According to a recent report from ROI Research Inc., sponsored by Performics, "S-Net The Impact of Social Media," social media permeates consumers' lives and affects communication, shopping and other activities, driving changes in consumer behavior online.
The study of 3,000 U.S. social network users delved deeper into how social sites affect family and friend relationships and consumer attitudes towards brands and products:
Active Social Networking Account Holders (% of Respondents) | |||
Social Account | October 2009 | April 2010 | % Change |
71% | 80% | +13% | |
MySpace | 44% | 37% | -16% |
You Tube | 39% | 37% | -5% |
Windows Live | 33% | 19% | -42% |
Classmates.com | 26% | 20% | -23% |
22% | 19% | -14% | |
In | 11% | 10% | -9% |
Source: ROI Research, June 2010 |
Daina Middleton, CEO of Performics, says "Social networks have made... substantial changes in the lives of their users... (as they) more actively participate with brands and each other... More than a third of all respondents reported using a search engine to further learn after seeing an ad on a social networking site... more than a third think social networking sites are good sources of information about companies and products..."
Consumers reported a desire to connect with brands throughout the study:
Access Via Mobile Once a Day or More (April 2010) | ||
Social Network | % Accessing | Change From Oct, 2009 |
32% | +23% | |
30 | +15 | |
You Tube | 22 | +22 |
Source: ROI Research, June 2010 |
Middleton added that "... it's a groundswell of technology-enabled word of mouth... shifting from strict consumerism to... two-way participation between brands and everyday customers..."
Frequency of Activities on Facebook (% of Respondents) | ||
Social Activity | Facebook Respondents (Once a week or more) | Twitter Respondents (At least once a week) |
Make comments about other people's post | 54% |
|
Visit company or product pages | 25% |
|
Login to other sites using Facebook | 25% |
|
Share an opinion about a company | 22% | 33% |
Click on an ad on Facebook | 22% |
|
Make a recommendation | 20% | 32% |
Re-post content | 19% |
|
Ask for a product or service | 17% | 30% |
Source: ROI Research, June 2010 |
Scott Haiges, president of ROI Research, concludes that "... users are not only satisfied, they want more... respondents expressed a strong desire to get:
And, eCommerce predicts that by end of 2010, almost 9 out of 10 corporate businesses will engage through social networking portals. On Facebook, says research from ComScore, the visitors who spend the most time on the site also spend the most dollars on online shopping, with an average of $67 in spending for the top 20% of visitors.
Average Online Spending by Time Spent on Facebook & Twitter ($ in Q1, 2010) | ||
Type of User | Facebook Spenders | Twitter Spenders |
Heavy | $67 | $43 |
Medium | 61 | 75 |
Light | 50 | 73 |
Non-visitor | 27 | 43 |
Source: ComScore, May 2010 (User: Heavy, top 20% of visitors by time spent on site; Medium, next 30%, Light, lowest 50%) |
The comScore research report says that people using Twitter are more likely to purchase Online than people using Facebook, who tend to communicate or play games. Twitter users are more interested in updates from brands, and the amount of information about products and services are more available through Twitter than Facebook, notes the comScore study.
For more information about the study and Performics, please visit here.
The bigger question is what percentage of the population is involved with these tools and the answer is that the VAST majority still do not embrace the tools this way. While the numbers of users and pundits increase daily the bigger number is still with those not participating.
More needs to be said about them instead of the fixation on those already embracing the tools - just an opinion.
This is why money is starting to flow into these channel...
Rick, you are totally correct.
A stat at the MRA Annual Conference last week stated at only 6% of online adults generate 80% of 101 billion influence impressions. Obviously there is lots of chatter but most consumers aren't creating it and only some are experiencing it.