Author: Julie Campbell

Recent research findings have shown that the usage of this network has greatly switched to smartphones.

The findings from a study on social media marketing and usage have just been released, showing that the use of Twitter is rapidly moving away from PCs and is heading toward smartphones and tablets, instead.

Mobile is rapidly becoming the most common place that Twitter is accessed and used.

The survey was conducted by ConsumerMetrix from Strategy Analytics and the results were published within their report, which was entitled “Social Network Profile: Who Uses Twitter?”. This research has provided some interesting information with regards to the direction that social media marketing is taking, as well as the trends regarding the type of device that is being used by consumers to use that platform.

This social media marketing trend could be defining for future campaigns using that network.

The social media marketing and usage study that produced this data was performed from March 2012 through October 2012. What it indicated was that the percentage of people who had been using laptop or desktop computers for tweeting dropped from 77 percent at the start to 64 percent at the end of that period.

It also indicated that the number of users who were tweeting over their smartphones increased from 53 percent at the start of the survey to 64 percent by the end. Equally, among tablet users, tweeting increased from 9 percent in March, to 18 percent in October.

As a whole, the data collected through the social media marketing research offered a clearer image of the proportion of Twitter users who were accessing the service by way of various forms of devices, and that the usage over mobile – be it smartphone or tablet – increased overall from 56 percent to 71 percent.

The Strategy Analytics vice president of digital consumer practice, David Mercer, said “The immediacy of Twitter communications requires devices which are close to hand at every waking moment.” He added that this, by definition, indicates that social media marketing and usage prefer smartphones and tablets. This information could be useful for the development of future efforts to reach and interact with consumers.

New features through eBay’s RedLaser have made discounts and in-store mapping possible.

According to the latest news from eBay Inc. and its RedLaser app, new geolocation features will now allow consumers to discover offers and deals from local retailers that are close by, with a simple tap of the screen.

So far, there are several big name participants in this program that could be beneficial to shoppers.

Among the deals that can be discovered through this geolocation app are those from Sears, Best Buy, and Toys ‘R’ Us, among others. This latest update to the mobile commerce app from eBay occurred earlier this week. Since then, it has included a Local Deals tab, as well as additional coupons to help promote savings.

Among the additional geolocation features are the ability to clip coupons, view flyers, and receive alerts.

The notification alerts occur when a nearby store is offering RedLaser deals. The geolocation technology then takes things a step further by allowing the smartphone user to view interactive in-store mapping of various retailers such as some Home Depot and Walgreen’s locations.

According to the geolocation technology news releases, the RedLaser app can now be used in a broad range of different ways. It opens by suggesting products that the user may find appealing. These are selected based on the searches that have previously been performed by the consumer since first using the app. The app can also be tapped to see the top deals of the day. Beyond that, its features have already included searching by image and keyword, as well as scanning product barcodes.

In order to use the geolocation feature for local deals, users of the app can tap the new tab and browse for the various offers available nearby in the “browse deals around you” section, which is accessed through a button tap. This provides a list of nearby retailers that participate in the program, ordered from closest to the one that is farthest away. Choosing a specific retailer opens a page that includes details about the nearby store location, its available weekly flyer, any coupons that can be used in-store, any online offers being made available, as well as an in-store map (if it is available at that location).