Upload
donna-marie-antoniadis
View
215
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
1/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
1
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
The Power of Social Networking
For Women Research Study
Not long ago social networking was still in the early stages of the innovationadoption curve, primarily used by teenagers and young adults. Now SocialNetworking has been woven into the fabric of everyday life and beyond thepurview of the young. It has gained enough momentum to move further alongthe curve into new segments of users. We would like to share with you ourexploration into how pervasive Social Networking has become for women.
Copyright 2009 ShesConnected Multimedia Corp.
Connecting women to your brand through social media
July 2009
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
2/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
2
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
The Power of Social Networking forWomen: A compilation of primary andsecondary research
Social Marketing to WomenVolume 1
July 2009
Research Topics Overview of Social Networking
Importance of women in Social Networks
Implications for advertisers and agencies
Evaluating social marketing research
Who the report is written for: Online Advertisers
Brand Managers
Agencies
Benefits of this report: Provides an overview of the social media landscape
Provides insights and recommendations to
advertisers and agencies that market or areconsidering marketing on Social Networks
Provide a perspective on market research used for
social media decisions
Contents
3 About ShesConnected
3 Purpose of study3 Methodology used4 Executive summary5 Overview of Social Networks7 Women and Social Media7 Results of primary research8 Demographic profile of respondents
Age
Ethnicity
Relationship status
Number of children
Work status Education
12 Attitudes and behaviors of women on
Social Networks Hours spent online
Number of Social Networks you belong to
Features used online
Frequency of using features
Importance of online activities
Social Networks they have joined
Frequency of using Social Networks
How they found about the Social Network they joined
Why they joined
Number of groups they have joined or started
Types of groups they have joined or started
Number of friends or connections
Concerns about Social Networks
Most important tools or features on a Social Network
How long they have been using Social Networks
How proficient they are on Social Networks
Comfort with various means of Social Network revenue
32 Key findings
33 Footnotes
34
Harvesting insights from social media35 Brief market research tutorial
36 Authors
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
3/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
3
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Who we areShesConnected Multimedia Corp. - connecting women to our clients brands
ShesConnected Multimedia is a unique social media agency designed to leverage the power of Social Networking
and social media to engage women in meaningful and relevant ways. ShesConnected combines agency expertise
with an online community of women to deliver gender-smart marketing. ShesConnected is made up of the following
capabilities:
Social Media Agency (www.shesconnectedmultimedia.com)
Social Network for Women (www.shesconnected.com)
Women Bloggers and Twitter Network (www.shesconnectednetwork.com)
We use market research, analytics, and modeling to craft highly viral social media strategies and programs targeted
to women.
This unique approach is the reason why leading organizations turn to ShesConnected for their social mediasolutions. Our team of strategists, account directors, community managers, analyst, designers, writers, and
developers are highly trained and experienced in social media as well as marketing to women. Whether you are
looking for a social media strategy, or how to integrate social media into your marketing mix; ShesConnected has the
expertise you need for creating vibrant online communities.
Methodology
We conducted an online research study among women and tapped into the knowledge of the ShesConnectedMultimedia Corporate staff. We have also drawn from numerous secondary research resources such as the US
Census Bureau data, Forrester, and other published third-party research to explore what types of women are using
Social Networks, how and why they use them, and which features are important to them. We used a viral
approach to recruitment and, where possible, have compared the results against published research data that
utilized traditional sampling techniques intended to yield results projectable to the total female population.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide key insights that
will allow advertisers and agencies to develop more
effective social media marketing strategies, campaigns
and programs. Marketers often find conflicting
information in published research when evaluatingopportunities in social media. This paper is a compilation
of primary research, published secondary data, and
insights from our experienced staff and advisors who
specialize in marketing to women through Social
Networks.
Social media includes social media sites, blogs, andsocial media applications/widgets.
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
4/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
4
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
ShesConnected Multimedia designed and fielded this research study in April/May 2009. The research consisted of
an online survey completed by 711 women, recruited through a combination of e-mail invitations to ShesConnected
registered members, links posted on Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups (related to marketing and/or women), and
Twitter.
The survey invitation encouraged the recipient to recruit female friends, colleagues, and/or significant others to
complete the survey. No incentive was offered.
Executive Summary
Time spent on Social Networks is increasing as consumers spend less time on leisure activities that cost money1.
