Nielsen’s social media report for the third quarter shows some amazing growth in the use of social media. The report indicates that two factors are driving the change: more people are using mobile phones and tablets to access the networks and the proliferation of new social platforms. Two areas where social media is evolving: the phenomenon of multiple screening setting up what Nielsen calls the global living room and the use of social media as a customer care channel.
The numbers show some interesting trends:
- More people are connecting to the internet for longer periods of time. The highest increase? Use of mobile apps—up 85% from last year.
- Mobile apps also account for the place where minutes on the internet have increased the most.
- Even though PCs still account for the majority of time spent on social media networks (61%), the use of mobile apps has climbed to claim 34% of the total time spent on social networks.
- A look at the top networks? Facebook down 4% and Pinterest up a whopping 1,047%. Google Plus also making significant gains in the last year—up 80%. Twitter up 13%. However, to temper that news, Facebook still dominates the number of total minutes people spend online.
- The Pinterest audience has some unique audience characteristics: dominantly white females in the U.S.
- Weirdest stat: nearly 1/3 of those ages 18-24 social network in the bathroom.
- Sentiment stat to watch: 76% of social users feel more positive after their social networking experience. Could this be where people are going to get their motivational fix?
- Twitter has emerged as the key drive of social TV interaction.
Looking at the numbers, there are a few keys questions organizations need to ask:
- Are we using responsive web design that automatically optimizes our content regardless of how people access our information? This is now a requirement of doing business on the web.
- Do we have a social presence on channels that match our customer demographic? Social media is following the cable TV trend—specialization. If your product is specialized to young mothers in the U.S., you should probably consider Pinterest. If you are advertising on TV, you might want to consider being on Twitter.
- Have you considered diversifying your content to include location-based campaigns if you are a walk-up retailer or have events? Promotions that take advantage of mobile access might be worth considering.
What other key takeaways do you see from the new data? It’s your turn to share in the comments.
COMMENTARY:
SOCIAL MEDIA IS COMING OF AGE
Social media and social networking are no longer in their infancy. Since the emergence of the first social media networks some two decades ago, social media has continued to evolve and offer consumers around the world new and meaningful ways to engage with the people, events, and brands that matter to them. Now years later, social media is still growing rapidly and has become an integral part of our daily lives. Today, social networking is truly a global phenomenon.
What’s driving the continued growth of social media?
MOBILE
More people are using smartphones and tablets to access social media. The personal computer is still at the center of the social networking experience, but consumers are increasingly looking to other devices to connect on social media. Time spent on mobile apps and the mobile web account for 63 percent of the year-over-year growth in overall time spent using social media. Forty-six percent of social media users say they use their smartphone to access social media; 16 percent say they connect to social media using a tablet. With more connectivity, consumers have more freedom to use social media wherever and whenever they want.
PROLIFERATION
New social media sites continue to emerge and catch on. The number of social media networks
consumers can choose from has exploded, and too many sites to count are adding social features or integration. While Facebook and Twitter continue to be among the most popular social networks, Pinterest emerged as one of the breakout stars in social media for 2012, boasting the largest year-over-year increase in both unique audience and time spent of any social network across PC, mobile web, and apps.
How is consumer usage of social media evolving?
THE GLOBAL LIVING ROOM
Social TV is on the rise. The skyrocketing adoption and use of social media among consumers is
transforming TV-watching into a more immediate and shared experience. As of June 2012, more than 33 percent of Twitter users had actively tweeted about TV-related content. Some 44 percent of U.S. tablet owners and 38 percent of U.S. smartphone owners use their devices daily to access social media while watching television. In the Latin America region, more than 50 percent of consumers say they interact with social media while watching TV; in the Middle East / Africa region, more than 60 percent do. From global events like the Summer Olympics, to regional events like the Presidential debates in the U.S., consumers around the world used social media to engage with everyone from close friends to complete strangers, revolutionizing the television viewing experience.
SOCIAL CARE
Social Care is transforming customer service. Social media has emerged as an important channel
for customer service, with nearly half of U.S. consumers reaching out directly to brands and service providers to voice their satisfaction or complaints, or simply to ask questions. In fact, one in three social media users say they prefer to use social media rather than the phone for customer service issues.
How is social media impacting marketing?
SOCIAL WORD-OF-MOUTH
Social media enables consumers to generate and tap into the opinions of an exponentially larger
universe. While word-of-mouth has always been important, its scope was previously limited to the people you knew and interacted with on a daily basis. Social media has removed that limitation and given new power to consumers.
HYPER-INFORMED CONSUMERS
Social media is transforming the way that consumers across the globe make purchase decisions.
Consumers around the world are using social media to learn about other consumers’ experiences, find more information about brands, products and services, and to find deals and purchase incentives.
OPPORTUNITY FOR ENGAGEMENT
Consumer attitudes toward advertising on social media are still evolving. Though roughly one-third of social media users find ads on social networking sites more annoying than other types of Internet advertisements, research suggest that there are opportunities for marketers to engage with consumers via social media. More than a quarter of social media users say they are more likely to pay attention to an ad shared by one of their social connections. Additionally, more than a quarter of consumers are ok with seeing ads on social networking sites tailored to them based on their profile information.
Nielsen and NM Incite’s 2012 Social Media Report (included below) provides some insight into what is driving our collective, global obsession with social media. In the following pages, you’ll get a more detailed snapshot of what is helping to power the continued growth of social networking around the world, how consumers’ social media behavior is evolving, and how these changes impact the way brands and consumers engage through social networks.
Courtesy of an article dated December 4, 2012 appearing in Social Media Today
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