SocialToaster Super Fans Name Barack Obama Most Influential Social Media Person of 2012

Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga named second and third; Madonna and Mitt Romney come in last

BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SocialToaster, the social marketing platform, today revealed the results of its 2012 SocialToaster Social Media Survey fielded amongst the 3,000 SocialToaster Super Fans. SocialToaster’s Super Fans are largely social media experts and professionals, many of whom work with some of the nation’s leading brands. They range from the entertainment industry, representing numerous television shows and movies, to professional sports, including the Baltimore Ravens and the Detroit Pistons.

“As social media becomes more a part of our life, we wanted to determine who was influencing it and what behaviors were considered appropriate”

The 2012 SocialToaster Social Media Survey asked Social Media Experts to rank big names and celebrities by influence and use of social media. President Barack Obama came out on top with 50 percent of those voting ranking him as a social media influencer. Justin Bieber (38.2%) came in second, followed by Lady Gaga (35.3%), Ashton Kutcher (32.4%), and Anderson Cooper (26.5%). Kanye West and Sean Hannity tied for the third least influential person in social media with a ranking of 11.8%. Madonna (5.9%) was next with Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney being ranked the least influential person on social media with a ranking of 2.9 percent.

Despite the influence of well-known celebrities and politicians, 95% of Super Fans agreed that a social media post from a close friend was most likely to influence them on an important issue. Family members came next (56.1%) followed by a well-known blogger (39%). Politicians and athletes tied for last place.

When it comes to sharing, an overwhelming percentage (90%) of Super Fans said pictures were most likely to get shared, followed by links (68.3%), quotes (51.2%), and videos (43.9%). Studies and statistics (19.5%) were the least likely to get shared. Most Super Fans (85.7%) believe humorous content was most likely to get shared, followed by sports (61%), and politics (48.8%). Only pornography (7.3%) beat Social Media Game Scores (12.2%) as least likely to be shared.

SocialToaster Super Fans also ranked which content would cause them to unfollow someone:

• Racism – 73.2%
• Sexism – 63.4%
• Pornographic – 53.7%
• Repetitive – 51.2%
• Overly Personal – 39%
• Poor Grammar – 34.1%

“As social media becomes more a part of our life, we wanted to determine who was influencing it and what behaviors were considered appropriate,” said Brian Razzaque, CEO of SocialToaster. “Our Super Fans, who represent the most plugged-in people in social media around the world, were the perfect people to ask. While it was no surprise that in this election year Barack Obama would be ranked the most influential person in social media, it was surprising to us that Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga would beat Madonna and Kanye West. We were also surprised to see that friends had more pull than family when it came to influencing the sharing of social media content.”

ABOUT SOCIALTOASTER

SocialToaster, with corporate headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, is a fan engagement and message amplification platform that provides a simple way to amplify the reach of messages on social networking sites by making content sharing fun and easy. SocialToaster mobilizes Super Fans of media and entertainment brands, sports teams, and other enterprise-level organizations to increase fan engagement, propel website traffic, strengthen brand loyalty, and drive revenues. As an alternative to traditional advertising, SocialToaster helps clients monetize the social channel by increasing the visibility of posts and maximizing their potential reach in a repeatable, measurable way.