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Social networks are becoming powerful hubs that connect vast online communities. Almost half of active internet users have joined a brand community, bringing huge benefits to brands like increased loyalty, endorsement, and sales. However, understanding each consumer, category, and market is key to creating a successful social media experience for brands.

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The Socialisation of Brands Social media tracker - 2010
3 Contents Executive summary Introduction • The continuing Wave story Methodology The social challenge for brands The new social landscape: means and motives • The gravitational pull of social networks • The rise of microblogging The future face of social media The Socialisation of Brands The impact: summary 5 7 10 15 18 23 28 42 45 51 67
5 Executive Summary Social media is an incredibly dynamic environment. Terms like “friend” and “influencer” are no longer adequate to describe the array of social activity and interaction that is occurring amongst the vast communities now being built online. A deeper understanding of consumer needs and motivations is the key to unlocking a real understanding of social media and its users. Social networks are becoming powerful hubs of interconnected communities but it’s not just people that are connecting in the social media space. There is huge demand for a more social and interactive relationships with brands. Almost half of the Active Internet Universe has already joined a brand community. These communities are also clearly having a huge benefit to the brands involved, driving brand loyalty, endorsement and sales. However, understanding the nature of social demand for each consumer, category and market is the key to creating a successful social media experience. This report barely scratches the surface of the rich insight and detail available. Wave 5 – The Socialisation Of Brands contains information for 20 categories in more than 54 countries. You will find contact details if you require further information at the end of this report.
Introduction
The Socialisation of Brands 10% growth in the number of social network managers 30%accessing social media via mobile 47%joiningbrandcommunities 1.5 billion visits to social networks per day
9 Welcome to Wave: The largest and longest running dedicated social media study in the world. When Wave started as a project in 2006 we were aware that there was much debate but few facts behind the social media phenomenon. Therefore we initiated Wave with the aim of measuring the scale and impact of social media across the globe. In this time, we have researched more than 95,300 internet users in 59 countries and, if Wave has taught us anything, it is that social media stands up to the hype. Growth has been unprecedented and our tracker has demonstrated how new platforms have sprung up and reached critical mass with blinding speed across vast geographies. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Norway Sweden Netherlands Bahrain Denmark UK SouthKorea Australia Germany Japan Belgium Singapore Canada USA UAE Estonia Austria Slovakia Taiwan France HongKong Latvia RepublicofIreland CzechRepublic Malaysia Argentina Spain Hungary Lithuania Poland Qatar Italy Chile Colombia Portugal Turkey Russia Oman Kuwait KSA Brazil Romania Tunisia China Philippines Mexico Thailand Lebanon Egypt Ecuador Algeria SouthAfrica India Figure 1: Internet penetration by market Figures sourced from internetworldstats.com Hello
The Socialisation of Brands Five years is a lifetime in the world of social media and over the course of our five Waves of research we have come to a deep understanding of the complex and dynamic nature of social media behaviour. Our first two Waves demonstrated that social media was enabling a large and active community to create content and share this content with others. In the process the medium moved from being a primarily text-based medium to a fully audio visual one. Our third Wave charted the democratisation of influence, how social media was driving ever greater means and opportunity for consumers to influence their peers. Influence that was becoming an integral part of many consumers decision making processes. In Wave 4 we examined the reasons behind the huge growth in social media by understanding the motivations behind the use of different social media platforms. This clearly demonstrated that you cannot treat all social media the same, consumers engage with a platform because it meet’s specific consumer needs and all platforms meet these needs differently. What the Wave project has shown us is that far from being hype, social media is a an explosively dynamic phenomenon that is changing the way we interact and that this is having a fundamental effect on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes and behaviour. However, with a few exceptions, brands and companies are still not social. They are struggling to find a way to intelligently, sensitively and effectively engage with consumers in this space. Therefore, withourfifthinstalmentofWave, Wave 5 – The Socialisation Of Brands,wehavebrought together all our understanding of usage, behaviour , influence and motivation, done this across more than 50 countries and added the missing piece of the puzzle. The data, insight and analysis that will help brands create successful social media programmes. The continuing Wave story
11 15 markets 7,500 respondents 21 markets 10,000 respondents 29 markets 17,000 respondents 38 markets 23,200 respondents 53 markets 37,600 respondents
The Socialisation of Brands The expanding Wave universe
13 Australia China France Germany Italy Korea Philippines Russia Spain UK US Wave 1 Australia Brazil China France Germany Greece India Italy Japan Korea Malaysia Mexico Pakistan Philippines Russia Singapore Spain Taiwan Thailand UK US Wave 2 Australia Austria Brazil Canada China Czech Republic Denmark France Germany Greece Hong Kong Hungary India Italy Japan Korea Mexico Netherlands Pakistan Philippines Poland Romania Russia Spain Switzerland Taiwan Turkey UK US Wave 3 Australia Austria Belgium Brazil Canada China Colombia Czech Republic Denmark Ecuador Finland France Germany Hong Kong Hungary India Italy Japan Korea Latvia Lithuania Malaysia Mexico Netherlands Norway Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Romania Russia Singapore South Africa Spain Sweden Turkey UK US Wave 4 Algeria Argentina Australia Austria Bahrain Belgium Brazil Canada Chile China Colombia Czech Republic Denmark Ecuador Egypt Estonia France Germany Hong Kong Hungary India Italy Ireland (ROI) Japan Korea KSA Kuwait Latvia Lebanon Lithuania Malaysia Mexico Netherlands Norway Oman Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Romania Russia Serbia Singapore Slovakia South Africa Spain Sweden Taiwan Thailand Tunisia Turkey UAE UK US Wave 5 LIKE
Methodology
The Socialisation of Brands The Social Media Tracker has retained the same methodology from Wave 1 through Wave 5, enabling comparison between data sets. All surveys have been scripted and hosted on UM’s in-house online research system, Intuition. All surveys are self-completed and the data collected is entirely quantitative. Every market is representative of the 16-54 Active Internet Universe. For Wave 5, 37,600 internet users in 54 countries were surveyed with many new markets joining, including the Middle East Who are the active internet universe and why do they matter? • Active internet users are those people who use the internet every day or every other day • Social media is driven by active internet users, if you don’t use the internet regularly you are unlikely to sign up for tools such as blogging or set up a social network profile. • Active internet users drive adoption of platforms and tools and they will determine which tools and platforms become dominant in the social media space. • They are the best proxy for the future, over time all internet users will increase their usage. Eventually everyone will become an active internet user, just as consumers made the transition from occasional to regular TV watching in the 1950s and 1960s. Methodology
17 0 20 40 60 80 100 Read blogs / weblogs Start my own blog / weblog Leave a comment on a blog site Upload my photos to a photo sharing site Upload a video to a video sharing site Watch video clips online Create a profile on a social network Manage a profile on a social network Visit a friend’s social network page Wave 1 Sep 06 Wave 2 Jun 07 Wave 3 Mar 08 Wave 4 Mar 09 Wave 5 Jul 10 %everdoneAn increasingly active universe Figure 2 : “Thinking about the internet, which of the following have you ever done?”
The Socialisation of Brands The web is changing. It’s no longer just a place for information seeking and shopping but a platform where connections are made, friendships formed and information and opinion exchanged. The new social web makes different demands on both consumers and advertisers. Consumers are not merely finding, they are contributing; writing, uploading pictures, videos, creating regular status updates and livestreaming their every day happenings. Social networks have become more embedded in our everyday lives, whether it’s Facebook, Orkut or LinkedIn, we now contact more people in our personal life through our social networks (our research shows that on average we stay in contact socially with 52 people via these networks) than we do through any other means including face to face contact, email and phone. It’s essential for brands to understand why and where different groups of consumers participate in this new world. It’s not merely a question of identifying the best places to target – the classic media planning/buying approach – but truly knowing what motivates them to be part of it. Understand that and brands can create campaigns, messages and communities that consumers want to be part of, spreading the message far and wide much more effectively than simply buying banners and buttons in these spaces. When we started tracking the growth of social media with our Wave study in 2006, these platforms were merely a seed of what they have since become. The social challenge for brands
19 Fast forward to 2010 and Facebook is no longer the new, new thing but a legitimate rival to Google for ownership and domination of the digital space. What we have discovered in every iteration of our research is that social media participation among active internet continues to vary widely, in some countries blogging is or was top of the tree, in others it is or was uploading video, for example. In all markets the use of social networks has been rising steadily – and in some cases very rapidly indeed. Similarly this latest research project finds that the motivations for blogging, joining a social network, uploading a video or a photo are not only very different at a global level but that individual countries and regions also have a different take on the value, appeal and utility of each platform. Wave 5 – The Socialisation Of Brands – and the detailed data that lies behind it – will help brands understand what they need to do to connect with consumers on the social web.
