24th September, 2009 Conducted by: Supported By:

1. Research Objectives To determine the user habits, preference and attitude towards social media in Hong Kong among knowledge workers. BRIEF RECAP

1. Research Objectives

To determine the user habits, preference and attitude towards social media in Hong Kong among knowledge workers.

2. Areas of Investigation User habits and preference; Use of Social Media in Business; and The perception of Social Media relative to established Media BRIEF RECAP

2. Areas of Investigation

User habits and preference;

Use of Social Media in Business; and

The perception of Social Media relative to established Media

3. Methodology Online polling was used and supplied by Radica Systems. The respondent base was provided and pooled using HKAIM executive committee and members peer network. The sample size was 127 BRIEF RECAP

3. Methodology

Online polling was used and supplied by Radica Systems. The respondent base was provided and pooled using HKAIM executive committee and members peer network.

The sample size was 127

3. Methodology Target Respondents Aged 18 or above. Female or male office workers. Have used social media in the past 6 months. BRIEF RECAP

3. Methodology

Target Respondents

Aged 18 or above.

Female or male office workers.

Have used social media in the past 6 months.

Respondents Demographics The respondents of our survey are very balanced, with an almost equal distribution of men and women. They tend to be aged between 26 and 35 (46%), and 36 or older (45%), and mostly work in marketing (43%), or are senior management in their organization (20%). While our respondents tend to come from a broad cross section of industries, a large portion come from the service industry (34%) and the IT&T industry (19%), and almost half work in large corporation of 100 or more staff (48%), while 44% work in SMEs of less than 50 staff.

The respondents of our survey are very balanced, with an almost equal distribution of men and women.

They tend to be aged between 26 and 35 (46%), and 36 or older (45%), and mostly work in marketing (43%), or are senior management in their organization (20%).

While our respondents tend to come from a broad cross section of industries, a large portion come from the service industry (34%) and the IT&T industry (19%), and almost half work in large corporation of 100 or more staff (48%), while 44% work in SMEs of less than 50 staff.

Respondents Demographics 90% of respondents have used social media in the past 6 months. 56% of respondents have 3-5 social media accounts, while 25% have 1-2 accounts. The type of accounts they would register would be ranked by the following likelihood: Social Network Instant Messaging Video sharing Internet Forum Blog network or Blogging

90% of respondents have used social media in the past 6 months.

56% of respondents have 3-5 social media accounts, while 25% have 1-2 accounts.

The type of accounts they would register would be ranked by the following likelihood:

Social Network

Instant Messaging

Video sharing

Internet Forum

Blog network or Blogging

User Habits & Preferences In terms of time spent using social media, 46% of users spent on average between 1 to 3 hours a day, with 39% of users spending less than 1 hour a day, but still keeping an effort to remain plugged into their social media. Interestingly, 5% of all users spend 6 hours or more on their social media each day.

In terms of time spent using social media, 46% of users spent on average between 1 to 3 hours a day, with 39% of users spending less than 1 hour a day, but still keeping an effort to remain plugged into their social media.

Interestingly, 5% of all users spend 6 hours or more on their social media each day.

User Habits & Preferences Out of social media people have used over the past 6 months, the most popular are Social Networks such as Facebook and Xanga, Instant Messengers like MSN and Yahoo, and Video sharing sites like Youtube and Tudou. Interestingly 98% of those that visit blogs or use blogs themselves, also use social networking sites like Facebook. Out of those that use business networking sites like LinkedIn, 93% of them use IM, with the ability to chat or make an instant connection with those in their business network being very important.

Out of social media people have used over the past 6 months, the most popular are Social Networks such as Facebook and Xanga, Instant Messengers like MSN and Yahoo, and Video sharing sites like Youtube and Tudou.

Interestingly 98% of those that visit blogs or use blogs themselves, also use social networking sites like Facebook.

Out of those that use business networking sites like LinkedIn, 93% of them use IM, with the ability to chat or make an instant connection with those in their business network being very important.

User Habits & Preferences Of those that have used social media in the past 6 months Instant Messaging (IM) and Social Networks (Facebook) are our respondent’s favorite, with business networking sites the least favorite. Question: If you have used social media in the past 6 months, which is your favorite? 53% 26% 21% 70% 11% 19% 41% 38% 21% 26% 38% 36% 70% 13% 17% 48% 29% 23% 49% 31% 12%

Of those that have used social media in the past 6 months Instant Messaging (IM) and Social Networks (Facebook) are our respondent’s favorite, with business networking sites the least favorite.

