Nielsen/McKinsey’s NMIncite Reviews the State of Social MediaNovember 18, 2011
MMI is pleased to share key highlights from the latest NMIncite quarterly “State of the Media” (3rd Quarter, 2011) report, focusing on Social Media. The report provides very broad review of the social landscape with valuable context to understand its importance and impact in marketing to consumers. While there are some obvious findings (e.g., Facebook dominance), feedback on the growth of mobile among older consumers and value perceptions vs. availability of various mobile features may be less well-known.
So, in typical “ripped from the headlines” fashion (yes, we are Law & Order fans), following are selected highlights from NMIncite:
Social Media’s Reach & Importance
Social networks and blogs reach nearly 80 percent of active U.S. Internet users, dominating their time spent online.- 60 percent of those consumers using online research as part of their purchase decision learned about a brand or retailer via social networking sources.
- 48% responded to a retail offer on Facebook or Twitter.
- 70% of social media users shop online (12 percent above average vs. all adult internet users).
- 53% of social network users follow a brand.
- Facebook garners a larger percent of time spent online than any other U.S. site… 53.5 Billion total minutes in May, 2011.
- Social Networks & Blogs represent nearly 23% of time spent online, significantly higher than any other online activity.
- Social app usage was up 30% over 3Q, 2010.
- 60% of social media users review products and services and their reviews/ratings are considered more credible than other sources.
Growth of Mobile
- While 97% of uses continue to use traditional computers to access social content; 37% now use mobile phones for social media vs. 3% for Gaming Consoles and iPads (each).
It’s NOT all about Youth
- Women 18-34 are most highly concentrated among social networking users, but Adults 35-49 are 4% more likely to use social networks and blogs than the average (representing 27% of the audience).
- Contrary to the view of social networks as highly focused on the younger set, users who are 55 and older are driving growth (twice as many visited social sites on their phones than last year).
- While Facebook shows a higher appeal to females (62% of page views), LinkedIn and Wikia skew male.
What’s your fancy?
- Phone features most valued by consumers… GPS capabilities lead the pack with 56% valuing it the most, followed by social networking (30%), downloading/playing music (26%) and web browsing (also 26%). GPS is the only use where the value appears to outpace availability of the feature.
- Women are more likely to view video on social networks while men spend more time watching.
Nielsen would prefer interested advertisers download the full report from www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/reports-downloads/2011/social-media-report-q3.html. You will be required to register but it’s an easy read and time well spent.
Enjoy!
