Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Tweets
NEW YORK, June 3 /PRNewswire/ — As of last week, Twitter’s 105 million users had collectively sent 15 billion tweets. Earlier this year, Facebook reached over 400 million active users — more members than the populations of Japan, Mexico and Russia, combined. Given these numbers, it’s not surprising that nearly two-thirds (64%) of online Americans use social media, and most social media users (84%) reveal information about themselves via social media channels.
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Not only are many Americans sharing updates about their life (43%), what they are currently doing (36%), and places they are going (31%), many are also revealing brand, product and company preferences. Specifically, about one-quarter are revealing their dissatisfaction with companies, brands or products (26%), talking about companies, brands or products they like (23%) or giving product reviews and recommendations (19%). In fact, one-third (34%) indicate they have used social media as an outlet to rant or rave about a company, brand or product.
These are some of the findings of the Harris Poll, conducted online between April 28 and 30, 2010, among 2,131 U.S. adults ages 18 and over.
However, it’s not just what people are sharing about themselves through social media; it’s why they are sharing. Nearly two in five online adults (38%) say they aim to influence others when expressing their preferences online and almost half (46%) feel they can be brutally honest on the Internet.
Sharing Brand, Company or Product Recommendations via Social Media
While online Americans aged 55 and older are less likely to use social media compared to younger Americans (43% of those 55 and older, versus 78% of 18-34 year olds, 71% of 35-44 year olds and 59% of 45-54 year olds), all age groups who use social media are equally likely to share their dissatisfaction with a company, brand or product via social media (25% of those 18-34 years old, 26% of those 35-44 years old, 25% of those 45-54 years old and 29% of those aged 55 and up).
And what people say online about companies, brands and products matters. In fact, nearly half of Americans who use social media say reviews about a particular company, brand or product from friends or people they follow on social networking websites influence them either a great deal or a fair amount (45%) – the same number as Americans who say reviews in newspaper or magazine articles influence them (46%).
Younger Generations Aim to Be Heard Online
Many people who express their preferences online do so with the intention of influencing others. Nearly two in five online adults (38%) say they aim to influence others when they express their opinions online, including nearly half of 18-34 year olds (45%). In fact, it seems 18-34 year olds are less hesitant to voice their opinions, as half (51%) say they feel like they can be brutally honest on the Internet, compared to two in five of both 45-54 year olds (41%) and those 55 and up (40%). Additionally, over two in five 18-34 year olds (44%) have used social media as an outlet to rant or rave about a company, brand or product — much more so than those 55 and up (16%).
So What?
While most Americans don’t reveal everything about themselves via social media, it can be a good place to start to gauge people’s preferences. In fact, even though they may not reveal everything, 83% say they know that by participating in social media, they are giving up some of their privacy. With this in mind, as the social networking world continues to grow, it will be increasingly important for companies to use social networks to better understand their audience.
Despite some of the differences between younger and older Americans in their use of social media, a majority of Americans (78%) agree that what they reveal about themselves on social networking sites is just a snapshot, not a complete portrait, of who they are. Because of this, companies cannot rely on monitoring social media alone to hear their customers’ voices. Rather, it is important for companies to get the 360 degree view of their target audiences through a variety of mediums, including social media sites.
TABLE 1
USES SOCIAL MEDIA
“Which of the following, if any, do you share about yourself through social media? When thinking about social media, please think of blogs, microblogs, message boards, comments you leave on articles, social networking websites, and photo and video sharing websites. Please select all that apply.”
Base: All online adults
Age
Total 18-34 35-44 45-54 55+
% % % % %
Use social media (NET) 64 78 71 59 43
I do not use social media 36 22 29 41 57
------------------------- --- --- --- --- ---
TABLE 2
PERSONAL SHARING IN SOCIAL MEDIA
“Which of the following, if any, do you share about yourself through social media? When thinking about social media, please think of blogs, microblogs, message boards, comments you leave on articles, social networking websites, and photo and video sharing websites. Please select all that apply.”
Base: All online adults who use social media*
Age
Total 18-34 35-44 45-54 55+
% % % % %
Any (NET) 84 87 84 80 82
Updates about my life 43 52 46 37 28
My age 43 47 39 41 40
Pictures of what I've been doing 43 51 49 34 24
What I'm currently doing 36 45 40 21 27
Places I am going 31 38 33 23 21
Links to articles I like 30 33 30 26 29
Recommendations about fun things to do 30 32 34 27 25
TV and movie recommendations 29 36 28 22 23
My dissatisfaction with a company, brand
or product 26 25 26 25 29
My political views 25 24 22 26 30
The companies, brands or products I like 23 23 23 26 21
My religious beliefs 23 27 17 22 22
Product reviews and recommendations 19 18 18 18 24
Information about myself that I wouldn't
normally tell people face-to-face 6 7 6 5 2
Embarrassing questions I have that I
would never ask someone in person 4 5 5 2 1
Other 8 8 10 10 4
-----
None 16 13 16 20 18
---- --- --- --- --- ---
Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.
*64% of all online Americans use social media; 36% do not.
