Consumers are developing new imaging habits today, many of which are being driven by social networking. This new paradigm appears to be confounding many imaging retailers. Doing a little data mining can help unlock a better understanding of the products and services these customers may find appealing.
ot too long ago I heard this news event described on the radio: Two teenage girls became trapped in a culvert and realized they needed outside help. Since they had a mobile phone with them, they sent a text message to their friends. After a while, the recipient read the text and eventually emergency services arrived to free them. What is unusual about that? Why didn’t they call emergency services immediately? Do they rely so intensely on their social network for support that they didn’t even call their parents? Or maybe they haven’t been "trained" how to react in such an emergency.
In the photo imaging industry we lament the loss of the traditional print business, especially in view of the ever-increasing growth of digital picture-taking. We point to the exploding numbers of still and video images being shared on the various social networks and lamely conclude that we have "lost" this business. But have we really lost the business or merely watched it leave?
We know that women tend to be the family memory keepers, but do we understand how they use social networks? According to the "Consumer Internet Barometer Second Quarter 2009" report from TNS and The Conference Board, 43 percent of U.S. Internet users visited social networking sites in Q2 2009, up 16 percent from the same period in 2008. eMarketer reports that nearly one-half of females visited social networking sites, compared with 37.6 percent of men.
How often do these Internet users visit social networks? 5.1 percent of the respondents to this survey visited more than seven times and 25.9 percent visit two to six times every day. And, including these groups, a total of 51.4 percent visit at least once every day.
What distinguishes the female "memory keeper" from her male counterparts? eMarketer.com also reported a study, "The Power of Social Networking For Women" conducted by female-oriented social networking site ShesConnected. Participants in the survey were recruited through several social networks and were encouraged to share it with friends. Seventy-three percent indicated that they visit social networks at least once each day.
Facebook was the most popular social network among these users (83 percent), followed by LinkedIn (73 percent), Twitter (55 percent) and MySpace (41 percent). Almost one-half of respondents (48 percent) reported belonging to four or more social networks.
Based on its "Power to the People: Social Media Tracker" study, Universal McCann believes Internet users are "starting to focus their digital life" around single networks, rather then around many specialized tools with social features, although many posting can be simultaneously displayed in multiple networks. eMarketer estimates that 44.2 percent of all Internet users in the U.S. are social network users, logging on at least once each month; while Universal McCann’s study indicates that 59 percent of respondents have created a social network profile (and this might include people who access their networks less frequently than once each month).
What do these memory keepers want to do with the still and video images that they upload onto social networks? The mechanism for printing still images from these networks through online service providers and even home printers is already available. But do we really know what social network users want to do with their images? That information will be developed during a study set to begin soon through a joint effort of IDC and Photofinishing News.
Data Hungry
Most images uploaded to social networks are low resolution, frequently captured with cameraphones. Are you able to produce a wide range of personalized photo products from these images? Do you know the source of the images that your customers are bringing to your retail shop? Each image contains metadata that can be collected and used to create statistics about your business. German wholesale photofinisher CeWe Color, which serves 50,000 retail outlets in Europe, devotes considerable resources to collecting very detailed statistics. They claim 2.7 percent of the 1.8 billion digital prints it produced in 2008 were made from cameraphone images, and it is able to identify each different model as Sony Ericsson was the dominant manufacturer. Kiosk maker Lucidiom collects statistics from the 55,000 units it has operating in retail outlets throughout the world and says that about 5 percent of all prints are made from cameraphone images. According to Photo Imaging News, almost 300 million prints will be made in the U.S.A. this year from cameraphone images.
And, if your customers were so willing to create a public profile on their social network sites, wouldn’t they also be willing to allow you to create a profile of their family’s "photo interests?"
While it does take time and resources to develop this data, it can also provide benefits in many ways. One retail chain, carefully scrutinizing the data from the Lucidiom kiosks recognized that there were significant differences between the camera models he was carrying in inventory and those from which he was taking printing orders. As a result, he revised his camera sales to coincide with the usage of his "output" customers.
Are retailers engaging their customers to learn what products they would like to have from their social network postings? Digital still cameras can record video clips and cameraphones can record lengthy videos. Is this an emerging business opportunity? With the new iPod Nano that records video, many industry pundits expect video capture to increase significantly next year; and there are kiosks on the market that can download these files.
Rather than watching potential business go away, maybe we need to make an effort to connect with young people, teach them how we can turn their fleeting visual memories into keepsakes, and "train" them to use a wide variety of our photo services.