Three-quarters of US online adults use social technologies and adoption is expected to further increase during the
recession2. Women are engaging with Social Media and Social Networks faster than any other demographic. They
have discovered the power of Social Media and Social Network as:
a way of promoting their businesses
a way of connecting with other women with similar interests and passions
the new way to organize their activities, manages groups, and stay in touch with friends
As the classic slogan for Oldsmobile goes, This is not your fathers Oldsmobile, the juxtaposition for today is, This
is not your teenagers Social Network. 53% of online women use Social Networks at least weekly and the rate of
Social Network adoption in the past year has been especially strong among older women.
So what are the implications for advertisers, marketers, and social networks? In a word; OPPORTUNITY! Women
are one of the most important demographics to advertisers. Advertisers know that in order to be successful, you have
to follow the money. And the money is in the purses of the women who are spending their time on Social Networks.
Women control up to 85% of all household expenditures. They outnumber men online, and are spending a significant
amount of time on Social Networks.
Is this opportunity being taken advantage of? In our opinion it isnt. According to IABs 2008 Internet Advertising
Report, U.S advertisers spend $23.4 billion in online advertising in 2008. Their report did not break out advertising
spend on Social Networks. However, eMarketer estimates that $1.56 billion was spent on Social Networks in 2008.
That represents 6.7% of online advertising spent. While the amount of advertising spend on Social Networks grew
an estimated 70% from 2007, it still disproportionately small when you look at the reach and engagement levels that
Social Networks enjoy.
We believe the primary reason that Advertisers are under-spending on Social Networks can best be explained by
looking at the context of what has happened with Social Networks over the last few years. MySpace launched as an
online data storage and sharing site in August 2003, morphing into a true Social Networking site in 2004. Facebook
launched in February 2004 at Harvard University. Both sites focused exclusively on the youth market for the first fewyears building up critical mass before moving to an older demographic.
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
5/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
5
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
In the early years Advertisers had several problems with Social Networks;
it was unproven marketing medium
given the nature of user-generated content and a focus on a younger demographic, many advertisers were leery
of advertising on the sites
there were concerns from both the Social Networks and the Advertisers on the use and receptivity of advertising
on these sites
there was little in the way of true infrastructure to support targeted or behavioral based advertising
there were concerns about the effectiveness of traditional display advertising on Social Networks, and
traditional performance metrics such as monthly uniques, page views, and click-through rates are not
comprehensive enough to measure the true effectiveness of social media
Many of these problems have been or are being resolved. We believe that Advertisers, Marketers, and Social
Networks are working aggressively to find the right formula for engaging consumers through social media. The result
will be increased spending and new innovative approaches to marketing on Social Networks.
Overview of Social NetworksNews about the explosive growth of social media is everywhere. Marketers are struggling to understand how best
to leverage social media tools in achieving their marketing objectives. They question how they will measure ROI in
order to justify expenditures, how to evaluate and/or conduct market research on Social Networks, and what the
potential impact would be of directly engaging with consumers in dialogue.
A longitudinal study of the use of social media in corporations indicates its usage with the Inc. 500 nearly doubled
over a 12-month period3.
An estimated 53% of marketers expect to increase spending on social media, with expenditures on Social
Networking components slated as the area most likely to be increased4. Undoubtedly we will see further increase in
usage by consumers in 2009.
Since social media provides an opportunity to engage in Social Network communities, it also allows the marketer to
build relationships by adding value to those communities. For this to be accomplished, marketers need to identify and
evaluate the unique characteristics of each Social Network community in order to gauge fit.
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
6/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
6
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Usage By Type of Social Media
Message/Bulletin Boards
Social Networking
Online Video
Blogging
Wikis
Podcasting
Dont Use Any
2007
33%
27%
24%
19%
17%
11%
43%
2008
35%
49%
45%
39%
27%
21%
23%
We have invested
heavily in social media at
our company. We believe
in the power of online
communities to help
uncover insights;
generate and validate
new product, service,
and business-model
concepts; and most
important, create the
necessar conversations
that spark a new idea wecan develop and
introduce across the
globe.5
Social Media in the Inc. 500: The First
Longitudinal Study.
As for any other element in the marketing mix, marketers want to
have the ability to track and measure the effectiveness of social
media. As recent as May 2009, the IAB released a white paper with
recommendations on social media ad metrics, but up to now there
has been no standardization of metrics to track effectiveness of
social media or across social media. Currently there is no
standardization of user IDs. This hampers the ability to track and
measure social media as well as frustrates consumers who must log
into each individual site. Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo! are
working together on a shared identity system called OpenID6.
