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SUMMARY
Online social networks represent a major shift in personal connectivity,
becoming major media carriers. These networks are positioned to rival print,
broadcasting, film and music competitors by incorporating all four platforms.
Social networks are not just one-way communication outlets. Consumers use
traditional media to make virtual connections among family, friends and
strangers. These connections are specific, have personality, and often operate
in real time.
Mintel highlights the shifts in technology that have enabled more user
participation, focusing on important components of social networks like online
video and instant messaging. In-depth survey analysis provides both
demographic and trending highlights, and special attention is given to
differing social networks, examining how and why they appeal to competing
demographics.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Scope and Themes
- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources
- Consumer survey data
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Executive Summary
- Social networks on the rise
- Young adults drive market
- Ad spending on social networks is up …
- … but it amounts to only a fraction of overall online spending
- New opportunities for advertising are created
- Social networks emphasize video streaming …
- … just as they do instant messaging
Demographics and Trends
- Key points
- It's a broadband world
- Figure 1: U.S. broadband households, 2000-10
- Echo Boomers drive market
- Figure 2: Population by generations, 2002-12
- Lack of privacy provides marketing opportunities
- Figure 3: Personal information online teens are most likely to give out
through their social networks, Pew Internet & American Life Project Parents
and Teens Survey, November 2006
- But beware of being too presumptuous
- ‘Friendship’ develops new meanings
- New marketing opportunities and relationships arise
- Internet video adaptable to branding
- Figure 4: Top U.S. online video properties by unique video viewers, July
2007
- Social network users are frequent online shoppers
- Figure 5: Top retail site categories among heavy U.S. social networkers,
August 2007
- Figure 6: Top retail sites* among heavy social networkers, August 2007
- Social networking has room to grow in U.S.
- Figure 7: Average minutes per month per visitor on social networking
sites, by region of the world, August 2007
- Figure 8: Share of visitors to selected social networking sites, by
region of the world, June 2007
Social Networking Sites: Players
- Key points
- Figure 9: Usage of social networking sites, November 2007
- MySpace
- MySpace versus Facebook
- Facebook
- Classmates
- Yahoo! 360
- Reunion.com
- Flickr
- Friendster
- Tagged
- LiveJournal
- Windows Live Spaces
- AOL Hometown
- BlackPlanet.com
- Blogger
- Bebo
- Xanga
- Meetup
- imeem
- Broadcaster.com
- Fotolog
Social Networking Sites: Attitudes and Behavior
- Key points
- Use of and attitudes towards social networking visits by frequency of use
- Time spent social networking
- figure 10: Time spent social networking, by gender, November 2007
- Social networking activities by frequency of usage
- Figure 11: Usage of selected Internet activities, by frequency of social
networking visits, November 2007
- Marketing attitudes and behavior by frequency
- Figure 12: Attitudes and behavior towards Internet marketing techniques,
by frequency of social networking visits, November 2007
- Figure 13: How Internet users interact with or respond to online
advertising, by age, November 2007
- Ways respondents use social networks to interact
- Figure 14: Usage of social networking to communicate, gather
information, and share information, by frequency of social networking
visits, November 2007
Social Networking and Online Video
- Key points
- Social networks chasing YouTube's lead
- Figure 15: Sites used for video download or viewing, by gender, November
2007
- Figure 16: Sites used for video download or viewing, by age, November
2007
- Figure 17: Sites used for video download or viewing, by household
income, November 2007
- Online videos build community
- Figure 18: How Internet users engage with online video, by gender,
November 2007
- Links connect video viewers together
- Figure 19: How Internet users engage with online video, by age, November
2007
- Figure 20: Interest in videos sent by friends, by key demographics,
August 2007
- Social networkers hungry for entertainment clips, not necessarily news
- Figure 21: Online video content viewership, by gender, November 2007
- Figure 22: Online video content viewership, by age, November 2007
- Social network users interact with online video
Social Networking: Marketing Trends and Opportunities
- Key points
- Figure 23: U.S. online social network advertising spending, 2006-11,
December 2007
- Figure 24: U.S. online social network advertising spending, by site/type
of network, 2007 and 2008, May 2007
- Figure 25: U.S. online advertising spending, 2001-11, October 2007
- Social network users receptive to entertaining advertising
- Figure 26: How Internet users interact with or respond to online
advertising, by gender, November 2007
- Figure 27: How Internet users interact with or respond to online
advertising, by age, November 2007
- Knowing your consumer by tracking their profiles
- Advertisers mimic social network experience
- Widgets
- Recruiting brand advocates
- Figure 28: U.S. adult Internet users who are word-of-mouth influencers*,
2006-11, June 2007
- Profile branding
- Online video integrates advertiser messages in new ways
- Figure 29: U.S. online video advertising spending, 2001-11, June 2007
- Sponsored video
- Branded video
Instant Messaging
- Key points
- IM and social networks
- Figure 30: Top five online sub-categories ranked by total time spent,
May 2007
- Meebo reflects IM market trend
- Figure 31: Fastest-growing U.S. instant messaging destinations, August
2006-June 2007
- IM allows direct access to consumers
- IM and consumer behavior
- Figure 32: Time spent every day instant messaging, by gender, November
2007
- Figure 33: Time spent every day instant messaging, by age, November 2007
- Figure 34: Time spent every day instant messaging, by household income,
November 2007
- Figure 35: Consumer behavior regarding IM, by gender, November 2007
- Figure 36: Consumer behavior regarding IM, by age, November 2007
- Figure 37: Consumer behavior regarding IM, by household income, November
2007
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