UNTANGLING THE SOCIAL WEB REPORT DEBUTS TODAY

January 31, 2012

If today is a typical day more than 350 million people worldwide will log into their Facebook pages, with more than 120 million of them doing so before they get dressed or have breakfast. By the time the day ends 250 million new photos will have been uploaded to Facebook and another 250 million Tweets or updates will have appeared on Twitter.

Business cannot ignore these numbers or pretend that all this activity is simply among teen-age girls discussing the most popular celebrity. The reality is that the social web is an increasingly diverse space and the greatest growth among users is actually from older generations. More importantly, the topics being discussed in Facebook, Twitter and many other sites are all about business, especially the grocery business.

Social web users talk about meals, recipes, coupons, shopping trips, stores and more. In fact, they talk about food related issues as much as anything before, during and after they are in stores, buying products and using services.

Yet business cannot possibly succeed in this new space without understanding the scope and use of the social web. The newest study from the Coca‑Cola Retailing Research Council of North America, conducted by The Integer Group, provides important insights into the world of social networking starting with those foundational steps. Get started at www.ccrrc.org (North America page) to find important information necessary for your company to build a social networking strategy.

Michael Sansolo

Research Director

Coca‑Cola Retailing Research Council ofNorth America