Gigya Study Reveals What Drives Higher Interaction, Longevity and Virality On Facebook, MySpace
PALO ALTO, CA – March 20, 2009 – Gigya, Inc., the standard for connecting content with the social web, today released the results of a study comparing campaign performance data for the two primary types of brand advertiser widgets: “Social” and “Utility.” The study found that as a group, Social widgets outperformed Utility widgets, when installed by users on Social Network pages, in the categories of User Interaction, Widget Longevity, and Widget Virality
Social widgets are defined as those that contain elements of entertainment, self-expression or communication such as games, videos, photo and avatar customizations, and comparison quizzes. Utility widgets are defined as those that are designed to be helpful to the user, incorporating news feeds, daily tips, activity planning or other tools and information.
On average, Social widgets demonstrated the following results by category when compared to Utility widgets:
Interaction
· Received 4.6 times the number of interactions per widget impression
· Received 6.8 times the number of interactions per installed widget
· Achieved a 38% lower cost per interaction
Longevity
· Remained on a user’s page 21% longer
· Achieved an effective CPM 16% lower
Virality
· Drove 4.3 times the number of viral grabs
· Reached 15% more unique users for every installed widget
· Had a cost per unique user reached that was 19% lower
Within the Social widgets group, the top performing subcategories were: Customization and Self Expression, where users can personalize the widget, and Games, where users can play and compare scores or challenge friends.
Implications
“These findings demonstrate that social media users are embracing brand advertiser content in a way that fits within, and is similar to, their primary social network activities,” said Dave Yovanno, Gigya’s CEO, “Sharing photos and videos, challenging friends to games, comparing themselves to others and letting friends know what they are up to are some of the many activities that social network users engage in on a daily basis, and it’s important for brands to start incorporating these elements into their social media marketing strategies.”
Methodology
The Gigya study looked at data from more than 30 campaigns delivered through the Gigya Widget Distribution Network, comparing aggregated performance data from brand advertiser campaigns. All performance data was gathered exclusively from widgets installed by users to their social network profile pages, as differentiated from widgets installed to start pages like iGoogle or to computer desktops. The social networks in this study included Facebook, MySpace, Hi5, Tagged, Bebo, and Friendster, among others.