Table of Contents
Issues in the Market
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- Main issues
- Definition
- Abbreviations
Insights and Opportunities
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- Inform, not intrude
- Open platforms to make the connections
- New voyages of discovery
- Communicate your resource
Market in Brief
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- Growth stalls as market races to maturity
- Mobile the springboard for future success
- New competition builds alternative routes to the future
- Security and privacy issues: Education and verification
- Market share the new social media battleground
- Your social network: resource or communication tool?
- Downscale demographics can dent advertiser appeal
- Networking acquires a social conscience
- Innovation the name of the social media game
Fast Forward Trends
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- Trend 1: Location, location, location
- What’s it about?
- Observations
- What next?
- Trend 2: Transumers
- What’s it about?
- Observations
- What next?
Broader Market Environment
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- Key points
- Increasing penetration of broadband
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- Figure 1: Percentage of adults with access to broadband and dial-up Internet at home, 2003-07
- Broadband take-up drives networking
- Focus switching from quantity to quality
- Increasing penetration of PCs
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- Figure 2: Household ownership of PCs, 2002-07
- Computer users increasingly mobile
- Online networking: Anti-social for the PC industry?
- Mobile networking
- Flat-rate Internet access key to the future of mobile networking
- Consumers want to network on the move
- Rising PDI
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- Figure 3: Total PDI, consumer expenditure and savings, 2003-13
- An ageing population
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- Figure 4: Population, by age group, 2002-13
- Older consumers see value in online networking
- The ‘digital divide’ switches from age to connectivity
- An expanding population
- Girls on board
- Rising number of one-person households
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- Figure 5: Total number of UK households and one-person households, 1991-2013
- Online networking connects people living alone
- Open platforms open new commercial possibilities
- Gaming a driver of network use among men
- Safety and privacy
- Reports generate prospect of some regulation
- Members feel safe, value privacy
- Multimedia potential: Is networking a winning formula offline?
- Marketing
- Data and demographics give networks advertiser appeal
- Integrating brands
- The application of e-commerce
- Word of mouse from the recommendation generation
- Hyper-targeting
Competitive Context
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- Key points
- Internal competition: Antisocial media?
- The future: dedication, convenience or utility?
- External competition: the rest of the web
Who’s Innovating?
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- Search and ye shall find (social networks)
- Advertisers’ eggs-cuse me…
- Do your own Ning
- Networks in residence
- Loan arrangers
- Social history
- Does my bum look big in this?
Market Size and Forecast
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- Key points
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- Figure 6: Social networking websites, total unique visitors, July 2007-February 2008
- The past: We have lift-off
- The present: Pause for thought
- Quality, not quantity
- The future: Big and clever
- Bigger…
- …smarter
Market Share
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- Key points
- Gain share, raise engagement
- Facebook and Bebo joust for leadership
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- Figure 7: Social networking websites, market share (unique visitors), February 2007-February 2008
- More people seeing a specialist
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- Figure 8: Social networking websites, growth in market share (visits), February 2007-February 2008
Companies and Products
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- Figure 9: Online social network membership numbers, 2008
- Friends Reunited
- Bebo
- MySpace
- Faceparty
- Second Life
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Brand Elements
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- Brand map
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- Figure 10: Attitudes towards and usage of social networking sites, February 2008
- Bebo
- What the brand is trying to achieve
- What the consumer thinks
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- Figure 11: Attitudes towards the Bebo brand, February 2008
- What the brand is trying to achieve
- What the consumer thinks
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- Figure 12: Attitudes towards the Facebook brand, February 2008
- Friends Reunited
- What the brand is trying to achieve
- What the consumer thinks
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- Figure 13: Attitudes towards the Friends Reunited brand, February 2008
- What the brand is trying to achieve
- What the consumer thinks
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- Figure 14: Attitudes towards the LinkedIn brand, February 2008
- MySpace
- What the brand is trying to achieve
- What the consumer thinks
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- Figure 15: Attitudes towards the MySpace brand, February 2008
- Brand qualities of social networking sites
- Facebook most addictive, but all brands are seen as quite overrated.
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- Figure 16: Personality of various social networking sites, February 2008
- Intentions of social networking sites
- Facebook has the highest retention
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- Figure 17: Consideration of various social networking sites, February 2008
- Momentum of social networking sites
- MySpace losing ground to Facebook
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- Figure 18: Momentum of various social networking sites, February 2008
- Brand satisfaction for social networking sites
- Facebook has most excellent satisfaction, MySpace struggles
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- Figure 19: Satisfaction with various social networking sites, February 2008
- Brand commitment to social networking brands
- Facebook users most committed, Bebo and MySpace most promiscuous
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- Figure 20: Commitment to various social networking sites, February 2007
- Round up
Who Uses Social Networking Websites?
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- Key points
- Networking provides a social service
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- Figure 21: Usage of social networking websites, by gender and age, March 2008
- Viral growth sweeps cities
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- Figure 22: Social networking use by region, March 2008
Who Uses Which Network?
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- Key points
- Women looking beyond the mainstream?