The Socialisation of Brands The Socialisation of Brands With Wave 5 we have created a roadmap that will help brands create the right social media experience. We know that people are more than willing to join social communities online and are doing so in their millions, but do they want to interact with brands in these spaces? The results from Wave 5 – The Socialisation Of Brands answer that question with an emphatic yes and this is true across a broad range of categories.
21 The combination of social demand and platform understanding will give us the clear insight to create successful social media programmes. Understand how and, more importantly, why people use social media Map the social landscape of the category you are operating in and where your consumer fits in that landscape Identify the social needs of the consumer Identify the platforms that best meet those needs The challenge then is to identify the kind of social relationship consumers want and we do this by following four steps.
The new social landscape Means and motives
The Socialisation of Brands Means and motives It is our belief at UM that brands should first concern themselves with why people engage in social media, and their motivations, before we try to understand the platforms themselves. When consumers engage socially online they do so to meet certain needs. It could be to promote themselves, to share new experiences with others or just to have fun and waste time. It is a community peopled by a broad range of users, everything from career builders and money makers to community creators and story tellers. So social media definitions such as “friend”, “fan” or “follower” cannot really describe the complex interactions and relationships that exist in this environment. Social media are often lumped together too. Sometimes the term is used synonymously with social networks but Facebook and its brethren are merely major players in a diverse eco-system. In fact the social media universe includes a wide range of different platforms ranging from IM, blogging to photo and video sharing sites. Social networks are trying to offer many of these functions in one place but the reasons why consumers use them, whether they are on a social network site or a separate platform vary widely. Therefore looking at why people engage in social media and how effectively each social media platform is able to meet these needs becomes of paramount importance. We can see that blogs, message boards and video sites (see Figure 3) deliver specific needs. Video sites are great for having fun and being entertained, message boards are great for seeking alternative opinions and changing those of other others and blogs are powerful platforms for self expression and self promotion. This is the challenge of understanding the complex eco-system of social media.
25 Blogs Video sites Message Boards Instant Messenger Be creative Change opinions Earn respect Explore the world around Express yourself Feel like you belong Hang out or waste time Have fun / Be entertained Keep up to date Learn something new Make contacts for work Make money Manage my life better Meet new people Promote yourself Seek other people’s opinions Share knowledge Share new experiences Stay in touch with friends 0 10 20 30 40 50 Figure 3: “Which of the following do a good job when you want to...”
The Socialisation of Brands Means and motives Social networks enable us to create a network of digital friends that may or may not correlate with our “real world” friends. So it’s no surprise that meeting people, staying in touch and sharing experiences are key motivations for signing up to these platforms; acquiring a sense of belonging is another reason to be part of it. What is more surprising is how effective social networks are at meeting so many other need states, ones traditionally better serviced by more specialised platforms, like blogging. They are also great for changing opinions, promoting yourself, keeping up to date and earning respect. Split the motivations by country, and once again there is a dramatic split. In China members of Renren, 51.com and Kaizen001.com are looking for fun, in France consumers are hoping to advance their careers while in Germany the search is for a community that participants can be part of. The US and the UK also stand out, driven by the need to self-promote and influence others.
27 Figure 4: “Which of the following do a good job when you want to...” Blogs Video sites Message Boards Instant Messenger Social Networks Be creative Change opinions Earn respect Explore the world around Express yourself Feel like you belong Hang out or waste time Have fun / Be entertained Keep up to date Learn something new Make contacts for work Make money Manage my life better Meet new people Promote yourself Seek other people’s opinions Share knowledge Share new experiences Stay in touch with friends 0 10 20 30 40 50
The Socialisation of Brands The gravitational pull of social networks It is, perhaps then, unsurprising that social networking is causing the most fundamental shift in social behaviour seen since the invention of email. They have moved from being places to meet friends and stay in contact to multi-faceted platforms capable of delivering a wide variety of social needs. What is a social network? A site designed to allow users to meet, communicate, share content and build communities.
29 LIKE
The Socialisation of Brands As a result we see them fast becoming a ubiquitous tool for social interaction and you’d wrong to think that this is only an activity for the young. Although penetration amongst 16-24 year olds remains highest it is in the 25-34 year old bracket that we have seen the greatest increase in usage, from 52% to nearly 70% in the last 3 years. However, in all age brackets, we are seeing a similarly spectacular rise. Currently, nearly 3 quarters of the active internet universe claim to have ever managed a profile on a social network. If the current trends continues, a social networking profile will become as fundamental part of our daily lives as our telephone number. Create a profile on a social network Manage a profile on a social network Visit a friend’s social network page 0 20 40 60 80 100 Wave 1 Sep 06 Wave 2 Jun 07 Wave 3 Mar 08 Wave 4 Mar 09 Wave 5 Jul 10 %everdone Figure 5: “Thinking about the internet, which of the following have you ever done?”
31 20 40 60 80 45.1% 51.4% 61.4% Global 33.1% 48.3% 58.1% USA 47.4% 51.4% 68.4% China 64.8% 66.1% 79.3% Russia 53.4% 55.5% 58.6% UK Brazil 51.4% 62.8% 72.5% India 63.6% 53.9% 74.5% Italy 27.2% 36.6% 37.8% Germany 29.9% 46.2% 55.5% Spain 26.3% 43.4% 53.2% France 24.0% 34.4% 53.9% A truly global movement Wave 3 Wave 4 Wave 5 Figure 6: “Thinking about using the internet, which of the following have you done in the last 6 months?” - Manage a profile on an existing social network
The Socialisation of Brands A pull of people and activity We aren’t just seeing a large rise in the number of people joining social networks. They are also using them for a broader range of activities. A ready made, audience combined with increased site functionality means that they are, for example, sharing videos, organising groups and events, sharing photos and dating (see Figure 7). In fact, in 2009 they were using them for 6.4 activities. In 2010 this has now risen to 8. Again, this trend is decidedly upwards. PHOTOS
33 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Message friends Find old friends Find new friends Dating Update my profile Wave 3 2008 Wave 4 2009 Wave 5 2010 Figure 7: “Which of the following have you done with your social networking profile?” - Amongst those who have used a social network in the last 6 months
The Socialisation of Brands We are seeing a large rise in social connections via all digital means but leading the way are the social networks. They have become the largest source of social interaction, finally outstripping face to face contact in 2009. As finding friends old and new still remain the most highly participated activities it’s a trend clearly set to continue. This is community growth on an phenomenal scale (See Figure 9). Face to face Phone Text message Email Instant Messanger Social Network My personal blog Forum / message board Wave 3 2008 Wave 4 2009 Wave 5 2010 Averagenumberofpeople 10 20 30 40 50 60 Figure 8 : “Approximately how many people do you stay in contact with in your personal life through the following means?”
35 USA 16.7 31.2 53.0 China 31.8 39.5 50.0 Russia 15.6 36.3 47 UK 30.7 40.6 57.0 Brazil 50.5 57.5 74.0 India 43.2 57.9 58.0 Italy 17.6 34.6 66.0 Germany 14.1 25.2 41.0 Spain 16.5 34.7 47 France 11.7 23.8 40.0 29.7 38.8 52 Global Numberofpeople Growth on a phenomenal scale Wave 3 Wave 4 Wave 5 Figure 9 : “Approximately how many people do you stay in contact with in your personal life through the following means?” - Social Network (average)
The Socialisation of Brands Content sharing starts to migrate How is the growing power of social networks affecting other social media platforms? We are certainly seeing content creation and sharing via photo sharing and video sites continuing to grow. However, we are seeing growth occur at a much slower pace than we have seen in past Wave studies (see Figure 10). Upload my photos to a photo sharing website Visit a photo sharing website Upload a video clip to a video sharing website Watch video clips online Wave 3 2008 Wave 4 2009 Wave 5 2010 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Figure 10 : “Thinking about using the internet, which of the following have you done in the last 6 months?”
37 But the ease with which social networking platforms have incorporated content sharing functionality into their sites, particularly in the mobile space, means that users are clearly adopting these platforms for sharing at a much faster pace than dedicated photo and video sharing sites. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Upload photos Upload videos Wave 3 2008 Wave 4 2009 Wave 5 2010 Figure 11: “Which of the following have you done with your social networking profile?” - Amongst those who have used a social network in the last 6 months
The Socialisation of Brands Specialisation of blogs & forums As social networks keep growing we also see them begin to dominate discussion about personal topics. People are moving away from reading and discussing personal topics on both blogs and forums. At the same time we see a corresponding rise in social networks as the key platform for personal blogs (See Figure 12).
39 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Personal blogs (diary sites) Family / friend blogs Write a blog on a social network Wave 3 2008 Wave 4 2009 Wave 5 2010 Figure 12 : “When you read blogs, which of the following types of blogs do you read most often?”- Amongst those who have read a blog in the last 6 months, “Which of the following have you done with your social networking profile?” - Amongst those who have used a social network in the last 6 months What is a blog? A blog is a website that is created by a user in order to update others with regular commentaries, opinions or share content.
