Table of Contents
Issues in the Market
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- Definition
- Abbreviations
Future Opportunities
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- Is there too little customisation in Facebook?
- Older people social network, too
- Social networks designed to improve productivity
Market in Brief
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- Continued popularity, but not much change in activity
- Facebook is the dominant market player
- Attitudes towards social networks may not be set in stone
Internal Market Environment
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- Key points
- Rising PC ownership
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- Figure 1: Trends in PC ownership, 2002-08
- Broadband: the lynchpin for social network success
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- Figure 2: Trends in broadband connection at home, 2004-09
- Ownership of more advanced technology
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- Figure 3: Technology owned at home, August 2009
- Social networking a main activity of UK internet users
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- Figure 4: Top 20 UK websites by reach, three-month average, July-September 2009
Broader Market Environment
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- Key points
- Social networks benefit from the downturn
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- Figure 5: Trends in personal disposable income and consumer expenditure, 2004-14
- An ageing population could pose challenges
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- Figure 6: Trends in the age structure of the UK population, by gender, 2004-14
Competitive Context
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- Key points
- Not everyone is a technology expert
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- Figure 7: Awareness of new technology currently available in the marketplace, 2008 and 2009
- More ways of playing games online than ever
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- Figure 8: How games are played online, April 2009
- Competing against specialised sites
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- Figure 9: Types of activity undertaken on the internet in the last three months, October 2008-October 2009
- Google gets in on the act
- Social networks as an advertising channel
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- Figure 10: Types of sites on which online ads are most likely to be paid attention to, August 2009
Strengths and Weaknesses in the Market
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- Strengths
- Weaknesses
Who’s Innovating?
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- Key points
- Corporate social networks
- Facebook Reconnect
- Online memorials
- A green social network
- Honk if you want a new car
Leading Social Networks and Their Users
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- Key points
- Incorporating internet metrics
- Facebook continues to dominate the UK market
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- Figure 11: Overall usage of social networks, three-month average, July-September 2009
- Facebook versus Twitter
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- Figure 12: Percentage reach of selected social networking sites across the total internet population, September 2008-09
- Can MySpace fight back?
- What next for Bebo?
- Facebook most popular, and most widely used by age
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- Figure 13: Audience levels of selected social networks, by total penetration, age and gender, three-month average, July-September 2009
- Figure 14: Percentage reach of selected social networks, by total penetration, age and gender, three-month average, July-September 2009
Companies and Products
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- Key points
- Bebo
- Friends Reunited
- MySpace.com
Brand Communication and Promotion
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- Key points
- Adspend low across all networks
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- Figure 15: Advertising spend for selected social networks, Jan 2007-Oct 2009
- The platform for brand activity
- Branded applications and profiles
Brand Elements
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- Key points
- Brand map
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- Figure 16: Attitudes towards and usage of social networking brands, October 2009
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- Figure 17: Attitudes towards and usage of social networking brands, by 16-24-year-olds, October 2009
- Brand qualities of social networking brands
- Facebook leads, but Bebo losing adult favour
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- Figure 18: Personalities of various social networking brands, October 2009
- Experience of social networking brands
- Twitter takes flight, Facebook maintains interest
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- Figure 19: Consumer usage of various social networking brands, October 2009
- Brand intentions for social networking brands
- Friends Reunited most considered
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- Figure 20: Consideration of various social networking brands, October 2009
- Brand satisfaction for social networking brands
- Facebook clicking all the right buttons
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- Figure 21: Satisfaction with various social networking brands, October 2009
- Brand commitment to social networking brands
- Bebo losing older interest
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- Figure 22: Commitment to various social networking brands, October 2009
- MySpace
- What the consumer thinks
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- Figure 23: Attitudes towards the MySpace brand, October 2009
- What the consumer thinks
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- Figure 24: Attitudes towards the LinkedIn brand, October 2009
- Bebo
- What the consumer thinks
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- Figure 25: Attitudes towards the Bebo brand, October 2009
- What the consumer thinks
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- Figure 26: Attitudes towards the Twitter brand, October 2009
- What the consumer thinks
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- Figure 27: Attitudes towards the Facebook brand, October 2009
Frequency of Social Network Usage
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- Key points
- More friends equals greater content creation and reason to visit
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- Figure 28: Regular* usage of social networks, September 2009
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- Figure 29: Occasional* usage of social networks, September 2009
- Widening array of applications drives record numbers to play online
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- Figure 30: Trends in usage of social netowrks, March 2008 to September 2009
- Facebook has the broadest reach among older, regular internet users
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- Figure 31: Regular users of selected social networks, by gender and age, September 2009
Where do People Access Social Networks?
