Global social media trends
Tom Smith. Trendstream. Project Leader
Tom@trendstream.net

Today:
Global social media patterns
Why do we see these trends
Impacts

70% of global web population: 780m users
Netherlands
Canada
UK Russia South
Korea
Germany
China
USA
France
Japan
Spain
Italy
Mexico India
Brazil
Australia

Global trends

Hype goes something like this......

Reality is different
Watch a video clip
Used internet banking
Used Webmail Passive
Visit a Forum
Used Instant Messenger
Upload photos online
Manage a social network profile
Listen to LIVE radio online
Leave a comment on a story on a …
Light
Online office applications
Share a video online
Made a phone call online / Used …
Edit/managed own website
Written your own blog
Uploaded a video online
Used a personalised music service
Listened / watched a podcast
Active
Written a news story / article
Subscribed to an RSS feed
Use a micro-blogging service Behaviour – last month
Used an aggregator
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
% Have done in the last month
Behaviour online – last month You will now see a list of items that represent different activities you can do online. Please read each one carefully
and then indicate whether you have done that in the past month, or whether you have done it longer ago.

Contribution is mainstream
Visit a forum
Upload photos online
Manage a social network profile
Leave a comment on a story on a
website
Edit/managed own website
Written your own blog
Uploaded a video online
Written a news story / article
Use a micro-blogging service Behaviour – last month
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
% Have done in the last month
Behaviour online – last month You will now see a list of items that represent different activities you can do online. Please read each one carefully
and then indicate whether you have done that in the past month, or whether you have done it longer ago.

Blog or social network driven
China USA UK Russia Brazil
Forum Social Network Social Network Forum Social Network
Upload photos Upload photos Upload photos Upload photos Upload photos
Comments Forum Forum Social Network Comment
Blog Comment Comment Uploaded a video online Forum
Website Upload videos Uploaded a video online Comment Uploaded a video online
Upload video Website Website Website Website
Social Network blog Blog Write a news story / article Blog
Write a news story / article Write a news story / article Write a news story / article Blog Write a news story / article
Micro-blog Micro-blog Micro-blog Micro-blog Micro-blog

But IMPACTS all users
• 85% used search last month
to look for a specific product
• 49.5% for a
recommendation
• “Sony Ericsson w960i” > 10
out of top 10 results are
social
• 17% researched mobiles
online in the last six months

BRIC leads active involvement
70% Manage a social network profile Written your own blog
Blog focused Social Network focused
60%
% Have done in the last month
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Behaviour online – last month You will now see a list of items that represent different activities you can do online. Please read each one carefully
and then indicate whether you have done that in the past month, or whether you have done it longer ago.

Consumer driven markets
70%
Upload photos online Uploaded a video online
60%
% Have done in the last month
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Behaviour online – last month You will now see a list of items that represent different activities you can do online. Please read each one carefully
and then indicate whether you have done that in the past month, or whether you have done it longer ago.

Lead in all age groups
90%
Manage Social Network Write a blog
80%
70%
% Have done in the last month
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
16-24 24-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 Male Female 16-24 24-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 Male Female
UK Brazil
Behaviour online – last month. You will now see a list of items that represent different activities you can do online. Please read each one carefully
and then indicate whether you have done that in the past month, or whether you have done it longer ago.

Key factors
Culture Generational Gender

Why?

Response to our motivations
Stay up to date on news / events
Research / find products to buy
Stay in touch with friends
Research how to do things
Research for work
Entertainment
Education
To get inspired/get ideas
Fill up spare time
Find music
Keep my friends up to date with my life
Networking for work
Find films / TV shows
Share my opinion
Organise my life
Express myself
Play games
Share content
Promote something
Meet new people
Take on a different personality
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
Global perspective: Motivations for % Very important
involvement: Very important Below are various reasons why you use the Internet. Please think about how important
these reasons are for you using the Internet .