The Socialisation of Brands As a result, we are seeing them become more orientated towards specialised topics. They may no longer be the platform of choice for personal expression but they are clearly seeing some success in theirbattletobecomelegitimaterivalstothetraditionalmediaoutletsbybuildingspecialistcredibility. 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% News / Current Affairs Product recommendations Music Technology Business (general news & opinion) Business news (relevant to my job) A company/brand blog Science Sport Film / TV Gaming Travel (holidays, destinations) Celebrities Wave 3 2008 Wave 4 2009 Wave 5 2010 Figure 13 : “When you read blogs, which of the following types of blogs do you read most often?” - Amongst those who have read a blog in the last 6 months
41 20 40 60 80 100 60.6% 64.5% Global 55.3% USA 45.6% 50.2% 46.7% China 74.9% 75.7% 79.6% Russia 59.3% 54.6% 63.4% UK 50.7% 41.3% 40.8% Brazil 74.5% 40.9% 72.4% India 62.2% 63.1% 63.3% Italy 61.9% 51.0% 51.5% Germany 35.2% 36.3% 29.6% Spain 63.6% 55.9% 60.3% France 45.6% 50.2% 46.7% Blogging Declining or stabilising in Western countries, but growing in others. Wave 3 Wave 4 Wave 5 Figure 14: “Thinking about using the internet, which of the following have you used in the last 6 months?” - Read blogs / weblogs
The Socialisation of Brands The rise of microblogging Microblogging is a great example of a new form of social media that has, within an incredibly short space of time, become a mass market activity. Wave 4 2009 Wave 5 2010 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% Figure 15 : “Thinking about using the internet have you used a microblogging service like Twitter or Jaiku in the last 6 months?” What is a microblog? A blog on which updates are restricted in length (usually to less than 140 characters)
43 It’s certainly the fastest growing social media platform that we track within our study (see figure 15) and as it has grown we have seen a significant move towards a more female profile amongst the community (see Figure 16). Clearly, the fact that it doesn’t require an enormous amount time spent creating content, but still allows you to maintain a constant stream of news, updates and opinion has much appeal. But it is also its position as an undiluted way to communicate with audiences, without the need to engage with a sometimes difficult or prohibitive mass media, that gives it real potency. This has been clear during recent news events when people sent regular updates on, for example, the Iran protests or the Mumbai bombings that added a more personal and visceral dimension to the ensuing events. For the same reason it has been adopted wholesale by the marketing fraternity, in particular many high profile celebrities. There is still much debate about how many people are actually tweeting vs following, however, with its integration into a number of simple mobile applications its growth will continue. Wave 4 2009 45-54 8% 34-44 19% 25-34 32% 16-24 41% 34.6% 65.4% Wave 5 2010 45-54 8% 34-44 20% 25-34 33% 16-24 39% 42.6% 57.4% Figure 16 : Age and gender profile of people who have used a microblogging service in the last 6 months
The future face of social media
The Socialisation of Brands The mobile engine of social media The most significant shift in social media over the last few years has been the ability of users to engage in social media via mobile. The availability of powerful handsets and tablets with flexible operating systems, such as Google’s Android and Apple’s O.S. combined with flat rate data charges has created a fertile environment for the growth of mobile social media. Alongside these has been the development of a range of easy to use first and third party applications that allow users to engage with their social media platform of choice, such as Facebook or Twitter, using a simple to use interface. As a result our Wave 5 data shows clear correlation between smartphone ownership, mobile internet access and engagement in social media (See Figures 18 and 19). Not only are smartphone users more likely to engage in a wider variety of platforms (see Figure 19) they do more often too. They visit their social network profile on average 3.5 times a day, 18% more often than the average social network user.
47 Figure 18 : Percentage of people who access the internet via a mobile device and the % of people who access the internet via a mobile device and have a smartphone Figure 19 : “Thinking about using the internet on your mobile device, which of the following have you done in the last 6 months?” - Amongst all who have accessed the internet via a mobile device and smartphone owners 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% GLOBAL China Russia UK US India Italy Germany France Spain Brazil Mobile internet users Mobile internet users with smartphones 0 10 20 30 40 50 Use Instant Messenger Watch video clips online (e.g youtube.com) Read blogs / weblogs Visit a friend's social network page Visited an official company / brand websites Visit a photo sharing website (e.g flickr.com) Visit a message board / forum Upload my photos to a photo sharing website Shared a music file / mp3 with a friend Started a topic on a message board/ forum Post / write stories for my own blog / weblog Manage a profile on an existing social network Leave a comment on a blog site Share a video clip with a friend Used micro blogging service like Twitter/Jaiku Joined an online community around a brand/prod Upload a video clip to a video sharing website Create a video to upload online Joined a professional social networking site Created an online community around brand/prod All respondents Smartphone owners
The Socialisation of Brands The connected generation One of the most interesting things about the mobile social media user is not just the range and frequency of their activity but who they are. You might be forgiven for thinking that the people at the forefront are just the youngest adopters but, in fact, our research shows the higher cost of smart phone ownership and usage means that this audience is certainly at the higher end of the socio-economic scale. They have a broader age range, more like to be aged 25-34. They are more likely to be male (63%), married (53%), have a medium to high income (62%), have a high level of education (65% have a degree or post graduate qualification). Not only are they a wealthy consumer they are also highly influential. They are more likely work in senior decision making positions within companies(25%) and are more likely to try products first (index 172) and influence others in regard to their purchases (index 157) It is clearly a significant audience and one which not only represents the future face of social media usage but a very interesting and influential audience today.
49 Understanding means and motive is everything • Social media is an incredibly dynamic environment • A deeper knowledge of consumer needs and motivations is the key to unlocking our understanding of social media • Understanding these motivations explains much of what is happening • Why people engage in social media is an important starting point but there is still a missing piece of the puzzle • What kind of social experience are people looking for with brands?
The Socialisation of Brands
The Socialisation of Brands Is there a social demand for brands? There is much debate about the role that brands can or should play in social media. The big question is do people actually want a social relationship with them at all? We have found over the last three Waves of research a decline in the number of people saying that they have visited an official company website (See Figure 20). Does this mean that there is less appetite to engage with brands in their “official spaces”? Does the increasing power of peer to peer recommendation and the huge number of spaces that facilitate this recommendation, the burgeoning influence economy, mean that people no longer feel the need to engage directly with brands to find the information they want? Well, we can certainly see a trend towards consumers engaging with brands in social media. When we look at the numbers of people who are becoming fans with brands on their social networking platform we see a huge rise in the last year (See figure 21). Clearly, just by being present in a space socially relevant to the consumer means that they are more than willing to engage.
53 70% 72% 74% 76% 78% 80% 82% 84% 86% Wave 3 2008 Wave 4 2009 Wave 5 2010 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Affiliate with or become a fan of a brand Join a group Wave 4 (2009) Wave 5 (2010) Figure 20 : “Thinking about using the internet, have you visited an official brand/company website in the last 6 months?” Figure 21 : “Which of the following have you done with your social networking profile?” -Amongst those who have used a social network in the last 6 months”
The Socialisation of Brands The answer is a resounding “Yes” But it’s not just on their social networking profile that people are affiliating themselves with brands. Our Wave 5 research shows that, globally, nearly half of the active internet universe claims to have joined a brand community at some point (see figure 22). This clearly identifies a demand for brands in the social space. 100% GLOBAL Thailand Philippines Chile SouthKorea Colombia China Ecuador SouthAfrica Argentina Brazil Malaysia Slovakia Portugal HongKong Singapore Turkey Taiwan Mexico India Poland Russia UAE Spain ROI Lithuania Romania Egypt Qatar CzechRepublic Bahrain US UK Denmark Austria Hungary Sweden Australia KSA Tunisia Italy Kuwait Netherlands Norway Canada Belgium Estonia Lebanon Latvia Oman Germany Japan France Algeria 0% 50% Figure 22 : “Have you ever joined a brand community online?”
55 Is social demand true for all categories? Well, we asked people if they wanted an interaction with brands beyond a simple transaction across a number of categories (see figure 23). These included a range of interactions from getting access to advance news of products to being able to access decision makers and influence product development. It’s clear from the results that, even though the level of social demand differs by category, there are significant numbers of people who do want to engage with brands in all categories (even if this engagement was more superficial, like just having access to breaking news). Figure 23 : Amongst those who show an interest in an category, how many want an interaction with companies in that category (i.e. At least one or more interaction). These included a range of interactions from getting access to advance news of products to being able to access decision makers and influence product development Health 75% Music 73% Movies 74% Telecomms 71% Travel 71% Food 70% Cars 63%Finance 67% Software 71%
The Socialisation of Brands Brand communities So why are people joining brand communities? Although many are saying that they have joined a brand community online to gain access to free content (69.6%), the highest motivations are to learn (78.6%) and get access to advance news of products (76.1%). In the influence economy, information is clearly a very valuable commodity. These motivations are prevalent across all markets but when we look regionally we can see that there are nuances (See figure 24). In Latin America brand communities are more likely to be driven by the desire to associate themselves with something (to support a cause or even something they think is cool). In Asia they are more likely to join if it was recommended to them by their peers and in the Middle East it is about feeling part of a like-minded community.
