Faces of Social Media: Percep2ons in 2013
Jan 13, 2015
Faces of Social Media:
Percep2ons in 2013
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Remember when social media was comprised of male engineers?
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MySpace takes social to the next level, implemen/ng the concept of connec/ng with friends and personal “walls.”
Innova/ve AOL sets the stage for social networking before we even know it as “social.”
Pinterest allows for social sharing of photo collec/on ‘pinboards’.
Instagram features mobile photo sharing.
LinkedIn brings business networking online.
TwiOer brings a more real-‐/me experience to social media.
Google creates G+ to get back in the game.
Facebook is born, forever changing social media.
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Over 1 billion users
Over 500 million users
Over 200 million business professionals
Over 500 million users
Over 100 million users
Over 48.5 million users
Over 25 million users
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“What are the respec2ve personali2es of these communi2es and where will they be going in the future?”
As we’ve witnessed this explosion of social media, we con/nually ask ourselves,
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To answer these ques/ons, MSI deployed an interac/ve methodology where par/cipants were asked to associate photos of a cross sec/on* of people with each of the major social networks.
In essence – have consumers put a face on the social media outlets.
*Note: In an effort to reduce par/cipant burden, we focused solely on age and gender. The inclusion of race would have at least tripled the number of photos to be sorted.
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Methodology
Sample Size
• 628 total online interviews leveraging a free associa/on technique
• Sampling error of +/-‐ 3.9% at 95% confidence interval
Respondent Criteria
• 18 years of age or older • Not in sensi/ve industry
Data Collec2on
• February 2013
Interview Length
• 13 minutes
• Personality aOributes of the faces of social media • Associa/on of 10 faces to social networking sites • Social media usage habits
Survey Topic and Content
• Completes were stra/fied and balanced by age and gender of online popula/on
Sampling Specifica2ons
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Percep2ons of our faces
Teens’ faces were viewed as being on the cuOng edge of social trends.
Seniors were seen as conserva2ve, family-‐oriented, trustworthy and set in their ways.
Gen X and Gen Y males and females shared the trait of needing to be the best.
Differences by gender were most prominent among the Baby Boomers, where the male was viewed as a leader and the female was associated with maternal traits.
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to social networks? So how do these
associa/ons carry through
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Key findings:
On average, consumers allocate 6 of our faces to Facebook, indica/ng greater user diversity. In contrast, other sites received about 3-‐4 faces, sugges/ng a much narrower user profile.
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Social network site associa2on
Teen Females (74%)
Gen Y Females (68%)
Teen Males (66%)
Gen X Females (53%)
Gen Y Males (48%)
Most associated with:
Boomer Females (42%)
Teen Females (58%)
Gen Y Females (43%)
Teen Males (46%)
Most associated with:
Gen X Males (70%)
Boomer Males (67%)
Gen Y Males (67%)
Most associated with:
Boomer Females (53%)
Teen Females (40%)
Gen Y Females (46%)
Gen X Females (47%)
Most associated with:
Boomer Females (44%)
Teen Females (65%)
Gen Y Females (52%)
Teen Males (61%)
Gen Y Males (41%)
Most associated with:
Gen Y Males (44%)
Most associated with:
Gen X Males (42%)
Senior Males (34%)
Boomer Males (43%)
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Key findings:
18 years old
55+ years old
When it comes to awareness, Facebook is pervasive across all ages, while Instagram doesn’t resonate among those over 45.
Pinterest is most recognized to middle-‐age consumers.
45 years old
© 2013 MSI Interna/onal 13 * Usage data based to online popula1on.
Key findings: When it comes to usage, Facebook usage is high among all age groups. Instagram and Pinterest are clearly used more by those under 35. Usage of LinkedIn increases with age*.
35 to 55+ years 18 to 35 years
18 to 55+ years
© 2013 MSI Interna/onal 14 * Usage data based to online popula1on.
Key findings: When we look at age and gender, Instagram, TwiOer and Google+ clearly appeal
to the under 35 demographic. Pinterest and to some extent Instagram skew more female. And LinkedIn is more popular with older males and females.*
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most associated with them?
We then asked ourselves, what is the personality of these
sites based on the faces
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Social Network Site Associa2on Personality: • Diverse personality to match
the diverse user profile
Personality: • Care about social status • Social buOerflies • Prefer movies to books • Not seen as workaholics
Personality: • Need to be best at what they do • Workaholics • Independent • Leaders of the pack
Personality: • Care about social status • Not conserva/ve
Personality: • Social buOerflies • Wait in line for newest technology • Trend seOers • Not conserva/ve
Personality: • Need to be the best at what they do • Not ar/s/c • Set in their ways
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But since change is inevitable, what does the future hold?
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Using momentum as an indicator, people see these 5 sites on the rise:
*Bases vary
When asked, respondents indicated that the following sites were on their way up and have a lot going for them.* No2ce how Pinterest has the highest momentum among all age groups.
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Further, women believe that Pinterest is the brand with the highest momentum by a large margin.
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And given that Instagram and TwiXer are younger sites, these are worth watching as far as future growth. Let’s not forget that Facebook started as a social network of predominantly young people.
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But Facebook is not “dying out.” In fact, it appears that younger adults are not abandoning Facebook for the newer alterna/ves – rather they’re adding other sites and simultaneously increasing their usage of social media overall.
Interested in learning more about the kind of marke/ng research insight MSI can provide for your company?
Contact us at: [email protected] 610-‐265-‐2000
Or visit our website: msimsi.com