Study: Social Media Audiences are Active Consumers

The big lure of social
media: Its users

They are young and affluent and active consumers

By Diego Vasquez
Aug 20, 2009

No wonder social networks are feeling such urgency to figure out how to monetize their audiences. According to a new study from BIGresearch, the Worthington, Ohio-based research company, social media users represent a hugely desirable audience. They are younger than the average American, more affluent, and more apt to buy certain big-ticket items, such as furniture, computers and televisions. Social media users tend to use multiple platforms. A Facebook user, for example, is far more likely to use Twitter or LinkedIn than the general population is. Social networkers have a median income of $68,311, and they’re more likely to be female (nearly 58 percent). Gary Drenik, president and chief executive officer at BIGresearch, talks to Media Life about why social media users represent a desirable audience for buyers and planners, why they’re more likely to be female, and why MySpace is losing users to Facebook.

What did you find most surprising or most interesting about this report?

The high level of usage and interactions among social media options. It demonstrates a new way for marketers to communicate with their customers. It’s interesting to see where the crossover is. For example, Facebook tends to be popular for LinkedIn and MySpace users, but Facebook users aren’t as apt to use LinkedIn or MySpace.

What's the most important thing media buyers and planners can learn from it?

Not only is social media widely used, but the users are active consumers. They are planning on buying at a higher rate than the general population.

For example, 30 percent are planning to purchase a vacation (versus 26 percent of adults 18-plus), 18 percent are planning to buy furniture (versus 13 percent) and 17 percent are going to buy a computer (versus 13 percent).

With a higher propensity to spend, social media users need to be targeted by marketers.

Why are social media users likely to use more than one platform?

Social media users tend to be more tech-savvy than the general population. They are more likely to purchase products online (35 percent versus 27 percent of adults 18-plus). They are more likely to regularly use new media forms, including downloading video (23 percent versus 14 percent) and text messaging (57 percent versus 27 percent).

Being early adopters of digital media, they are highly aware of different applications available to them and tend to be more engaged.

Social media users also like to give their opinion. Forty percent regularly give their opinion about products/services they’ve purchased (versus 30 percent of adults 18-plus). Social media gives them a chance to express their views.

Why are regular MySpace users apt to regularly use Facebook but not vice versa?

If you look at adults 18-plus, you’ll see that over a quarter (28 percent) regularly use Facebook, compared to 12 percent who regularly use MySpace. Just six months ago (in our last SIMM Survey), 17 percent regularly used Facebook and 18 percent regularly used MySpace.

So it appears that MySpace users are migrating towards Facebook. These things are viral and people tend to go where their friends are. It’s kind of like a bar – people want to go hang out with their friends.

One reason we may be seeing a migration is that MySpace started as a user-generated company which News Corp. acquired in 2005. When they bought them, they turned on the advertising spigot. About a year later, Facebook (which was limited to college students) opened to everyone, giving MySpace users an alternative without all the advertising.

How do social media users differ from the rest of the population in terms of demographics?

Social media users tend to be younger than the rest of the population, with an average age of 38 (versus 45). More tend to be female (58 percent versus 51 percent) and they have higher incomes ($68,311 versus $66,942).

Why do women make up such a large percentage of social media users?

One-third of women say they regularly view photos from friends (versus 22 percent of men) online for fun and entertainment. Sixteen percent (versus 9 percent of men) share stories and 15 percent (versus 13 percent) look for old classmates and friends.

Therefore, women tend to do more of the activities social media platforms are used for than men.

Which social media site surveyed had the lowest median age and why?

MySpace has the youngest user of those platforms profiled with an average age of 33. MySpace’s origins are in music, which could be why their users are a younger MTV-type of crowd. Thousands of bands use MySpace to promote their music, and fans support them by using the platform.

Which social media outlets do blacks, Asians and Hispanics favor more heavily than whites? Why?

Social media is a good place to find ethnic groups because they index high across all social media platforms. Ethnic groups tend to be big media users across the board from traditional media forms to new media and have a higher propensity than whites to regularly use Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Twitter.

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