57 Europe North America Latin America Asia & Oceania Middle East & Africa To support a cause To share my appreciation with others To associate with something I think is cool To learn more about it To feel part of a like-minded community To get free content To fill time / have fun Because it was recommended to me To get advance news on products 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Figure 24 : Agreement with the descriptions of why they joined a brand community amongst those have ever joined a brand community online by region.
The Socialisation of Brands What’s the benefit to brands? The other big debate in social media is identifying the value of brand community engagement and interaction. Of those people who joined a brand community, 72% said they thought more positively of the brand as a result, 71% said they are more likely to buy the brand, 66% said they felt more loyal to the brand and 63% said they recommended others to join. So clearly there is an opportunity to build brand equity, drive sales, increase loyalty and create brand endorsement all of which sounds a lot like the holy grail of marketing communications. Of course, things are not so simple or easy. In order to create a social media experience that will benefit the brand in these ways we must first understand what kind of social media experience consumers want. Figure 25 : “As a result of joining a brand community, please indicate how much you agree with the following statements?” 72% 71% 66% 63% “I thought more positively of the brand” “I am more likely to buy the brand” “I felt more loyal towards the brand” “I recommended others to join”
59 Mapping the right social media experience There are four steps to identifying the right social media experience for brands: • Understand the social landscape of the category • Identify where the consumer fits in this landscape • Identify the social needs of the consumer in the category • Map them to social media platforms that can best deliver them
The Socialisation of Brands The social landscape of categories The first thing we need to understand is the level of social activity in each category. We do this by mapping involvement across a spectrum of social engagement. From those actively creating content and collaborating with others to those simply seeking information. What we see is that certain categories with very broad appeal, like music and movies, have large numbers of people engaged in collaboration, creation, sharing and seeking. Conversely, categories like sport or fashion have a much smaller number of people engaged in the category but a higher proportion of those are actively collaborating. However, in all categories there are significant numbers of people already actively engaging with brands and companies. The reason why it is important to understand the consumers current level of engagement with the category is because it has a fundamental effect on the depth of social interaction they want.
61 Figure 26 : “Thinking about how you seek and share information regarding different products and services, which of the following statements best describe how you seek and share information in each of the following categories?” Numbers of consumers (in 000’s). Note: consumers can be active in more than one segment within a category. 600,000 400,000 200,000 0 200,000 400,000 600,000 800,000 Wine, spirits & alcohol Non-alcoholic drinks Luxury goods Cosmetics Console/PC Gaming Sport Cars Portable technology Fashion Energy & environment Computer hardware Personal finance Household products Home technology Travel Mobile phones and services Computer software Food Health & wellbeing Music Movies I create content and collaborate with people and companies in this category I share opinions, content and informationin this category I often seek informationin this category to keep up to date I sometimes seekinformation inthis category when I need it
The Socialisation of Brands Different categories, different audiences, different needs We can see that different categories have different social media needs. Analysis of the movie and health categories, for example, show that access to fun content is key for the movie category (unsurprisingly in a very visual and content rich medium) whereas learning is the dominant need in the health category (see Figure 27). Movies Health & Wellbeing Access to fun and entertaining content Access to breaking news An opportunity to learn something new Access to unique events or competitions Communicate and share experiences with others A personal response to my issues / complaints An opportunity to develop my skills Tools help express creativity and make something worth sharing Contact employee decision makers and influence product development 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Figure 27 : “Thinking about companies in the following categories, which of following statements describes the kind of interaction you would like to have with these companies?” amongst those who show an interest in the category
63 I create and collaborate with people and companies in this category I often / sometimes seek information in this category to keep up to date An opportunity to learn something new An opportunity to develop my skills Access to breaking news Free coupons / money-off vouchers Access to fun and entertaining contentA personal response to my issues / complaints Communicate and share experiences with others Access to unique events and competitions Tools help express creativity and make something worth sharing Contact employee decision makers and influence product development 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% And it’s not just the category differences that we have to take into account. We also need to consider current category behaviour as this has a significant impact on their social needs and expectations. When we look at people actively engaged in the Computer Software category, for example, we can see that the demand for customer service (a personal response to issues and complaints) is equally important to both content creators/collaborators and seekers of information (see Figure 28). However, in all other regards creators/collaborators want a much deeper and more diverse social relationship but in particular we see that learning and skills development are the key social needs. Figure 28 : “Thinking about companies in the computer software category, which of following statements describes the kind of interaction you would like to have with these companies?” amongst those who create content or seek information in the category.
The Socialisation of Brands Mapping needs to platforms Clearly, understanding the social needs of the consumer is the key to creating a successful social media programme. If all the consumer wants is access to information and news there is no point in creating an all singing, all dancing interactive content sharing platform. On the other hand if they want to be involved directly with product development then access to new news is unlikely to be involving or compelling. Since these needs differ widely by country, category and audience it is essential to have a granular view of the social dynamics at play. The other important factor is an understanding of which platforms and forms of communication best meet these needs. Wave 5 – The Socialisation of Brands also contains a wealth of information that can help identify the most influential platforms at both macro and micro level. We believe that the combination of social need state and the ability of platforms to meet these needs gives us the crucial insight required.
65 Personalised ad on social network page Sponsored link on social network page Ad on a blog Sponsored music / video player Recommendation from a friendSponsored link on a search engine Opportunity to develop my skills Access to unique events Share experiences with other customers Influence product development Portable Technology Personal Finance Energy & The Environment Home Technology Music Travel Movies FoodFashion Wine, Spirits & Alcohol Luxury Goods Cosmetics Console / PC Gaming Sport Cars Computer Software Brand website Mobile Telecommunication Sponsored link on a website on Widgetonasocialnetwork Communicatemyexperiences Company/BrandBLOG InstantMessenger Company/BrandBLOG Onlinebrandedvideoclip Expertrecommendation Toolstohelpexpress Accesstobreakingnews Recommendationofa age develop m C website Video clip online featuring a brand
The impact Summary
The Socialisation of Brands The impact Social media is an incredibly dynamic environment. Terms like “friend” and “influencer” are no longer adequate to describe the array of social activity and interaction that is occurring amongst the vast communities now being built online. A deeper understanding of consumer needs and motivations is the key to unlocking a real understanding of social media and its users. Social networks are becoming powerful hubs of interconnected communities but it’s not just people that are connecting in the social media space. There is huge demand for a more social and interactive relationships with brands. Almost half of the Active Internet Universe has already joined a brand community. These communities are also clearly having a huge benefit to the brands involved, driving brand loyalty, endorsement and sales. However, understanding the nature of social demand for each consumer, category and market is the key to creating a successful social media experience.
69 What does this mean for your business? Wave 5 – The Socialisation of Brands is an in-depth study and there are many other aspects that we are unable to cover in this report. If you want to know how to operate in the new social media landscape and what this means for your business please contact:- EMEA Glen Parker Research Director - EMEA Glen.Parker@umww.com North America Heidi Browning EVP Global Digital Officer Heidi.Browning@umww.com Huw Griffiths EVP Global Director of Research Huw.Griffiths@umww.com APAC Natalie Pidgeon Director IQ and Insights - APAC Natalie.Pidgeon@umww.com LatAm Mario Mejia Strategic Director - Colombia / LatAm Mario.Mejia@umww.com
The Socialisation of Brands About this report Wave 5 - The Socialisation of Brands is part of UM’s ongoing research programme aimed at exploring the massive changes occurring in communication technologies. The studies have been conducted annually since 2006. The research is conducted by the UM EMEA research team in collaboration with the UM global network of agencies. If you have any questions about the research or future Wave projects please contact the EMEA research team Glen Parker Research Director EMEA Glen.Parker@umww.com Lindsey Thomas Research Executive EMEA Lindsey.Thomas@umww.com © UM 2010
This report is printed on Cocoon Offset: a paper produced using eco-sensitive technology from 100% recycled and de-inked fibres (FSC certified) Designed & illustrated with love by
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Approval

  • 1.
  • 3.
    3 Contents Executive summary Introduction • Thecontinuing Wave story Methodology The social challenge for brands The new social landscape: means and motives • The gravitational pull of social networks • The rise of microblogging The future face of social media The Socialisation of Brands The impact: summary 5 7 10 15 18 23 28 42 45 51 67
  • 5.