TABLE 3
SOCIAL MEDIA USES
“Please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements.”
Base: Variable base
Agree Strongly Somewhat Disagree
(NET) Agree Agree (NET)
----- -------- -------- --------
% % % %
--- --- --- ---
I understand that by
participating in social
media, I'm giving up
part of my privacy 83 41 42 9
------------------------ --- --- --- ---
Base: Adults who use
social media
---------------------
What I reveal about
myself on social
networking sites is just
a snapshot, not a
complete portrait, of
who I am. 78 45 33 11
------------------------- --- --- --- ---
Base: Adults who use
social media
---------------------
I feel like I can be
brutally honest on the
Internet. 46 16 30 36
----------------------- --- --- --- ---
Base: All online adults
------------------------
I aim to influence others
when I express my
preferences online. 38 9 30 40
------------------------- --- --- --- ---
Base: All online adults
------------------------
I have used social media
as an outlet to rant or
rave about a company,
brand or product. 34 11 22 54
------------------------ --- --- --- ---
Base: Adults who use
social media
---------------------
Somewhat Strongly Not
Disagree Disagree applicable
-------- -------- ----------
% % %
--- --- ---
I understand that by
participating in social
media, I'm giving up
part of my privacy 6 3 8
------------------------ --- --- ---
Base: Adults who use
social media
---------------------
What I reveal about
myself on social
networking sites is just
a snapshot, not a
complete portrait, of
who I am. 7 4 11
------------------------- --- --- ---
Base: Adults who use
social media
---------------------
I feel like I can be
brutally honest on the
Internet. 20 16 18
----------------------- --- --- ---
Base: All online adults
------------------------
I aim to influence others
when I express my
preferences online. 22 18 22
------------------------- --- --- ---
Base: All online adults
------------------------
I have used social media
as an outlet to rant or
rave about a company,
brand or product. 19 35 13
------------------------ --- --- ---
Base: Adults who use
social media
---------------------
Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.
TABLE 4
SOCIAL MEDIA USES
“Please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements.”
Percent saying “strongly agree” or “somewhat agree”
Base: Variable base
Age
Total 18-34 35-44 45-54 55+
% % % % %
I understand that by participating in
social media, I'm giving up part of
my privacy 83 85 87 78 82
Base: Adults who use social media
What I reveal about myself on social
networking sites is just a snapshot,
not a complete portrait, of who I
am. 78 81 82 73 71
Base: Adults who use social media
I feel like I can be brutally honest
on the Internet. 46 51 50 41 40
Base: All online adults
I aim to influence others when I
express my preferences online. 38 45 39 37 29
Base: All online adults
I have used social media as an outlet
to rant or rave about a company,
brand or product. 34 44 35 25 16
------------------------------------- --- --- --- --- ---
Base: Adults who use social media
----------------------------------
Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.
TABLE 5
INFLUENTIAL REVIEWS
“In general, how much do each of the following types of reviews influence your decision to use or not use a particular company, brand or product?”
Base: Variable base
A great
deal/ A
fair
amount A fair
(NET) A amount
great
deal
% % %
Reviews from family
members or friends 71 39 33
Base: All online
adults
Reviews in newspapers
or magazine articles 46 12 34
Base: All online
adults
Reviews from friends
or people I follow on
social networking
websites 45 16 29
Base: Adults who use
social media
Reviews on blogs or
message boards 33 7 26
Base: Adults who use
social media
Reviews from
celebrities 10 2 8
Base: All online
adults
A
little/
Not Not
at all at Not
(NET) A all applicable
little
% % % %
Reviews from family
members or friends 24 17 8 4
Base: All online
adults
Reviews in newspapers
or magazine articles 50 32 17 4
Base: All online
adults
Reviews from friends
or people I follow on
social networking
websites 51 29 21 5
Base: Adults who use
social media
Reviews on blogs or
message boards 61 28 33 7
Base: Adults who use
social media
Reviews from
celebrities 84 19 65 5
Base: All online
adults
Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.
TABLE 6
INFLUENTIAL REVIEWS
“In general, how much do each of the following types of reviews influence your decision to use or not use a particular company, brand or product?”
Percent saying “a great deal” or “a fair amount”
Base: All online adults
Age
Total 18-34 35-44 45-54 55+
% % % % %
Reviews from family members or
friends 71 69 76 71 71
Base: All online adults
Reviews in newspapers or magazine
articles 46 45 48 48 44
Base: All online adults
Reviews from friends or people I
follow on social networking websites 45 50 44 41 37
Base: Adults who use social media
Reviews on blogs or message boards 33 41 35 28 18
Base: Adults who use social media
Reviews from celebrities 10 17 8 8 5
------------------------ --- --- --- --- ---
Base: All online adults
------------------------
Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.
Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between April 28 and 30, 2010 among 2,131 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. These data were also weighted to reflect the composition of the adult online population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.
All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.
The Harris Poll® #74, June 3, 2010
By Whitney Heckathorne, Marketing Manager, Harris Interactive
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is one of the world’s leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients – stay ahead of what’s next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.
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SOURCE Harris Interactive