Concerns about data privacy and security are also significant factors in the evolution of OpenID. The ability to
measure ROI will continue to evolve as technology evolves.
Social media is also evolving from just being a place to socialize with friends and family. Its becoming a hub for
sharing information and providing personal opinions and perspectives. Netpop Research reported that 76% of US
broadband users (105 million) are active contributors to social media7. The typical Social Networker in the U.S. can
be identified as a single employed woman between the age 18-39 who:
Connects weekly with an average of 18 people one-on-one and 110 people one-to many
Spends a significant amount of time on Social Networking sites (U.S. Social Networking sites minutes per session
has almost doubled over the past year (83% in April 2009 versus April 2008)8
Uses multiple modes to communicate and stay in touch (IMs, texts, blogs and micro blogs) Is more likely to shop and spend more online than their non-contributing peers ($101/mo vs. $80/mo)
Chooses to shop with retailers that allow for customer care experiences to be shared online at nearly 75%9
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
7/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
7
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Women and Social MediaWomen outnumber men on most Social Networks.10
There is a disparity between the genders in terms of
their attitudes, behaviors, and needs. Publishedresearch from Rapleaf, a company that collects and
analyzes publicly available data from the Internet,
reports that although men spend as much or more time
online overall, women far outpace the men on usage of
social media (The Social Media Gender Gap
BusinessWeek May 19, 2008).
Studies have also found significant differences in the
online activity patterns between men and women11.
Men have a greater tendency to use the internet for
functional tasks (get information or download) whereas
women use the internet in a richer and more engagingway (employ Social Networks for information, maintain/
strengthen family connections, sharing news)12.
According to a recent university study, the success of
a Facebook application depends upon whether the
social network member is male or female. Applications
are passed to friends only if there is a perceived value.
Although both genders want novelty and rarity, women
seek applications to faciliate self-expression whereas
men seek those that facilitate competition.13
In addition to Social Network sites, blogs are a
powerful source of purchase influence for women.
Women who read and/or post to blogs are far more
motivated by the desire to get information and seek
advice/recommendations than are female social
networkers in general. They are also significantly more
likely to make a purchase decision based on customer
experiences reported on blogs. 14
In a blog written by Liana Evans (http://www.semclub-
house.com), she observes that there is a definite
difference in how men and women utilize, share,
communicate and move around in social media.
Women converse and share more. They want to talk
about their experiences or express their feelings
whether they are raving about a product or pissed off
about the service they receive. Men are less
expressive. Its rare you see a man gushing about the
brand new suit he picked up.
Results of Primary ResearchThe following are the results of the primary research
conducted by ShesConnected. In addition to
gathering information on women involved in socialmedia, the research also gave us the opportunity to
explore the implications of recruiting respondents for a
market research survey using viral techniques as
compared to standard recruiting using a nationally
representative online panel (when possible).
Using the viral recruitment technique (versus a random
sample of online users) resulted in older, more highly
educated respondents versus female Social Network
network users in general. The survey results for the
ShesConnected research more closely resemble those
of heavy or core Social Network users.
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
8/36
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
9/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
9
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Age: Please tell us your age
Key findings/insightsAs the classic slogan for Oldsmobile goes, This is not
your fathers Oldsmobile, the juxtaposition for today is,
This is not your teenagers Social Network. The rate
of Social Network adoption in the past year has been
especially strong among older women. We found that
women over 40 years of age accounted for 53% of
female core users. In a recent study, Facebook found
one of their fastest growing segments are women over
55, up 175% in the last 120 days. Women comprise
56% of Facebooks audience, up from 54% late last
year.15
Implications for Advertisers/Marketers andSocial NetworksAdvertisers have struggled with how to effectively
advertise on Social Networks. Looking at the
evolution of Social Networks, this makes sense.
MySpace launched as an online data storage and
sharing site in August 2003, morphing into a true Social
Networking site in 2004. Facebook launched in
February 2004. Both sites focused exclusively on the
youth market for the first few years building up critical
mass before moving to an older demographic.
In the early years advertisers had several problems
with Social Networks, 1) it was unproven, 2) given the
nature of user-generated content and a focus on a
younger demographic, many advertisers were leery of
Age of the core female
Social Networker
advertising on the sites, 3) there were concerns from
both the Social Networks and the advertisers on the
use receptivity of advertising on these sites, and finally
4) there was little in the way of true infrastructure to
support targeted or behavioral based advertising.
