, while Rent the Runway allows women to rent designer dresses (with same-day delivery available in NYC).

Urbanomics—highlighted as one of 11 crucial consumer trends for 2011—is seen as a macro movement that will dominate the coming decade as more and more consumption takes place in urban settings. Those that will play a critical role in how markets and brands act and react are defined by trendwatching.com as:

Citysumers: The hundreds of millions of experienced and sophisticated urbanites, who have some level of disposable income, who are ever more demanding and more open-minded, but also more proud, more connected, more spontaneous, and more try-out-prone, eagerly snapping up a whole host of new urban goods, services, experiences, campaigns and conversations.

Three drivers behind the Citysumer trend are:

1. The huge increase in the number of urban dwellers all around the world (Urban Boom).
2. The ever-increasing wealth and power of cities and those who live in them (Urban Might).
3. The spread of urban culture and values (Urbane).

Urban Boom: great increase in urban dwellers worldwide

• If it wasn’t for China (43%), Africa (33%), and India (29%) the world would already be significantly more urbanized than the 50.5% it is today. (Source: CIA The World Factbook, 2010) And China, Africa, and India are all set for immense urbanization in the next few decades to come.
• Close to 180,000 people move into cities daily, adding roughly 60 million new urban dwellers each year. (Source: Intuit, October 2010)
• By 2050, the global urban population is expected to be 6.3 billion, or 70% of the population at that time. (Source: UN, 2009)
• By 2030, China will have an urban population of 1 billion, and India 590 million. Currently, Europe’s urban population is 533 million. (Source: McKinsey forecast & UN data, 2009-10)
• By 2030, China will have 221 cities with more than 1 million people, and India will have 68. In 2010, Europe has 35. During this period, 400 million Chinese and 215 million Indians will move to urban areas, more than the population of the US and Brazil combined. (Source: Foreign Policy, August 2010)
• In January 2011, Chinese city planners proposed merging the nine cities around the Pearl River Delta into a single metropolitan area, containing some 42 million people; more people than Argentina, and covering an area 26 times bigger than Greater London. (Source: Reuters, January 2011)

In the very near future, there will be more cities, both newer and bigger than ever. And while established global powerhouses such as New York, London, and Paris are sharing the stage with Beijing, Mumbai, and Istanbul, increasingly cities such as Belem, Chongqing, and Guadalajara are preparing to join the ranks.

Urban Might: ever-increasing wealth and power of cities and city-dwellers

• Indian cities are forecast to generate 70% of new jobs created to 2030, produce more than 70% of Indian GDP, and drive a near fourfold increase in per capita incomes across the nation. By 2030, India will have 91 million urban, middle-class households, up from 22 million in 2010. (Source: McKinsey Global Institute, April 2010)
• China’s Academy of Sciences estimated that for every 1% increase in urbanization, China can expect a 1.6% increase in the contribution made by domestic demand to China’s GDP. (Source: Deloitte, June 2010)
• Shanghai’s economy represents over 13% of China’s total GDP, despite having less than 2% of the population. (Source: UN Habitat, 2010)
• The number of African households with discretionary income is projected to rise by 50 percent over the next 10 years, reaching 128 million. By 2030, the continents’ top 18 cities could have a combined spending power of USD 1.3 trillion. (Source: McKinsey, June 2010)
• Delhi, Shanghai, São Paulo and Moscow are each expected to reach a GDP in excess of USD 500 billion by 2025—more than the GDP of entire nations such as Indonesia or Belgium today. (Source: McKinsey, December 2010)

A global emerging middle class numbering nearly 2 billion currently spends $6.9 trillion (USD) each year. In ten years time, this is forecast to increase to $20 trillion, double current US consumption. (Source: McKinsey, July 2010)

Urbane: urban culture is the culture

The fast paced and ever-changing nature of urban life means an endless number of new and fleeting social connections, experiences, and (commercial) temptations. Some quick indicators of Citysumer’s spending power and behavior:

• The average Manhattanite household spends 59% of their $13,079 USD food budget on dining out, compared to the average American household that spends only 42% of their $6,514 USD food budget on dining out. (Source: Bundle, May 2010)
• Even four years ago, Harris identified “Urban Hustlers,” who compose 21% of US consumers aged 12-34 and spent close to $9 billion USD (10% of their annual spending), on recreational activities. Urban Hustlers are spending, on average, over $100 USD more than the non-urban population monthly, with their overall discretionary spending reaching $383 USD per month. (Source: Harris Interactive, June 2007)
• The lifestyle of urban Chinese consumers has changed from “survive” to “enjoy life” with 54% now pursuing a more fun lifestyle. (Source: GfK Roper, 2010)
• Only 17% of Chinese urban dwellers say they are “reluctant to spend money.” (Source: Economist Intelligence Unit, August 2010)