    5 Executive Summary Social mediais an incredibly dynamic environment. Terms like “friend” and “influencer” are no longer adequate to describe the array of social activity and interaction that is occurring amongst the vast communities now being built online. A deeper understanding of consumer needs and motivations is the key to unlocking a real understanding of social media and its users. Social networks are becoming powerful hubs of interconnected communities but it’s not just people that are connecting in the social media space. There is huge demand for a more social and interactive relationships with brands. Almost half of the Active Internet Universe has already joined a brand community. These communities are also clearly having a huge benefit to the brands involved, driving brand loyalty, endorsement and sales. However, understanding the nature of social demand for each consumer, category and market is the key to creating a successful social media experience. This report barely scratches the surface of the rich insight and detail available. Wave 5 – The Socialisation Of Brands contains information for 20 categories in more than 54 countries. You will find contact details if you require further information at the end of this report.
  • 7.
  • 8.
    The Socialisation ofBrands 10% growth in the number of social network managers 30%accessing social media via mobile 47%joiningbrandcommunities 1.5 billion visits to social networks per day
  • 9.
    9 Welcome to Wave: Thelargest and longest running dedicated social media study in the world. When Wave started as a project in 2006 we were aware that there was much debate but few facts behind the social media phenomenon. Therefore we initiated Wave with the aim of measuring the scale and impact of social media across the globe. In this time, we have researched more than 95,300 internet users in 59 countries and, if Wave has taught us anything, it is that social media stands up to the hype. Growth has been unprecedented and our tracker has demonstrated how new platforms have sprung up and reached critical mass with blinding speed across vast geographies. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Norway Sweden Netherlands Bahrain Denmark UK SouthKorea Australia Germany Japan Belgium Singapore Canada USA UAE Estonia Austria Slovakia Taiwan France HongKong Latvia RepublicofIreland CzechRepublic Malaysia Argentina Spain Hungary Lithuania Poland Qatar Italy Chile Colombia Portugal Turkey Russia Oman Kuwait KSA Brazil Romania Tunisia China Philippines Mexico Thailand Lebanon Egypt Ecuador Algeria SouthAfrica India Figure 1: Internet penetration by market Figures sourced from internetworldstats.com Hello
  • 10.
    The Socialisation ofBrands Five years is a lifetime in the world of social media and over the course of our five Waves of research we have come to a deep understanding of the complex and dynamic nature of social media behaviour. Our first two Waves demonstrated that social media was enabling a large and active community to create content and share this content with others. In the process the medium moved from being a primarily text-based medium to a fully audio visual one. Our third Wave charted the democratisation of influence, how social media was driving ever greater means and opportunity for consumers to influence their peers. Influence that was becoming an integral part of many consumers decision making processes. In Wave 4 we examined the reasons behind the huge growth in social media by understanding the motivations behind the use of different social media platforms. This clearly demonstrated that you cannot treat all social media the same, consumers engage with a platform because it meet’s specific consumer needs and all platforms meet these needs differently. What the Wave project has shown us is that far from being hype, social media is a an explosively dynamic phenomenon that is changing the way we interact and that this is having a fundamental effect on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes and behaviour. However, with a few exceptions, brands and companies are still not social. They are struggling to find a way to intelligently, sensitively and effectively engage with consumers in this space. Therefore, withourfifthinstalmentofWave, Wave 5 – The Socialisation Of Brands,wehavebrought together all our understanding of usage, behaviour , influence and motivation, done this across more than 50 countries and added the missing piece of the puzzle. The data, insight and analysis that will help brands create successful social media programmes. The continuing Wave story
  • 11.
    11 15 markets 7,500 respondents 21markets 10,000 respondents 29 markets 17,000 respondents 38 markets 23,200 respondents 53 markets 37,600 respondents
  • 12.
    The Socialisation ofBrands The expanding Wave universe
  • 13.
    13 Australia China France Germany Italy Korea Philippines Russia Spain UK US Wave 1 Australia Brazil China France Germany Greece India Italy Japan Korea Malaysia Mexico Pakistan Philippines Russia Singapore Spain Taiwan Thailand UK US Wave 2 Australia Austria Brazil Canada China CzechRepublic Denmark France Germany Greece Hong Kong Hungary India Italy Japan Korea Mexico Netherlands Pakistan Philippines Poland Romania Russia Spain Switzerland Taiwan Turkey UK US Wave 3 Australia Austria Belgium Brazil Canada China Colombia Czech Republic Denmark Ecuador Finland France Germany Hong Kong Hungary India Italy Japan Korea Latvia Lithuania Malaysia Mexico Netherlands Norway Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Romania Russia Singapore South Africa Spain Sweden Turkey UK US Wave 4 Algeria Argentina Australia Austria Bahrain Belgium Brazil Canada Chile China Colombia Czech Republic Denmark Ecuador Egypt Estonia France Germany Hong Kong Hungary India Italy Ireland (ROI) Japan Korea KSA Kuwait Latvia Lebanon Lithuania Malaysia Mexico Netherlands Norway Oman Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Romania Russia Serbia Singapore Slovakia South Africa Spain Sweden Taiwan Thailand Tunisia Turkey UAE UK US Wave 5 LIKE
  • 15.
  • 16.
    The Socialisation ofBrands The Social Media Tracker has retained the same methodology from Wave 1 through Wave 5, enabling comparison between data sets. All surveys have been scripted and hosted on UM’s in-house online research system, Intuition. All surveys are self-completed and the data collected is entirely quantitative. Every market is representative of the 16-54 Active Internet Universe. For Wave 5, 37,600 internet users in 54 countries were surveyed with many new markets joining, including the Middle East Who are the active internet universe and why do they matter? • Active internet users are those people who use the internet every day or every other day • Social media is driven by active internet users, if you don’t use the internet regularly you are unlikely to sign up for tools such as blogging or set up a social network profile. • Active internet users drive adoption of platforms and tools and they will determine which tools and platforms become dominant in the social media space. • They are the best proxy for the future, over time all internet users will increase their usage. Eventually everyone will become an active internet user, just as consumers made the transition from occasional to regular TV watching in the 1950s and 1960s. Methodology
  • 17.
    17 0 20 40 60 80 100 Read blogs /weblogs Start my own blog / weblog Leave a comment on a blog site Upload my photos to a photo sharing site Upload a video to a video sharing site Watch video clips online Create a profile on a social network Manage a profile on a social network Visit a friend’s social network page Wave 1 Sep 06 Wave 2 Jun 07 Wave 3 Mar 08 Wave 4 Mar 09 Wave 5 Jul 10 %everdoneAn increasingly active universe Figure 2 : “Thinking about the internet, which of the following have you ever done?”
  • 18.
    The Socialisation ofBrands The web is changing. It’s no longer just a place for information seeking and shopping but a platform where connections are made, friendships formed and information and opinion exchanged. The new social web makes different demands on both consumers and advertisers. Consumers are not merely finding, they are contributing; writing, uploading pictures, videos, creating regular status updates and livestreaming their every day happenings. Social networks have become more embedded in our everyday lives, whether it’s Facebook, Orkut or LinkedIn, we now contact more people in our personal life through our social networks (our research shows that on average we stay in contact socially with 52 people via these networks) than we do through any other means including face to face contact, email and phone. It’s essential for brands to understand why and where different groups of consumers participate in this new world. It’s not merely a question of identifying the best places to target – the classic media planning/buying approach – but truly knowing what motivates them to be part of it. Understand that and brands can create campaigns, messages and communities that consumers want to be part of, spreading the message far and wide much more effectively than simply buying banners and buttons in these spaces. When we started tracking the growth of social media with our Wave study in 2006, these platforms were merely a seed of what they have since become. The social challenge for brands
  • 19.
    19 Fast forward to2010 and Facebook is no longer the new, new thing but a legitimate rival to Google for ownership and domination of the digital space. What we have discovered in every iteration of our research is that social media participation among active internet continues to vary widely, in some countries blogging is or was top of the tree, in others it is or was uploading video, for example. In all markets the use of social networks has been rising steadily – and in some cases very rapidly indeed. Similarly this latest research project finds that the motivations for blogging, joining a social network, uploading a video or a photo are not only very different at a global level but that individual countries and regions also have a different take on the value, appeal and utility of each platform. Wave 5 – The Socialisation Of Brands – and the detailed data that lies behind it – will help brands understand what they need to do to connect with consumers on the social web.
  • 20.
    The Socialisation ofBrands The Socialisation of Brands With Wave 5 we have created a roadmap that will help brands create the right social media experience. We know that people are more than willing to join social communities online and are doing so in their millions, but do they want to interact with brands in these spaces? The results from Wave 5 – The Socialisation Of Brands answer that question with an emphatic yes and this is true across a broad range of categories.
  • 21.
