Social Networking Findings by eMarketer

In an extensive report detailing the demographics and usage of social networking, eMarketer estimated that 57.5% of Internet users (or 127 million people) will use a social network at least once a month in 2010. By 2014, nearly 2/3 of all Internet users will be regular users of social networks. The author, Debra Aho Williamson, cites the main issues for marketers to focus on to be:

• What will drive future growth in usage?
• What will consumers like to do on social networks and the roles these networks will play in their lives?
• How will mobile devices and location-aware services bring new context to social networking?

Williamson builds on these questions to suggest that marketers and companies should engage with consumers in social networks with the following in mind:

• Social networking reaches a mass audience, across nearly every demographic group: 60% of Internet users ages 35 to 44 and one half of those in the 45-54 age group will use social networks at least once a month.
• Facebook (as the 3rd biggest Web site in the U.S.) has the lock on online socializing.
• Sharing and interacting in online social environments has become a near-essential activity in the daily lives of a growing number of people.

The study digs into the demographics of social networks (including age, gender, and ethnicity), the most popular Web sites, and the spread of mobile Internet. Some key takeaways:

• After 2011, a year expected to see 10% growth, the rate of increase will slow to the single digits.
• The 25-34 age group will continue to be the dominant age group on social networks through the next few years, but the 35-44 age bracket will rise to the dominant group by 2014.
• Facebook now provides a mass audience and is a gravitational force; people may actively stop using the site, but they are not likely to move to another site.
• Mobile Internet usage is on the rise as people connect to social networks on the go.

Do you agree with these findings? Is Facebook going to continue to dominate and is mobile Internet usage going to explode?

Image courtesy of eMarketer.com

This entry was posted on Monday, August 23rd, 2010 at 1:29 pm. It is filed under Social Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.