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- Key points
- Mobile access niche due to smart phone penetration
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- Figure 32: Where people access social networking sites, September 2009
- Early adopters most likely to surf… but not for too much longer
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- Figure 33: Where people access social networking sites, by gender and age, September 2009
- The rise of social aggregators
- Facebook launches its ‘connect’ mobile service
- Mobile hardware and social networks become more interlinked
- Access at work leads more companies to block social networking usage
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- Figure 34: Trends for where people access social networking sites, March 2008-September 2009
- Facebook the most popular social network accessed via mobiles
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- Figure 35: Usage of different social networks by where people access social networking sites, September 2009
Reasons for Using a Social Network
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- Key points
- More emphasis on friends than advanced site functionality
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- Figure 36: Use of social networks, September 2009
- Research over time shows advanced usage stagnating
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- Figure 37: Trends for use of social networks, March 2008-September 2009
- Differences by age
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- Figure 38: Use of social networks, by age, September 2009
- Differences by gender
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- Figure 39: Use of social networks, by age, September 2009
- Reasons to visit social network by social networking destination
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- Figure 40: Most popular usage of different social networks, by use of networks, September 2009
- Figure 41: Next most popular usage of different social networks, by use of networks, September 2009
- Mobile users have more reasons to use social network sites
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- Figure 42: Use of social networks, by where access sites, September 2009
Attitudes Towards Social Network Security
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- Key points
- Greater awareness of security issues, but there are still gaps
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- Figure 43: Trends in attitudes towards security and use of social networks, December 2008-September 2009
- Attitudes towards security by gender
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- Figure 44: Attitudes towards security and use of social networks, by gender, September 2009
- Attitudes towards security by age
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- Figure 45: Attitudes towards security and use of social networks, by age, September 2009
- Attitudes towards security by social network used
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- Figure 46: Most popular usage of different social networks, by attitudes towards security and use of social networks, September 2009
- Figure 47: Next most popular usage of different social networks, by attitudes towards security and use of social networks, September 2009
General Attitudes Towards Social Networks
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- Key points
- Low interest in virtual goods, for now
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- Figure 48: Attitudes towards social networking in general, September 2009
- Virtual goods are profitable
- Future for buying goods and services socially
- Attitudes versus regular and occasional users
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- Figure 49: Attitudes towards social networking in general, by regular and occasional users of social networks, September 2009
- Attitudes versus where accessed
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- Figure 50: Attitudes towards social networking in general, by where access sites, September 2009
Appendix – Leading Social Networks and Their Users
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- Figure 51: Media Metrix Core Measures Definitions User Guide
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Appendix – Frequency of Social Network Usage
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- Figure 52: Regular* usage of social networks, September 2009
- Figure 53: Occasional* usage of social networks, September 2009
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- Figure 54: Regular usage of social networks, by demographics, September 2009
- Figure 55: Occasional usage of social networks, by demographics, September 2009
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Appendix – Where do People Access Social Networks?
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- Figure 56: Where people access social networking sites, by demographics, September 2009
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Appendix – Reasons for Using a Social Network
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- Figure 57: Most popular use of networks, by demographics, September 2009
- Figure 58: Next most popular use of networks, by demographics, September 2009 (continued)
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Appendix – Attitudes Towards Social Network Security
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- Key analysis
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- Figure 59: Most popular attitudes towards security and use of social networks, by demographics, September 2009
- Figure 60: Next most popular attitudes towards security and use of social networks, by demographics, September 2009
Appendix – General Attitudes Towards Social Networks
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- Figure 61: Most popular attitudes towards social networking in general, by demographics, September 2009
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