    21 The combination ofsocial demand and platform understanding will give us the clear insight to create successful social media programmes. Understand how and, more importantly, why people use social media Map the social landscape of the category you are operating in and where your consumer fits in that landscape Identify the social needs of the consumer Identify the platforms that best meet those needs The challenge then is to identify the kind of social relationship consumers want and we do this by following four steps.
  • 23.
  • 24.
    The Socialisation ofBrands Means and motives It is our belief at UM that brands should first concern themselves with why people engage in social media, and their motivations, before we try to understand the platforms themselves. When consumers engage socially online they do so to meet certain needs. It could be to promote themselves, to share new experiences with others or just to have fun and waste time. It is a community peopled by a broad range of users, everything from career builders and money makers to community creators and story tellers. So social media definitions such as “friend”, “fan” or “follower” cannot really describe the complex interactions and relationships that exist in this environment. Social media are often lumped together too. Sometimes the term is used synonymously with social networks but Facebook and its brethren are merely major players in a diverse eco-system. In fact the social media universe includes a wide range of different platforms ranging from IM, blogging to photo and video sharing sites. Social networks are trying to offer many of these functions in one place but the reasons why consumers use them, whether they are on a social network site or a separate platform vary widely. Therefore looking at why people engage in social media and how effectively each social media platform is able to meet these needs becomes of paramount importance. We can see that blogs, message boards and video sites (see Figure 3) deliver specific needs. Video sites are great for having fun and being entertained, message boards are great for seeking alternative opinions and changing those of other others and blogs are powerful platforms for self expression and self promotion. This is the challenge of understanding the complex eco-system of social media.
  • 25.
    25 Blogs Video sitesMessage Boards Instant Messenger Be creative Change opinions Earn respect Explore the world around Express yourself Feel like you belong Hang out or waste time Have fun / Be entertained Keep up to date Learn something new Make contacts for work Make money Manage my life better Meet new people Promote yourself Seek other people’s opinions Share knowledge Share new experiences Stay in touch with friends 0 10 20 30 40 50 Figure 3: “Which of the following do a good job when you want to...”
  • 26.
    The Socialisation ofBrands Means and motives Social networks enable us to create a network of digital friends that may or may not correlate with our “real world” friends. So it’s no surprise that meeting people, staying in touch and sharing experiences are key motivations for signing up to these platforms; acquiring a sense of belonging is another reason to be part of it. What is more surprising is how effective social networks are at meeting so many other need states, ones traditionally better serviced by more specialised platforms, like blogging. They are also great for changing opinions, promoting yourself, keeping up to date and earning respect. Split the motivations by country, and once again there is a dramatic split. In China members of Renren, 51.com and Kaizen001.com are looking for fun, in France consumers are hoping to advance their careers while in Germany the search is for a community that participants can be part of. The US and the UK also stand out, driven by the need to self-promote and influence others.
  • 27.
    27 Figure 4: “Whichof the following do a good job when you want to...” Blogs Video sites Message Boards Instant Messenger Social Networks Be creative Change opinions Earn respect Explore the world around Express yourself Feel like you belong Hang out or waste time Have fun / Be entertained Keep up to date Learn something new Make contacts for work Make money Manage my life better Meet new people Promote yourself Seek other people’s opinions Share knowledge Share new experiences Stay in touch with friends 0 10 20 30 40 50
  • 28.
    The Socialisation ofBrands The gravitational pull of social networks It is, perhaps then, unsurprising that social networking is causing the most fundamental shift in social behaviour seen since the invention of email. They have moved from being places to meet friends and stay in contact to multi-faceted platforms capable of delivering a wide variety of social needs. What is a social network? A site designed to allow users to meet, communicate, share content and build communities.
  • 29.
  • 30.
    The Socialisation ofBrands As a result we see them fast becoming a ubiquitous tool for social interaction and you’d wrong to think that this is only an activity for the young. Although penetration amongst 16-24 year olds remains highest it is in the 25-34 year old bracket that we have seen the greatest increase in usage, from 52% to nearly 70% in the last 3 years. However, in all age brackets, we are seeing a similarly spectacular rise. Currently, nearly 3 quarters of the active internet universe claim to have ever managed a profile on a social network. If the current trends continues, a social networking profile will become as fundamental part of our daily lives as our telephone number. Create a profile on a social network Manage a profile on a social network Visit a friend’s social network page 0 20 40 60 80 100 Wave 1 Sep 06 Wave 2 Jun 07 Wave 3 Mar 08 Wave 4 Mar 09 Wave 5 Jul 10 %everdone Figure 5: “Thinking about the internet, which of the following have you ever done?”
  • 31.
    31 20 40 60 80 45.1% 51.4% 61.4% Global 33.1% 48.3% 58.1% USA 47.4% 51.4% 68.4% China 64.8% 66.1% 79.3% Russia 53.4% 55.5%58.6% UK Brazil 51.4% 62.8% 72.5% India 63.6% 53.9% 74.5% Italy 27.2% 36.6% 37.8% Germany 29.9% 46.2% 55.5% Spain 26.3% 43.4% 53.2% France 24.0% 34.4% 53.9% A truly global movement Wave 3 Wave 4 Wave 5 Figure 6: “Thinking about using the internet, which of the following have you done in the last 6 months?” - Manage a profile on an existing social network
  • 32.
    The Socialisation ofBrands A pull of people and activity We aren’t just seeing a large rise in the number of people joining social networks. They are also using them for a broader range of activities. A ready made, audience combined with increased site functionality means that they are, for example, sharing videos, organising groups and events, sharing photos and dating (see Figure 7). In fact, in 2009 they were using them for 6.4 activities. In 2010 this has now risen to 8. Again, this trend is decidedly upwards. PHOTOS
  • 33.
    33 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Message friends Find oldfriends Find new friends Dating Update my profile Wave 3 2008 Wave 4 2009 Wave 5 2010 Figure 7: “Which of the following have you done with your social networking profile?” - Amongst those who have used a social network in the last 6 months
  • 34.
    The Socialisation ofBrands We are seeing a large rise in social connections via all digital means but leading the way are the social networks. They have become the largest source of social interaction, finally outstripping face to face contact in 2009. As finding friends old and new still remain the most highly participated activities it’s a trend clearly set to continue. This is community growth on an phenomenal scale (See Figure 9). Face to face Phone Text message Email Instant Messanger Social Network My personal blog Forum / message board Wave 3 2008 Wave 4 2009 Wave 5 2010 Averagenumberofpeople 10 20 30 40 50 60 Figure 8 : “Approximately how many people do you stay in contact with in your personal life through the following means?”
  • 35.
    35 USA 16.7 31.2 53.0 China 31.8 39.5 50.0 Russia 15.6 36.3 47 UK 30.7 40.6 57.0 Brazil 50.5 57.5 74.0 India 43.2 57.9 58.0 Italy 17.6 34.6 66.0 Germany 14.1 25.2 41.0 Spain 16.5 34.7 47 France 11.7 23.8 40.0 29.7 38.8 52 Global Numberofpeople Growth ona phenomenal scale Wave 3 Wave 4 Wave 5 Figure 9 : “Approximately how many people do you stay in contact with in your personal life through the following means?” - Social Network (average)
  • 36.
    The Socialisation ofBrands Content sharing starts to migrate How is the growing power of social networks affecting other social media platforms? We are certainly seeing content creation and sharing via photo sharing and video sites continuing to grow. However, we are seeing growth occur at a much slower pace than we have seen in past Wave studies (see Figure 10). Upload my photos to a photo sharing website Visit a photo sharing website Upload a video clip to a video sharing website Watch video clips online Wave 3 2008 Wave 4 2009 Wave 5 2010 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Figure 10 : “Thinking about using the internet, which of the following have you done in the last 6 months?”
  • 37.
    37 But the easewith which social networking platforms have incorporated content sharing functionality into their sites, particularly in the mobile space, means that users are clearly adopting these platforms for sharing at a much faster pace than dedicated photo and video sharing sites. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Upload photos Upload videos Wave 3 2008 Wave 4 2009 Wave 5 2010 Figure 11: “Which of the following have you done with your social networking profile?” - Amongst those who have used a social network in the last 6 months
  • 38.
    The Socialisation ofBrands Specialisation of blogs & forums As social networks keep growing we also see them begin to dominate discussion about personal topics. People are moving away from reading and discussing personal topics on both blogs and forums. At the same time we see a corresponding rise in social networks as the key platform for personal blogs (See Figure 12).
  • 39.
    39 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% Personal blogs (diary sites) Family/ friend blogs Write a blog on a social network Wave 3 2008 Wave 4 2009 Wave 5 2010 Figure 12 : “When you read blogs, which of the following types of blogs do you read most often?”- Amongst those who have read a blog in the last 6 months, “Which of the following have you done with your social networking profile?” - Amongst those who have used a social network in the last 6 months What is a blog? A blog is a website that is created by a user in order to update others with regular commentaries, opinions or share content.