Very few would debate the viability of Social Networks
today. Through critical mass, Social Networks have
gone mainstream and have resonated with an
important demographic -- those who control the
household purse strings. Women control over 85% of
household spending. Advertisers know they must
engage this powerful target demographic in a way that
is relevant, meaningful, insightful served up to her
when and where she wants it.
Marketers continue to struggle with a media vehiclethat lacks conventional media metrics, a well-defined
ROI, and reduced control over how and where their
brand is portrayed. That said, they know it is an
increasingly important part of the internet and will
increase their marketing expenditures on these sites.
Ethnicity
Ethnicity: Please tell us which best describes you
Key insights/finding
There was an over-representation of white/caucasiansamong the core Social Network users as compared to
the general online population (85% vs. 72%)16 and
the US population at large (66%)17 .
Black/African American respondents represented 4% of
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
10/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
10
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Number of children
Children: Do you have children?
Key insights/findings
Over half (55%) of core Social Network users havechildren. The average core user has two children in the
household, comparable to the U.S. population.
Implications for Advertisers/Marketers andSocial NetworksMarital status and presence of children in the
household will impact the interests and needs of the
target core user. While these are strong influencers,
marketers should consider other profile characteristics
that attracted members to join a Social Network and
determine whether the network provides the optimal
environment for the brand.
our core user respondents, well below incidence
among online users (11%)18 and the US population
(13%)19 .
Asian women represented 5% of our core user
respondents, similar to incidence among online users
overall (6%)20 and in the total U.S. population (4%)7.
Self-identified Hispanics were the most
under-represented among core Social Network users.
Only 2% reported using Social Networking sites,
significantly below incidence among online users
overall (11%)21 and the U.S. population (15%)22 .
Implications for Advertisers/Marketers andSocial Networks
Caucasion women were over-represented amongcore social media users. We would expect ethnicity to
realign to more closely reflect the online population at
large as adoption of Social Networking continues to
grow.
A benefit of social media is the ability to target specific
social communities based on their member profiles
and interests. As Social Networks expand and become
more diverse, niche targeting will become more
prevalent and effective.
Relationship Status
Relationship Status: Please tell us yourrelationship status
Key insights/findingsThe majority of core Social Network users are married
(59%). Single women represented 29% of core users
and 12% are divorced. Single core users skewed
heavily toward those aged 21-25 (81% vs. 29% for all
age groups).
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
11/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
11
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Work Status Education
Work Status: Please tell us your work status...
Key insights/findingsAlmost half (47%) of core users reported working full
time for someone else, and over a third (36%)reported being self employed. Self employed core
users skewed heavily towards those aged 41-45.
Implications for Advertisers/Marketers andSocial NetworksAccording to the Small Business Administration study
on Womens Business Ownership, Women
entrepreneurs are among the fastest growing groups of
business owners. These women tend to be older and
better educated than wage and salary-earning working
women23.
Through qualitative research we conducted on Social
Networks, women use Social Networks to
promote their businesses, to build business
relationships through networking, and to promote their
personal brand. Women are using Blogs, micro-blogs
(such as Twitter), and Social Networking sites to build
PR for their businesses and themselves.
For example, Visa launched The Visa Business
Network on Facebook to connect small business users
and to help them promote their businesses to a larger
community. (http://mashable.com/2008/07/23/corpo-
rate-social-media/)
Education Status: Please tell us your level ofeducation level achieved.
Key insights/findings
Core Social Network users tend to be highly educated,with 23% having earned a Masters, PhD, or other
advanced degree (vs. 8%24 nationally). Also
over-represented versus the U.S. population are those
with a Bachelors degree (41% vs.15% U.S. pop)25.
Implications for Advertisers/Marketers andSocial NetworksHighly educated women will likely have low tolerance
for poorly designed or executed marketing campaigns.
It is vital that marketers communicate and interact with
these core user/influencers in an intelligent,
respectful manner. The use of social applicationsdesigned specifically for this target audience should
increase engagement.
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
12/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
12
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
ATTITUDES AND
BEHAVIOR OF WOMEN
ON SOCIAL NETWORKS
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
13/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
13
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Numbers of hours spent on the Internet per day
Question: On average, how many hours per day do you spend on the internet for personal use and for work orbusiness?
