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Finding Your Advocates and Influencers Via Social Media

HEAVY USERS SPEND OVER 3 HOURS A DAY ON SOCIAL MEDIA

With all the talk about Millennials, it is surprising to learn that they are NOT the heaviest users of social media. On average, the Millennials spend just over 6 hours per week on social media, ranking second to Generation X, age 25-49, who spend over 7 hours per week.

Women are heavier users of social media, spending 25% of their time on the internet on social media. For men, 19% of their time online is spent on social media. And, much of this time is normally spent while consuming other media, such as television or radio.

DEVICES USED TO ACCESS SOCIAL MEDIA

Smartphones, Tablets and PC Desktop's are used to access social media, yet different segments of the population differ in their device choices. The following statistics were provided by AC Nielsen's 2016 Social Media Report. 

While 73% of the adult population of the US can access social media via their smartphones, only 60% of adults 50+ choose this method. As expected, the younger market prefers their Smartphones with 85% access by Generation X and 82% of Millennials. 

Generation X has a strong preference to using Tablets with 45% access, while only 29% of Millennials and 23% of 50+ have Tablet access.

When it comes to access via PC's, you would think 50+ with 30% access would be the leading demographic, but it's again Generation X with 33% access while only 29% of Millennials view social media on Desktops.

When it comes to ethnic groups, the preferred devices change. For all adults 18+, 30% view social media with Tablets, only 11% of Asian Americans use Tablets for social media; 20% of Hispanics and 25% of African American.

For African Americans, 72% have access via Smartphones and only 27% use PC's. 80% of Hispanics have a strong preference to Smartphones; only 65% of Asian Americans use their Smartphones.
When looking at gender, usage is similar between men and women for using Smartphones (70% men and 75% women) and PC's (26% men and 31% women), however Tablets are strongly favored by women (16% men and 43% women)!

TIME SPENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Although all devices are used to access social media, the most time spent is with Smartphones. Millennials spent 78% of their time on social media via Smartphones; Generation X 69% and 50+ at 63%.
Looking at the percentage of online time spent on social media by ethnicity, the Asian American population spent a little more than 3 hours on social media, the least of all population segments. African Americans spent the most time just over 6 hours. Hispanics and White adults spent around 5.5 hours.
Women consume more social media (6.5 hours) than men (less than 4.5 hours). Generation X are the heaviest user segment at 7 hours while Millennials are just over 6 hours.

TOP SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

Facebook by far is the number one social network accessed, either by Smartphones or PC Desktops. Surprisingly, Instagram ranks number 2 for Smartphone access but ranks 5th on desktop. Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn complete the Top 5.

For Smartphones, other top social networks are Snapchat, Google+, Wordpress.com, Reddit.com, and Tumblr. Blogger ranks high on PC Desktops, but not on Smartphones.

TOP ACTIVITES ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Not only understanding how and how long users access social media, it's important to understand what is grabbing their attention. Here's the top reasons by heavy users for accessing social media:

1. 57% visited a friend's profile or page
2. 55% commented on a friend's post
3. 50% sent an email or message
4. 50% watched a video
5. 50% posted pictures
6. 47% posted "likes"
7. 42% updated their own status
8. 30% updated their own profile
9. 25% became a 'fan of'
10. 23% played a game

SOCIAL MEDIA USERS INTERACTION WITH BRANDS

Surprisingly, heavy social media users are only slightly higher than all viewers when it comes to brand interaction. Regardless of social media involvement, heavy users are only 2-4% higher than medium and light users.

ACTIVITY

% OF LIGHT & MEDIUM SOCIAL MEDIA USERS

$ OF HEAVY SOCIAL MEDIA USERS

Find out about products and services

36%

39%

Request exclusive offers, coupons and other discounts

31%

35%

Advocates for favorite brands or companies

24%

29%

Willingness to write reviews on products or services

23%

25%

Receive access to VIP or Members-Only events

16%

20%

SOCIAL MEDIA USERS PURCHASE MORE ONLINE

When it comes to making a purchase online, social media users are more apt to do so (75%) than non-social media users (46%). And, they are more apt to spend more money. Over the past 12 months, only 22% of non-social media users spent more than $500 whereas almost double (41%) of social media users spent more than $500.

More than 50% of social media users shop for clothing and accessories. Approximately one-third of users shop for books, movie tickets, travel and airline tickets. Approximately one-fourth shop for health and beauty items, toys and games, mobile devices and apps, and music downloads.

THE SYNERGY OF TELEVISION AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Last fall season 2016, on average each day, there were 14.2 million social media interactions about television programs across Facebook and Twitter. Proof that the younger market still do watch television, 42% of those interactions were by Generation X'ers and 40% by Millennials, with only 18% being Baby Boomers.

The greatest activity is on Sundays, particularly around sporting events, and Fridays tend to have the least activity. Women dominate the unique interaction on Facebook and TV, with on average usage at 61% compared to 39% of male activity.

When it comes to Twitter, much engagement is originated by cast members, athletes and program handlers. The networks generate few tweets except for sports events.

Nielsen reports that social media activity tends to be simultaneous with TV Viewing. Almost 60% of TV viewers report visiting Facebook on their Tablets or Smartphones while watching television.

WHAT IS MOTIVATING THE USAGE OF SECOND SCREENS WHILE WATCHING TV

Consumers are using social media while watching television to look up information about actors, program storylines, athletes and teams. They want to share with their friends what they are watching and often encourage others to tune-in based on what they've read on social media.

Other reasons include sharing photos, voting or sending comments to live programs, and buying services/products that were advertised or seeking offered coupons.

AMC's The Walking Dead by far has ranked the highest for social media activity tripling the second most popular program, FOX's Empire. Cable networks FX American Horror Story 6 ranked 3rd and USA's WWF Monday Night Raw ranked 5th.

Of the traditional broadcasters NBC did the best with their programs: The Voice, Saturday Night Live, and This Is Us. ABC had 2 programs in the top 10: Grey's Anatomy and Dancing With The Stars, while CBS had one: Big Brother.

HOW ADVERTISERS CAN USE SOCIAL MEDIA AND TELEVISION TO REACH THEIR PROSPECTIVE CLIENTS

Now more than ever, it's truly a fine art and science to determine how advertisers can reach their prospective clients. All media has its audience, otherwise they would not be in business. But how do you match your prospects to the media and where do you put your dollars.

Effective marketing requires strategic media planning and creative message development. Not only do you need to tap into where your audience is, but also need the right message to engage and motivate them. Not only is it important to reach your prospective consumer, you want to also activate advocates and influencers who will promote the benefits of your brand.

For results-driven thought-leadership, contact Media Power Advertising at 704-567-1000 or email to [email protected].

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