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- Figure 23: Penetration of social network sites, by gender, March 2008
- Some networks more attractive commercially than others
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- Figure 24: Penetration of social network sites, by income and working status, March 2008
- Word of mouth drives clicks of mouse
Where do we Network?
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- Key point
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- Figure 25: Where consumers access social networks, by frequency of usage, March 2008
- Consumers partition their media day
- Social media must hook up with mobile
With Which Online Social Networks are Members Most Engaged?
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- Key points
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- Figure 26: Usage of social networking sites, March 2008
- Why is Facebook so addictive?
- Communication v resource
How Do We Use Social Networks?
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- Key points
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- Figure 27: Usage of social networking sites, March 2008
- Have I shown you my holiday snaps?
- A new view on engagement
What Do We Do Outside Our Social Networks?
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- Key point
- Mainstream networkers: Less active physically, more active online
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- Figure 28: Leisure statements, by social networking site, March 2008
- Console-ation prize of younger networkers?
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- Figure 29: Selected technology usage by choice of social networking site, March 2008
- Users gravitate to level of technical ability
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- Figure 30: Selected online activities in the last three months, by choice of social networking site, March 2008
More Time Social Networking, Less Time Doing What?
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- Key point
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- Figure 31: Activities doing less of as a result of social networking use, March 2008
- Communicate to accumulate
- Going out not going out of fashion
- Online social (security) networking
- Fewer calls waiting
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- Figure 32: Making fewer mobile/landline calls as a result of social networking use, March 2008
- Slow death for instant messaging?
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- Figure 33: Doing less instant messaging as a result of social network use, March 2008
What Do We Think About Online Social Networks?
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- Key points
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- Figure 34: Attitudes towards social networking websites, March 2008
- Users take control of their own privacy
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- Figure 35: Attitudes towards social networking security by usage rates, March 2008
- The wisdom of avoiding crowds
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- Figure 36: Perception that there are too many people on social networks these days, by usage rates, March 2008
- Email sends defiant message
- Exclusive offers for advertisers
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- Figure 37: Selected attitudes towards social networking websites, by socio-economic group, March 2008
- Women wary online
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- Figure 38: Selected attitudes towards social networking websites, by gender, March 2008
- Sign up for adult education
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- Figure 39: Worries about children using social networking, by presence of children and age, March 2008
Social Networking and the Young
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- Key points
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- Figure 40: Social networking sites currently used, March 2008
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- Figure 41: Activities on social networking websites, March 2008
- Mobile social media makes happy snappers
- Gdbi 2 txt?
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- Figure 42: Attitudes towards social networking sites, March 2008
- No privacy on a mobile
- Teens favour an always-on network
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- Figure 43: Social networking sites currently used, by demographics, March 2008
- Boys and girls come out to play
- Minimum age compliance a significant issue
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- Figure 44: Activities on social networking websites, by demographics, March 2008
- Content preferences create greater engagement among girls
- Interest in offline media persists
Social Networking Attitudinal Groups
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- Key points
- Group 1: Carefree Neutrals
- Group 2: Not for me, thanks
- Group 3: Fans & Addicts
- Group 4: The Weary & The Hesitant
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- Figure 45: Demographic analysis of target group membership, March 2008
- Target groups forecast
- Internet penetration growth slowing
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- Figure 46: users, by age group, 2003-13
- Social networking users to increase by a quarter by 2013
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- Figure 47: Forecast of attitudinal group sizes, 2008 and 2013
- Attitudes polarised
- Only two in ten surfers will be non-members
- Methodology
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- Figure 48: Social network groups by frequency of usage
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- Figure 49: Groups by Social networking site users
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- Figure 50: What social networking sites Mintel’s groups are more likely to belong to
- Figure 51: Target groups and their change of habits due to social networking
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- Figure 52: How groups use social networking sites
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- Figure 53: Where groups access social networking sites
Appendix – Who Uses Social Networking Websites?
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- Figure 54: Usage of social networking websites, by demographic analysis, March 2008
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Appendix – Who Uses Which Network?
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- Figure 55: Users of different social networks, by demographic analysis, March 2008
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Appendix – With Which Online Social Networks are Members Most Engaged?
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- Figure 56: Usage of social networking sites, March 2008
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Appendix – How Do We Use Social Networks?
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- Figure 57: Usage of social networking sites, March 2008
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Appendix – What Do We Do Outside Our Social Networks?
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- Figure 58: Leisure statements, by social networking site, March 2008
- Figure 59: Leisure activities, by social networking site, March 2008
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- Figure 60: Technology usage, by choice of social networking site, March 2008
- Figure 61: Online activities in the last three months, by choice of social networking site, March 2008
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- Figure 62: Activities doing less of as a result of social networking use, March 2008
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Appendix – More Time Social Networking, Less Time Doing What?
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- Figure 63: Activities doing less of as a result of social networking use, March 2008
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Appendix – What Do We Think About Online Social Networks?
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- Figure 64: All users’ attitudes towards social networking websites, by demographic analysis, March 2008
- Figure 65: Further user attitudes towards social networking websites, by demographic analysis, March 2008
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- Figure 66: Further user attitudes towards social networking websites, by demographic analysis, March 2008
- Figure 67: Further user attitudes towards social networking websites, by demographic analysis, March 2008
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