Constantly exposed to a wide variety of alternative lifestyles and experiences, Citysumers tend to be more open-minded. Recently, a Voice of India poll showed that almost a third of Indians in Bangalore and Mumbai support same-sex partnerships, a figure that would have been unheard of only a few years ago. trendwatching.com calls this “maturialism” (mature+materialism) and defines it as follows:

Maturialism: Thoroughly exposed to (if not participating in) an uncensored, opinionated, and raw world (especially online), experienced consumers no longer tolerate being treated like yesteryear’s easily. Not every Citysumer is enthusiastically and overwhelmingly liberal, but the clear (if gradual) global social trends are towards more tolerant attitudes towards abortion, euthanasia, casual sex, homosexuality, drug use, women’s rights, etc. More diverse living arrangements and the removal of many of the traditional social structures in cities are a big part of this.

All of this means that a large Urbane audience is up for brands that challenge, thrill, titillate, or even shock (in the best possible taste, of course). At the very least, brands need to show some personality, loosen up, and embrace urban culture, in all its gritty glory. Risky? Yes. But not as risky as being bland.

The hopeless romantics went for chocolates and flowers. The lovestruck went for oysters and champagne. The singles went anywhere the other two were not. And NYC Health went mobile.

The New York Health Department celebrated National Condom Awareness Day (also known as Valentine’s Day) by launching NYC Condom Finder, a free smartphone app available for the iPhone and Android OS and designed to locate the five nearest New York City venues that distribute free NYC Condoms. With nearly 1,000 locations throughout one of the world’s most populous cities, free condoms are almost certainly within walking distance.

In addition to geo-locating the nearest condom, the app also provides specific directions to each venue, the hours of operation for each location, the types of safer sex products available and helpful tips on condom usage.

“The NYC Condom Finder is a useful tool to ensure that New Yorkers have access to free condoms wherever they are in the city,” said Dr. Thomas Farley, New York City Health Commissioner.

New York City’s free condom initiative began in 1971 when the Health Department started distributing male condoms through its STD clinics. Over the last 40 years, the NYC Condom program has distributed condoms in 3,000 public venues citywide (i.e., community-based organizations, clubs, restaurants), released the country’s first municipally branded condom, and most recently, launched an NYC Condom Facebook Page followed by an online NYC Condom wrapper design contest last year.

You do all you can to engage prospects—craft a compelling message based on consumer insights, design a look and feel that supports the brand and aids in driving conversions, test and retest to ensure that efficacy is optimized. You get the opt-ins you’re looking for. You begin a campaign of communications. And then the “unsubs” come in and you’re left wondering what happened; why the “thanks-but-no-thanks.”

ExactTarget, a global interactive marketing services company, recently released the results of a survey in a report titled, “The Social Break-Up.” Querying more than 1,500 consumers, they uncovered the reasons for disengagement, the curious and quizzical “unsubs,” “unlikes” and “unfollows” of email and social marketing.

The big take-away—not surprising—is that 9 out of 10 people surveyed expressed a dislike of too much and not enough. They do not like to be contacted too frequently. They do not appreciate irrelevant communications. They certainly do not like boring messages. And they make their feelings known in large numbers:

• 91% have unsubscribed from permission emails
• 81% have “unliked” or removed a company’s posts from their Facebook News Feed
• 51% expect that a “like” will result in marketing communications from brands; 40% think this shouldn’t be a foregone conclusion
• 41% of consumers have “unfollowed” a company on Twitter

So, what is it that drives these folks to take action, to turn us off, to tell us straight-up “thanks-but-no-thanks”? Your next email message, Facebook post, or Tweet could be received or rejected based on how well you respond. What do you think, is it this simple or have you found something different in your customer exit surveys?

Why do consumers unsubscribe from emails?
“Too frequent emails” is the top reason why consumers unsub from permission emails. Second is the perception that content’s become repetitive or boring over time.

What do subscribers do when they’re no longer interested in emails?
First action is to click the link to “unsubscribe.” A distant second is to simply delete the emails upon arrival. Third, is to click the “spam” or “junk” button.

Why do people “unlike” brands on Facebook?
Nearly half those surveyed stated the company posted too frequently. One percentage point below the top spot were those that claimed that their Wall was becoming too crowded with marketing posts and they wanted to get rid of them.

What do users typically do when they no longer want to see Facebook posts from a brand or company?
Nearly half of respondents went to a Fan Page and “unliked” the page. Done. Hiding posts and simply ignoring posts came in second and third.

Why do consumers “unfollow” brands on Twitter?
Tweets that become “repetitive or boring over time” are the top turn-off. When consumers’ Tweet streams are “too crowded” with marketing posts they get rid of them. They’ll also “unfollow” if the company is posting too frequently.