September 5th, 2011 
Admin Here's another great research article; enjoy LaTanya Junior
While propensity to click-through on Facebook is positively correlated with age, propensity to like is not, according to data released in August 2011 by Facebook marketing consulting firm SocialCode. Age has a strong positive effect on whether a user will click, but has a less pronounced opposite effect on the likelihood of them becoming a fan of a page.
Fifty-plus-year-old users, the oldest segment in the study, are 28.2% more likely to click through and 9% less likely to like than 18-29-year-old users, the youngest group observed. Compared to the rest of the younger population, 50-plus users see a 22.6% higher CTR and 8.4% lower like rate.
CTR Rises More Directly than Like Rate Falls
Interestingly, CTR by age rises much more directly than like rate by age falls. CTR rises almost continuously as user age progresses, rise in an almost direct line as users age, with a minimal plateau inside the 30-39-year-old age bracket.
However, the like rate shows some strong fluctuation before plummeting once the user enters the 50-plus bracket. Among 18-to-29-year-olds, the like rate is about 39.5%, and then dips to about 38.5% in the 30-t0-39-year-old demographic.
However, the like rate jumps back to its highest point of slightly more than 39.5% among 40-to-49-year-olds. It then dramatically drops to slightly more than 36% in the 50-plus group of Facebook users.
Women Click More, Men Like More
Overall, women are 11% more likely to click on an ad than men. Like rates, however, are almost even for men and women, with men actually 2.2% more likely to like an ad than women.
In addition, when broken down by age, age has a much more pronounced effect on CTR for women than it does for men, whereas for men there is a stronger effect on like rate than for women.
For women, CTR is 31.2% higher for the 50 plus age group compared to 18-29-year-olds, whereas men only see a 16.2% difference. Compared to all age groups, 50-plus women’s CTR is 22% higher, compared to a 16.4% difference for males.
However, the oldest male segment has an 11.7% higher like rate than the youngest segment, and 9.5% higher like rate than all age groups. Women only see 7.2% and 7.9% differences, respectively.
trendwatching.com: ‘F’ is for F-Factor
Consumers are tapping into their networks of friends, fans, and followers to discover, discuss and purchase goods and services in ever-more sophisticated ways, according to an August 2011 advisory from consumer trends firm trendwatching.com. As a result, trendwatching.com advises it’s never been more important for brands to make sure they too have what it calls the “F-Factor,” with “F” standing for friends, fans and followers.
trendwatching.com identifies five key ways the F-Factor influences consumer 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: New ways in which 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 being turned into products and services.
About the Data: This study examined more than 4 million data points for Facebook ads containing a “like” button across more than 50 SocialCode clients in all different verticals for the past 10 months. While performance varies greatly based on multiple variables, this looks at the aggregate trends seen in the marketplace.
Source: Marketing Charts
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A List of 10 SEO Facts That Could Blow Your Mind!
Hello TCB360 Smart Business Network – This is a must read, please don't forget to share your thoughts.
THANK YOU, LaTanya Junior, CEO TCB360
Search engine optimization is one of those things that has created many different opinions on every single effort that is associated with the practice. Over the years there have been lots of different ideas and feeling surrounding the way people conduct search engine optimization but the reality is that there is more than one way to do.
Here is a list of 10 SEO facts that could blow your mind!
1. It is not invisible: You might not be able to put your hands on it right away but there are ways to physically see and feel movement. A search engine marketing company should be able to identify exactly what it is that they are doing each month. You should be able to physically see the efforts that have been conducted. If they tell you that it is their own secret recipe I would be very wary about this because there is no secret recipe when it comes to search engine marketing.
2. It takes time: Regardless of what you do or how much money you pour into your SEO efforts your rankings are not going to grow over night. Things take time and if you are in a competitive space things might take even longer. You will see some movement fairly soon but cold hard rankings really don’t happen right away. You need to be patient and wait your turn.
3. Trickery does not work: Try to get the idea of performing any trickery on your website out of your head because you could end up just landing yourself a penalty in the search engines. Black hat SEO only creates short winded rankings that never really stick around for the long term.
4. PPC does not help you rankings: If you are wondering if PPC advertising helps your organic rankings at all it doesn’t in any way. Even if you received a penalty on your website you can opt in to Google Adwords and fire of a PPC account.
5. You need millions of links: False, you need good solid one way links pointing to your website that occur naturally. The ones that occur naturally are usually telling the search engines that you are an awesome source of information and for that you will be rewarded…overtime.
6. Pagerank is everything: Another false here. Pagerank was created by Google to give a webpage power. That power does not mean you are going to rank or be successful. All it means is that you have received a high number in your toolbar for that particular page which ultimately really doesn’t mean anything to the outside world.
7. Nobody is partnered with Google: If anyone ever tells you over the phone that they have a direct relationship with Google they are most likely lying to get the business in through the door. Nobody has a relationship with Google and if they tell you they do I would run far away.
8. Buying links is bad: People out there still seem to think it is ok to purchase a link for their website. The search engines have come out repeatedly to let the industry know that buying a link is very frowned upon. Sometimes however you can’t avoid it. For example you want to be in the Business.com directory and that costs $299 per/year. In situations like this it is ok but going through a text broker is not good and should be avoided at all costs.
9. Google Analytics gives Google too much info: Who cares if they know how many people clicked on your site? Google doesn’t care and they only use it to strengthen their search tool. If you are worried about them spying don’t be cutting corners on your website and everything will be hunky dory.
10. SEO is one time: SEO is a journey through the valleys and over mountains through the depths of the forests! No seriously it never stops. SEO is something that is constantly moving because it is the process of marketing your business online proactively.
There are many myths and legends about search engine optimization out there but you have to understand that not all of them are true or false. Your best bet is to read through credible sources online that are trusted and educate yourself as much as possible before you enter the world of SEO.
Written by Nick Stamoulis
nick@brickmarketing.com
My SEO Company – Brick Marketing