Response to our motivations
Social Networking /
Staying in touch with friends
Sharing photos
Share my opinion /
Blogs
Share content
Promote Micro-blog /
something Twitter

Motivations are fundamentally different by market
Brazil China Russia UK USA
Stay up to date on news / Research / find products to Research / find products to
Research how to do things Stay in touch with friends
events buy buy
Stay up to date on news / Stay up to date on news / Stay up to date on news /
Stay in touch with friends Stay in touch with friends
events events events
Research for work Research for work Research for work Research how to do things Stay in touch with friends
Research / find products to Stay up to date on news /
Education Entertainment Research how to do things
buy events
Research / find products to
Stay in touch with friends Research how to do things Entertainment Entertainment
buy
Research / find products to
Fill up spare time Networking for work Research for work Research for work
buy

Search motivations show purchase skew
45%
Research / find products to buy
40%
Top motivation to use
Stay up to date on news / events
35% Research how to do things
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
You will now see a number of online activities that you currently take in. For each one, please can you
Motivations to use a search engine select the main reasons you partake in that activity online?

UK users are more focused on retail
Brazil UK Behaviour – last month
100%
90%
% Have visited in the last month
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Behaviour online – last month

UK users spend more time on mobile web
UK Brazil
Sent an SMS
Taken a photo
Record a video
Played games
Sent an MMS
Sent an email
Install applications on your mobile
Browse the internet
Use office software e.g word…
Behaviour – last month
Paid for an item in a shop directly…
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
% Have done in the last month
Behaviour on mobile – last month

More competition from in-home tech
Brazil China Russia UK
100%
90%
80%
70%
% Have in household
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Portable media player e.g iPod Games console DVD player
Technology have in home

UK – less time online
China: UK
Brazil: Russia:
146 119 175 TV
223 minutes minutes a minutes a minutes a
a day day day
day
China: UK
Brazil: Russia:
232 minutes a 178 Web
219 minutes 217 minutes
day a day minutes a
a day
day
TV consumption – last month

Impacts

Changes our influences: trust transformed
A family member
A close friend
A good contact on a social network
A neighbour
A store assistant
The author of a blog you read regularly
A journalist for a national newspaper
A television news reader
The main contacts on your microblog e.g Twitter
A well known celebrity
Average
Your country’s leader / politicians
1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50
Average Trust – 5 equals very strong trust
Below is a list of people whose opinions you come into contact with on a regular basis. Now think
Trust in communications about when you seek an opinion on a brand you are considering buying. Which of the following
people do you trust to provide you the most accurate opinion? Please score them on a scale of 1 –
5, with 1 = do not trust and 5 = trust strongly.

Face to face more trusted in UK versus China
A family member
A close friend
A good contact on a social network
A neighbour
The author of a blog you read regularly
A store assistant
A journalist for a national newspaper
A television news reader
The main contacts on your microblog e.g Twitter
UK China
Your country’s leader / politicians
1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50
Average Trust – 5 equals very strong trust
Below is a list of people whose opinions you come into contact with on a regular basis. Now think
Trust in communications about when you seek an opinion on a brand you are considering buying. Which of the following
people do you trust to provide you the most accurate opinion? Please score them on a scale of 1 –
5, with 1 = do not trust and 5 = trust strongly.

Digital networks are bigger than face to face
Face to
Brazil China USA UK Russia
face
friends 17.1
24.4 24.1 22.8 21.4
Social Brazil China USA UK Russia
Network
Friends
31.2 51.5 42.8 49.3 38
NETWORK SIZE: How many people stay in touch with

Networks of strangers
9% 3% 0.3%
Facebook LinkedIn Twitter
Percentage of people I would phone up for a beer

The consumer network is more important
UK USA
Created by a consumer
Created by a professional
Answers my search query
It comes from a site I am familiar
with
Recently produced / written
Quality of the production / design
My friend recommended it
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
% important factor
Factors important when looking for content: News story

Social Media involvement incredibly personal
45%
40% Use a micro-blog Upload a video
35%
% of total web audience
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Chrysler GM BMW Ford Mini
Owners, web activity last month
Source: Global Web Index Wave 1

In summary
Global social media is global
but strategy must be different
by market
Purchase skew in established
markets
Transforming our
communications landscape