SOCIAL NETWORK - Who Uses Social Networks?

Everyone knows that social networking sites are growing in popularity. Millions of individuals visit daily—or even more often.

• According to the “Consumer Internet Barometer” report from TNS and The Conference Board, 43% of US Internet users visited social networking sites in Q2 2009.
• That figure was up 16 percentage points from the previous year (Q2 2008 27%).

• Nearly one-half of females 48% (+16pts) visited social networking sites,
• compared with 38% (+17pts) of men.

• More than 70% (+20pts) of Internet users under age 35 browsed social networks.
• That percentage decreased as users got older,
• with only 43% (+22pts) of those ages 35 to 54
• and 19% (+13pts) of users ages 55 and older visiting social networks. Still, those represented huge climbs from usage in Q2 2008 (6%).

• Most users visited social network sites more than once per day.

• Respondents were most likely to visit social networks in a family area at home, followed by in a private area at home, at work and through mobile devices.

• The most popular social networking sites came as no surprise: Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter, in that order.

ARE FACE BOOK / MY SPACE EFFECTIVE FOR ADS? see a UK research result

The research raised the serious questions about the effectiveness of advertising on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace.

• Of those who use large web sites only 12%claim to often pay attention to their advertising. A shocking 57%claim to rarely or never pay attention to the advertising on those sites. ABC1s are 19% less likely than C2DEs to pay attention to advertising on these sites
• For all the hype surrounding social networks and the marketing potential they supposedly present, they have yet to show any better ROI for display advertising than the major portals, according to the 2009 online advertising attitudes report.
• Of those British consumers who use social networks such as Facebook and MySpace, more than one in four (26 %) never pay attention to their advertising, and a further 36 % claim to rarely pay attention to it.
• Of the British consumers who visit niche/specialist sites, almost three quarters (73 %) say they pay attention to the advertising of which almost a third (32 %) claim to usually pay attention to the advertising.
• Harvey Sarjant comments, “As economic conditions continue to squeeze marketing budgets, some online advertising networks are looking to cut corners where possible as they try to protect and build their margins.”
• “What this research reveals however is that now more than ever it is vital that advertising networks are working closely with their clients to ensure that advertising inventory is both creative and placed in sites that will effectively engage online audiences.”
• “In the simple pursuit of trying to maintain margins using the same tactics and approach while budgets are being squeezed, brands will only continue to see response rates to their advertising dive as consumers continue to think much more intelligently about their relationship with advertising online and how it influences their purchasing decisions.” ---

Research methodology

The 2009 Online Advertising Trends Report was commissioned by Addvantage Media and conducted by YouGov, polling a nationally representative sample of 2,013 UK adults aged 18+ in December 2008.

Written by Michael Leander Nielsen

Is your Brand present on a social Network yet?

The Question is not any more to know if it is useful ? The real question is to know: How to do it best ! Does somebody have an experience to share... Is your company ready/organized to handle this opportunity? FYI: people spend (only the leader per region) every month

• 223 Million of hours in the USA on MySpace
• 65 Million of hours on Bebo in Europe
• 156 Million of hours on Orkut in Latin America
• 90 Million of hours on Friendster in Asia

In 2008

• only 42% of grown-up people in the world knows what a social network is. (research realized on 13'000 people from 18 to 65 years old in 17 countries by Synovate).
• In the US, 25% of internet users are using a social network. (source Third Age and JWT Boom)
• about 500 Million people are registered and over 1 billion users are planned befor 2012 (source Strategy Analytics)

How To Develop A Facebook Page That Attracts Millions of Fans -

10 Facebook Page Strategies Every Brand Should Know Facebook Pages present a massive opportunity for brands to directly engage with their existing and future customers, even the occasional passer-by.

These tips are only the top 10 and there are many other lessons to be learned but this should serve as the ultimate starter guide for any brand/company looking to make their entrance into Facebook. http://www.linkedin.com/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eallfacebook%2Ecom%2F2009%2F03%2Ffacebook-page-strategy&urlhash=vm0g&_t=tracking_disc