CONQUEST / PROJECT CHATTER
16 February 2011
Survey confirms Facebook's dominance
- Media Type
- Social Media
- Country
- UK
- Source
- News
- Agency
- Conquest / London
- Tags
- social media
- YouTube
- Survey
Independent research agency Conquest has surveyed 334 16-24-year olds in the UK, asking about their attitudes to social media and usage habits.
David Penn, Conquest's MD, took Contagious through his picks of the research: 'We expected that Facebook would be dominant, but there aren't really any viable alternatives for this age group.' The survey found that Facebook was the social network of choice for 91% of respondents, who are accessing Facebook an average of seven times a day.
In fact, 41% of the group surveyed look to social media for trends and guidance in music, films and clothes. The idea of projecting a personality through social networks is a dominant one, as explored by Jaron Lanier in You Are Not A Gadget (subscribers can read an interview here). Almost half of those surveyed felt that they are judged by what they post on social media.
YouTube is cited as the major site for browsing videos and discovering and sharing music and videos, while Conquest foresees Twitter usage declining amongst this age group in the future - 20% anticipate using the micro network less in the following year.
Penn explains: 'Facebook is used for writing on walls, sharing photos, checking what friends are doing and keeping in contact. It is the most social site of the lot, whereas Twitter is often used for following celebrities and is not really social in that sense. It is almost more of a broadcast medium than an interactive and social one.'
According to Penn, Conquest found that 'Facebook is the natural place for brands to feed off social interaction, whereas clicking through ads is pretty passive.' Only 6% of those surveyed admit to clicking through ads on Facebook, but 16-24-year olds are more excited about brands when they are aware that they have a presence on a social network.
35% of the sample had become a fan of a brand or company on Facebook. Penn continues: 'I don't think social media works on its own, but it definitely deepens the level of engagement with brands and makes people more empathetic towards them.' He adds: 'In virtually all cases, those aware of a brand's social media presence were more excited about the brand.'
Amongst the 16-24-year olds surveyed, the group was very ready to engage with brands and 41% would share positive stories about brands, according to Penn. On the flip side, 49% would share negative brand experiences with friends via social networks.
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COMMENTS /
Duncan Pringle
I have commented before about the great value of research but we need more clarity was the sample representative nationally? why only 334 as a sample size when you can talk with thousands online? Also is the research just about visitng the site? Lots of Youtube videos are watched while on Facebook does that not count as a visit? detach and distribute content etc. ? Maybe less visits to Youtube but their content gets shared and viewed more widely!