  • 40.
    The Socialisation ofBrands As a result, we are seeing them become more orientated towards specialised topics. They may no longer be the platform of choice for personal expression but they are clearly seeing some success in theirbattletobecomelegitimaterivalstothetraditionalmediaoutletsbybuildingspecialistcredibility. 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% News / Current Affairs Product recommendations Music Technology Business (general news & opinion) Business news (relevant to my job) A company/brand blog Science Sport Film / TV Gaming Travel (holidays, destinations) Celebrities Wave 3 2008 Wave 4 2009 Wave 5 2010 Figure 13 : “When you read blogs, which of the following types of blogs do you read most often?” - Amongst those who have read a blog in the last 6 months
  • 41.
    41 20 40 60 80 100 60.6% 64.5% Global 55.3% USA 45.6% 50.2%46.7% China 74.9% 75.7% 79.6% Russia 59.3% 54.6% 63.4% UK 50.7% 41.3% 40.8% Brazil 74.5% 40.9% 72.4% India 62.2% 63.1% 63.3% Italy 61.9% 51.0% 51.5% Germany 35.2% 36.3% 29.6% Spain 63.6% 55.9% 60.3% France 45.6% 50.2% 46.7% Blogging Declining or stabilising in Western countries, but growing in others. Wave 3 Wave 4 Wave 5 Figure 14: “Thinking about using the internet, which of the following have you used in the last 6 months?” - Read blogs / weblogs
  • 42.
    The Socialisation ofBrands The rise of microblogging Microblogging is a great example of a new form of social media that has, within an incredibly short space of time, become a mass market activity. Wave 4 2009 Wave 5 2010 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% Figure 15 : “Thinking about using the internet have you used a microblogging service like Twitter or Jaiku in the last 6 months?” What is a microblog? A blog on which updates are restricted in length (usually to less than 140 characters)
  • 43.
    43 It’s certainly thefastest growing social media platform that we track within our study (see figure 15) and as it has grown we have seen a significant move towards a more female profile amongst the community (see Figure 16). Clearly, the fact that it doesn’t require an enormous amount time spent creating content, but still allows you to maintain a constant stream of news, updates and opinion has much appeal. But it is also its position as an undiluted way to communicate with audiences, without the need to engage with a sometimes difficult or prohibitive mass media, that gives it real potency. This has been clear during recent news events when people sent regular updates on, for example, the Iran protests or the Mumbai bombings that added a more personal and visceral dimension to the ensuing events. For the same reason it has been adopted wholesale by the marketing fraternity, in particular many high profile celebrities. There is still much debate about how many people are actually tweeting vs following, however, with its integration into a number of simple mobile applications its growth will continue. Wave 4 2009 45-54 8% 34-44 19% 25-34 32% 16-24 41% 34.6% 65.4% Wave 5 2010 45-54 8% 34-44 20% 25-34 33% 16-24 39% 42.6% 57.4% Figure 16 : Age and gender profile of people who have used a microblogging service in the last 6 months
  • 45.
    The future face ofsocial media
  • 46.
    The Socialisation ofBrands The mobile engine of social media The most significant shift in social media over the last few years has been the ability of users to engage in social media via mobile. The availability of powerful handsets and tablets with flexible operating systems, such as Google’s Android and Apple’s O.S. combined with flat rate data charges has created a fertile environment for the growth of mobile social media. Alongside these has been the development of a range of easy to use first and third party applications that allow users to engage with their social media platform of choice, such as Facebook or Twitter, using a simple to use interface. As a result our Wave 5 data shows clear correlation between smartphone ownership, mobile internet access and engagement in social media (See Figures 18 and 19). Not only are smartphone users more likely to engage in a wider variety of platforms (see Figure 19) they do more often too. They visit their social network profile on average 3.5 times a day, 18% more often than the average social network user.
  • 47.
    47 Figure 18 :Percentage of people who access the internet via a mobile device and the % of people who access the internet via a mobile device and have a smartphone Figure 19 : “Thinking about using the internet on your mobile device, which of the following have you done in the last 6 months?” - Amongst all who have accessed the internet via a mobile device and smartphone owners 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% GLOBAL China Russia UK US India Italy Germany France Spain Brazil Mobile internet users Mobile internet users with smartphones 0 10 20 30 40 50 Use Instant Messenger Watch video clips online (e.g youtube.com) Read blogs / weblogs Visit a friend's social network page Visited an official company / brand websites Visit a photo sharing website (e.g flickr.com) Visit a message board / forum Upload my photos to a photo sharing website Shared a music file / mp3 with a friend Started a topic on a message board/ forum Post / write stories for my own blog / weblog Manage a profile on an existing social network Leave a comment on a blog site Share a video clip with a friend Used micro blogging service like Twitter/Jaiku Joined an online community around a brand/prod Upload a video clip to a video sharing website Create a video to upload online Joined a professional social networking site Created an online community around brand/prod All respondents Smartphone owners
  • 48.
    The Socialisation ofBrands The connected generation One of the most interesting things about the mobile social media user is not just the range and frequency of their activity but who they are. You might be forgiven for thinking that the people at the forefront are just the youngest adopters but, in fact, our research shows the higher cost of smart phone ownership and usage means that this audience is certainly at the higher end of the socio-economic scale. They have a broader age range, more like to be aged 25-34. They are more likely to be male (63%), married (53%), have a medium to high income (62%), have a high level of education (65% have a degree or post graduate qualification). Not only are they a wealthy consumer they are also highly influential. They are more likely work in senior decision making positions within companies(25%) and are more likely to try products first (index 172) and influence others in regard to their purchases (index 157) It is clearly a significant audience and one which not only represents the future face of social media usage but a very interesting and influential audience today.
  • 49.
    49 Understanding means andmotive is everything • Social media is an incredibly dynamic environment • A deeper knowledge of consumer needs and motivations is the key to unlocking our understanding of social media • Understanding these motivations explains much of what is happening • Why people engage in social media is an important starting point but there is still a missing piece of the puzzle • What kind of social experience are people looking for with brands?
  • 51.
  • 52.
    The Socialisation ofBrands Is there a social demand for brands? There is much debate about the role that brands can or should play in social media. The big question is do people actually want a social relationship with them at all? We have found over the last three Waves of research a decline in the number of people saying that they have visited an official company website (See Figure 20). Does this mean that there is less appetite to engage with brands in their “official spaces”? Does the increasing power of peer to peer recommendation and the huge number of spaces that facilitate this recommendation, the burgeoning influence economy, mean that people no longer feel the need to engage directly with brands to find the information they want? Well, we can certainly see a trend towards consumers engaging with brands in social media. When we look at the numbers of people who are becoming fans with brands on their social networking platform we see a huge rise in the last year (See figure 21). Clearly, just by being present in a space socially relevant to the consumer means that they are more than willing to engage.
  • 53.
    53 70% 72% 74% 76% 78% 80% 82% 84% 86% Wave 3 2008 Wave 4 2009 Wave5 2010 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Affiliate with or become a fan of a brand Join a group Wave 4 (2009) Wave 5 (2010) Figure 20 : “Thinking about using the internet, have you visited an official brand/company website in the last 6 months?” Figure 21 : “Which of the following have you done with your social networking profile?” -Amongst those who have used a social network in the last 6 months”
  • 54.
    The Socialisation ofBrands The answer is a resounding “Yes” But it’s not just on their social networking profile that people are affiliating themselves with brands. Our Wave 5 research shows that, globally, nearly half of the active internet universe claims to have joined a brand community at some point (see figure 22). This clearly identifies a demand for brands in the social space. 100% GLOBAL Thailand Philippines Chile SouthKorea Colombia China Ecuador SouthAfrica Argentina Brazil Malaysia Slovakia Portugal HongKong Singapore Turkey Taiwan Mexico India Poland Russia UAE Spain ROI Lithuania Romania Egypt Qatar CzechRepublic Bahrain US UK Denmark Austria Hungary Sweden Australia KSA Tunisia Italy Kuwait Netherlands Norway Canada Belgium Estonia Lebanon Latvia Oman Germany Japan France Algeria 0% 50% Figure 22 : “Have you ever joined a brand community online?”
  • 55.
    55 Is social demandtrue for all categories? Well, we asked people if they wanted an interaction with brands beyond a simple transaction across a number of categories (see figure 23). These included a range of interactions from getting access to advance news of products to being able to access decision makers and influence product development. It’s clear from the results that, even though the level of social demand differs by category, there are significant numbers of people who do want to engage with brands in all categories (even if this engagement was more superficial, like just having access to breaking news). Figure 23 : Amongst those who show an interest in an category, how many want an interaction with companies in that category (i.e. At least one or more interaction). These included a range of interactions from getting access to advance news of products to being able to access decision makers and influence product development Health 75% Music 73% Movies 74% Telecomms 71% Travel 71% Food 70% Cars 63%Finance 67% Software 71%
  • 56.