User Habits & Preferences 94% use it to stay in touch with friends and family, while 74% use it to gather information. The interesting fact is although 55% use it for business networking, 59% of respondents think business networking sites are their least favorite social media. This could be due in part to user experience. Question: Why do you use Social Media? % of Users 94% 55% 32% 38% 74%

94% use it to stay in touch with friends and family, while 74% use it to gather information. The interesting fact is although 55% use it for business networking, 59% of respondents think business networking sites are their least favorite social media. This could be due in part to user experience.

Social Media & Business Social media has a positive perception among respondents in terms of its business application, with 90% that believe social media is a fast and convenient way for networking and sharing, part of that perception is supported by the fact that 75% of respondents thought social media was free or perceived to be an affordable media , and that 68% thought social media was viral and generates word-of-mouth effectively . Question: What do you think are the business benefits of social media? 90% 54% 36% 18% 75% 68% 33% 100%

Social media has a positive perception among respondents in terms of its business application, with 90% that believe social media is a fast and convenient way for networking and sharing, part of that perception is supported by the fact that 75% of respondents thought social media was free or perceived to be an affordable media , and that 68% thought social media was viral and generates word-of-mouth effectively .

Social Media & Business In support of social media as a business tool, 46% of respondents say they have already included social media as part of their media and marketing mix, with 21% intending to include social media in their media and marketing budget within the next 6 months. While 42% of respondents do not intend to change their marketing budget to include social media, more than half our respondents intend to increase their budget to spend it on social media , with 30% planning on spending less than 10% of their budget on social media, and 21% intending to increase their budget by 10-20% to spend it on social media.

In support of social media as a business tool, 46% of respondents say they have already included social media as part of their media and marketing mix, with 21% intending to include social media in their media and marketing budget within the next 6 months.

While 42% of respondents do not intend to change their marketing budget to include social media, more than half our respondents intend to increase their budget to spend it on social media , with 30% planning on spending less than 10% of their budget on social media, and 21% intending to increase their budget by 10-20% to spend it on social media.

Social Media & Business With an expected increase in demand for social media campaign planning, the positive outlook as indicated by our respondents should be good news for industry players, especially those with a low profile or those that specialize in social media. This is because when asked if Hong Kong has enough digital agencies that know how to create effective social media campaigns, 39% of respondents thought Hong Kong does not have enough good digital agencies, while more than half our respondents were unsure . This lack of awareness creates a very good opportunity for operators in this space to gain rare mind share as well as market share.

With an expected increase in demand for social media campaign planning, the positive outlook as indicated by our respondents should be good news for industry players, especially those with a low profile or those that specialize in social media.

This is because when asked if Hong Kong has enough digital agencies that know how to create effective social media campaigns, 39% of respondents thought Hong Kong does not have enough good digital agencies, while more than half our respondents were unsure .

This lack of awareness creates a very good opportunity for operators in this space to gain rare mind share as well as market share.

Social Media as a Medium With social media fast rising as a media option for marketers, HKAIM asked our respondents to rank popular mass media options in terms of Trustworthiness and Influence, as well as its ability to create a relationship with target audiences. The results are both surprising and insightful: Question: If you were to make a purchase, which media would you rate as most trustworthy and influential ? 94% 94% 94% Due to its popularity and ability to generate word-of-mouth effectively, Social Media, the youngest media option came in a very close second (55%) to TV (57%) as the most trustworthy and influential media. 33% 36% 31% 36% 31% 33% 26% 39% 35% 28% 41% 31% 21% 38% 41% 12% 33% 55% 19% 24% 57%

With social media fast rising as a media option for marketers, HKAIM asked our respondents to rank popular mass media options in terms of Trustworthiness and Influence, as well as its ability to create a relationship with target audiences. The results are both surprising and insightful:

Due to its popularity and ability to generate word-of-mouth effectively, Social Media, the youngest media option came in a very close second (55%) to TV (57%) as the most trustworthy and influential media.

Social Media as a Medium Question: Which media would you rate as being most effective in creating a relationship with your target consumer? 94% 94% 94% When it comes to creating a relationship with target consumers, Social Media far outpaces any other media (71%), with its next closest competitor eDM trailing by 20%.

When it comes to creating a relationship with target consumers, Social Media far outpaces any other media (71%), with its next closest competitor eDM trailing by 20%.

For further information, please contact: Mr. Francis Fong Chairman Hong Kong Association of Interactive Marketing Mob: 9103 8196 Email: [email_address] Website: http://www.hkaim.org