PEW Internet & America Life Project released their latest report on Social Networking sites and our lives. Sites reviewed included mainly the following:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace

Key takeouts include the following:

Usage of social media:

  • Usage had doubled since 2008
  • Average age of user has gone from 33 in 2008 to 38 in 2010 (The older you are the later you adopt?)
  • 56% of users are female, 12% more in 2010 than in 2008
  • Most females are on Twitter as proportion of users
  • The males are all on LinkedIn
  • 92% use Facebook
  • 52% and 33% of Facebook and Twitter users, use the platform daily
  • Largest growing age group is 50-65 year old
  • The young folk have either moved or are not bothering much with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or MySpace at the moment

What are they doing on Facebook?

  1. Commenting (42%)
  2. Liking content (26%)
  3. Updating their status (15%)
  4. Sending private messages (10%)

Who are their Facebook Friends?

  1. High school (22%) – boring
  2. Family (20%)
  3. Co – workers (10%)
  4. College friends (9%)
  5. Other (39%) – seems like a lot?

Only 3% of friends generally have not been met in person.

Australian Social media Stats

Sensis and AMIA have also one a report here. Key findings were:

  • 62% of internet users have a presence on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or LinkedIn.
  • Facebook captures 97% of social networking users and 60% of all internet users.
  • The average Facebook user spends more than five hours a week on the site.
  • The top reasons people use social media are catching up with friends and family, sharing photos or videos, and coordinating social events.
  • Many consumers take no notice of advertising on social networking sites.
  • 12% of social media users said they use social networks for researching products, 36% said that the last time they used social media to research a product or service resulted in a purchase.
  • The types of products and services most commonly researched on social networking sites are clothing/fashion, electrical goods, furniture/things for the home, computers/software and music.
  • Social media users are most interested in what businesses can give them in the form of discounts (57%), giveaways (45%), invitations to events (41%) and product information (41%).
  • Blogs and reviews have a notable influence on buying decisions, with 63% of social media users reading reviews before making a purchase decision.
  • On average, people read six reviews before making a decision. However, only 24% of online users post blogs or reviews, so reaching that 24% of ‘influencers’ is key for marketers.
  • The majority of social media users (64%) don’t follow any brands or businesses on Twitter, suggesting that marketers need to carefully plan their Twitter strategy so it connects with their audience.

Some considerations for Businesses

  • Much household product or service research is done by women and while they may not make the decision alone they would be a strong influencer in the final outcome
  • Females are generally better at relationships than males, I say that in a very general way and thus it is no surprise they use social media sites more, other than LinkedIn which is dominated by males and really more about business, networking and selling than sharing
  • Social media sites, while not there for product search will influence outcomes
  • Users are ruthless and want stuff for nothing from companies on social media sites
  • The opportunity exists to connect with these people the challenge is the strategy and how best to connect

Can you afford not to be on Facebook? No, is it clear exactly what you should be doing on Facebook? No. But getting your contact and brand shared between trusted communities is powerful. The volumes and final impact or ROI will come out in the wash as more data is collected over time.