    The Socialisation ofBrands Brand communities So why are people joining brand communities? Although many are saying that they have joined a brand community online to gain access to free content (69.6%), the highest motivations are to learn (78.6%) and get access to advance news of products (76.1%). In the influence economy, information is clearly a very valuable commodity. These motivations are prevalent across all markets but when we look regionally we can see that there are nuances (See figure 24). In Latin America brand communities are more likely to be driven by the desire to associate themselves with something (to support a cause or even something they think is cool). In Asia they are more likely to join if it was recommended to them by their peers and in the Middle East it is about feeling part of a like-minded community.
  • 57.
    57 Europe North AmericaLatin America Asia & Oceania Middle East & Africa To support a cause To share my appreciation with others To associate with something I think is cool To learn more about it To feel part of a like-minded community To get free content To fill time / have fun Because it was recommended to me To get advance news on products 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Figure 24 : Agreement with the descriptions of why they joined a brand community amongst those have ever joined a brand community online by region.
  • 58.
    The Socialisation ofBrands What’s the benefit to brands? The other big debate in social media is identifying the value of brand community engagement and interaction. Of those people who joined a brand community, 72% said they thought more positively of the brand as a result, 71% said they are more likely to buy the brand, 66% said they felt more loyal to the brand and 63% said they recommended others to join. So clearly there is an opportunity to build brand equity, drive sales, increase loyalty and create brand endorsement all of which sounds a lot like the holy grail of marketing communications. Of course, things are not so simple or easy. In order to create a social media experience that will benefit the brand in these ways we must first understand what kind of social media experience consumers want. Figure 25 : “As a result of joining a brand community, please indicate how much you agree with the following statements?” 72% 71% 66% 63% “I thought more positively of the brand” “I am more likely to buy the brand” “I felt more loyal towards the brand” “I recommended others to join”
  • 59.
    59 Mapping the rightsocial media experience There are four steps to identifying the right social media experience for brands: • Understand the social landscape of the category • Identify where the consumer fits in this landscape • Identify the social needs of the consumer in the category • Map them to social media platforms that can best deliver them
  • 60.
    The Socialisation ofBrands The social landscape of categories The first thing we need to understand is the level of social activity in each category. We do this by mapping involvement across a spectrum of social engagement. From those actively creating content and collaborating with others to those simply seeking information. What we see is that certain categories with very broad appeal, like music and movies, have large numbers of people engaged in collaboration, creation, sharing and seeking. Conversely, categories like sport or fashion have a much smaller number of people engaged in the category but a higher proportion of those are actively collaborating. However, in all categories there are significant numbers of people already actively engaging with brands and companies. The reason why it is important to understand the consumers current level of engagement with the category is because it has a fundamental effect on the depth of social interaction they want.
  • 61.
    61 Figure 26 :“Thinking about how you seek and share information regarding different products and services, which of the following statements best describe how you seek and share information in each of the following categories?” Numbers of consumers (in 000’s). Note: consumers can be active in more than one segment within a category. 600,000 400,000 200,000 0 200,000 400,000 600,000 800,000 Wine, spirits & alcohol Non-alcoholic drinks Luxury goods Cosmetics Console/PC Gaming Sport Cars Portable technology Fashion Energy & environment Computer hardware Personal finance Household products Home technology Travel Mobile phones and services Computer software Food Health & wellbeing Music Movies I create content and collaborate with people and companies in this category I share opinions, content and informationin this category I often seek informationin this category to keep up to date I sometimes seekinformation inthis category when I need it
  • 62.
    The Socialisation ofBrands Different categories, different audiences, different needs We can see that different categories have different social media needs. Analysis of the movie and health categories, for example, show that access to fun content is key for the movie category (unsurprisingly in a very visual and content rich medium) whereas learning is the dominant need in the health category (see Figure 27). Movies Health & Wellbeing Access to fun and entertaining content Access to breaking news An opportunity to learn something new Access to unique events or competitions Communicate and share experiences with others A personal response to my issues / complaints An opportunity to develop my skills Tools help express creativity and make something worth sharing Contact employee decision makers and influence product development 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Figure 27 : “Thinking about companies in the following categories, which of following statements describes the kind of interaction you would like to have with these companies?” amongst those who show an interest in the category
  • 63.
    63 I create andcollaborate with people and companies in this category I often / sometimes seek information in this category to keep up to date An opportunity to learn something new An opportunity to develop my skills Access to breaking news Free coupons / money-off vouchers Access to fun and entertaining contentA personal response to my issues / complaints Communicate and share experiences with others Access to unique events and competitions Tools help express creativity and make something worth sharing Contact employee decision makers and influence product development 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% And it’s not just the category differences that we have to take into account. We also need to consider current category behaviour as this has a significant impact on their social needs and expectations. When we look at people actively engaged in the Computer Software category, for example, we can see that the demand for customer service (a personal response to issues and complaints) is equally important to both content creators/collaborators and seekers of information (see Figure 28). However, in all other regards creators/collaborators want a much deeper and more diverse social relationship but in particular we see that learning and skills development are the key social needs. Figure 28 : “Thinking about companies in the computer software category, which of following statements describes the kind of interaction you would like to have with these companies?” amongst those who create content or seek information in the category.
  • 64.
    The Socialisation ofBrands Mapping needs to platforms Clearly, understanding the social needs of the consumer is the key to creating a successful social media programme. If all the consumer wants is access to information and news there is no point in creating an all singing, all dancing interactive content sharing platform. On the other hand if they want to be involved directly with product development then access to new news is unlikely to be involving or compelling. Since these needs differ widely by country, category and audience it is essential to have a granular view of the social dynamics at play. The other important factor is an understanding of which platforms and forms of communication best meet these needs. Wave 5 – The Socialisation of Brands also contains a wealth of information that can help identify the most influential platforms at both macro and micro level. We believe that the combination of social need state and the ability of platforms to meet these needs gives us the crucial insight required.
  • 65.
    65 Personalised ad onsocial network page Sponsored link on social network page Ad on a blog Sponsored music / video player Recommendation from a friendSponsored link on a search engine Opportunity to develop my skills Access to unique events Share experiences with other customers Influence product development Portable Technology Personal Finance Energy & The Environment Home Technology Music Travel Movies FoodFashion Wine, Spirits & Alcohol Luxury Goods Cosmetics Console / PC Gaming Sport Cars Computer Software Brand website Mobile Telecommunication Sponsored link on a website on Widgetonasocialnetwork Communicatemyexperiences Company/BrandBLOG InstantMessenger Company/BrandBLOG Onlinebrandedvideoclip Expertrecommendation Toolstohelpexpress Accesstobreakingnews Recommendationofa age develop m C website Video clip online featuring a brand
  • 67.
  • 68.
    The Socialisation ofBrands The impact Social media is an incredibly dynamic environment. Terms like “friend” and “influencer” are no longer adequate to describe the array of social activity and interaction that is occurring amongst the vast communities now being built online. A deeper understanding of consumer needs and motivations is the key to unlocking a real understanding of social media and its users. Social networks are becoming powerful hubs of interconnected communities but it’s not just people that are connecting in the social media space. There is huge demand for a more social and interactive relationships with brands. Almost half of the Active Internet Universe has already joined a brand community. These communities are also clearly having a huge benefit to the brands involved, driving brand loyalty, endorsement and sales. However, understanding the nature of social demand for each consumer, category and market is the key to creating a successful social media experience.
  • 69.
    69 What does thismean for your business? Wave 5 – The Socialisation of Brands is an in-depth study and there are many other aspects that we are unable to cover in this report. If you want to know how to operate in the new social media landscape and what this means for your business please contact:- EMEA Glen Parker Research Director - EMEA Glen.Parker@umww.com North America Heidi Browning EVP Global Digital Officer Heidi.Browning@umww.com Huw Griffiths EVP Global Director of Research Huw.Griffiths@umww.com APAC Natalie Pidgeon Director IQ and Insights - APAC Natalie.Pidgeon@umww.com LatAm Mario Mejia Strategic Director - Colombia / LatAm Mario.Mejia@umww.com
  • 70.
    The Socialisation ofBrands About this report Wave 5 - The Socialisation of Brands is part of UM’s ongoing research programme aimed at exploring the massive changes occurring in communication technologies. The studies have been conducted annually since 2006. The research is conducted by the UM EMEA research team in collaboration with the UM global network of agencies. If you have any questions about the research or future Wave projects please contact the EMEA research team Glen Parker Research Director EMEA Glen.Parker@umww.com Lindsey Thomas Research Executive EMEA Lindsey.Thomas@umww.com © UM 2010
  • 71.
    This report isprinted on Cocoon Offset: a paper produced using eco-sensitive technology from 100% recycled and de-inked fibres (FSC certified) Designed & illustrated with love by