Key insights/findingsHalf (49%) of core Social Network users average 1-2 hours per day on the internet for personal reasons; a third
(33%) report spending more than 3 hours per day.
Almost half (48%) report being online for 5 or more hours per day for business. When looking at internet use for work
or business, 20% are online 3-4 hours per day.
Almost half of female core users who use the Internet for business are considered heavy users, online for 5 or more
hours a day.
Implications for Advertisers/Marketers and Social NetworksWomen are spending a significant amount of time online each day. A deeper look at their activities reveals that the
line between work and personal use is blurring. When spending time on Social Networking sites, women easily
co-mingle work and personal activities. Self employed women tend to spend more time online than other women for
both work and personal use. This may be in part due to the lack of constraints to access Social Networks during
working hours.
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
14/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
14
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Number of Social Networks you belong to?
Question: How many Social Networks have you joined/belong to?
Key insights/findingsOver two-thirds (67%) of core Social Network users belong to 3 networks; half belong to 4 or more. Based on
previous focus groups conducted by ShesConnected, the predominant reason given for joining multiple sites was no
one site meets all of my needs or interests.
Women perceive the broad categories of Social Networks to be:
Business or professionally-oriented sites
Sites for reconnecting with old friends and staying in touch with current friends
Sites that cater to special interests or hobbies
Sites that keep me updated (there is a distinction made between sites having professional editorial versus
consumer-generated content, with a preference for the latter)
Implications for Advertisers/Marketers and Social NetworksAs the number of Social Network sites proliferate and people become overwhelmed with the number of choices and
time required for upkeep, Social Networks with the greatest number of members will thrive. This consolidation will
mean smaller networks will be unable to remain viable unless they offer a unique value proposition.
Marketers should maintain a presence in the largest networks, but should consider leveraging the power of niche
Social Network sites. Smaller niche sites provide an opportunity to have a greater presence and to tailorcommunications to the specific needs of the member base. Any marketing tactics customized to the site should
support the overall brand position.
One example of how an advertiser utilized social media is Fujifilm. They launched a Social Network to build a
community of photo enthusiasts around its newest camera. (http://mashable.com/2008/07/23/corporate-social-me-
dia/)
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
15/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
15
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Features Used Online
Question: Which of the following activities have you done online?
Key insights/findingsCore Social Network users are engaged in a greater variety of Social Network activities than other network users.
The incidence of starting a blog was exceedingly high, likely a reflection of the education level and social media
involvement of these core users. Although incidence was lower for RSS feed subscriptions and downloading
podcasts, these may be excellent vehicles to reach early adopters or influencers.
Implications for Advertisers/Marketers and Social NetworksWomen seem to be very proficient at using most of the features of a Social Network. Advertisers and marketers have
an opportunity to integrate marketing tactics into the fabric of the features giving them many more opportunities to
engage women than they have through traditional display advertising. We believe that many of these activities will
lend themselves to promotional-based tactics for the advertiser. Advertisers would be well served to not make such
tactics intrusive and should closely monitor engagement levels and continually gauge consumer receptivity.
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
16/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
16
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Frequency of Using Features
Question: How frequently do you do the following activities?
Key insights/findingsFrequent and deep engagement is the core theme here. The top four activities on a daily/weekly basis are:
Viewing profiles 81%
Reading blogs 71%
Watching video 65%
Leaving comments 51%
Implications for Advertisers/Marketers and Social NetworksBy having a presence in the most popular activities on Social Networks, marketers have an opportunity to increase
both the number and quality of consumer touch points. It is important that marketing tactics and communications fit
contextually with what the viewer is doing.
There are many potential approaches to leveraging the popularity of certain features. Some examples of
marketing tactics:
1. Viewing profiles: sponsor voting widget to highlight the best profiles
2. Reading blogs: nurture relationships with influential bloggers to promote your products or services
3. Watching video: sponsor contest for best video produced that features product
4. Leaving comments: opportunity to become part of the conversation not to overtly promote your product, but to
provide value to the Social Network community.
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
17/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
17
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
For example, Starbucks started MyStarbucksIdea so that customers can submit ideas for the company which are
then voted on by other users, the best of which will be implemented by the company.
(http://mashable.com/2008/07/23/corporate-social-media/)
Its funny I didnt even know what
social networks were two years ago.
Now I cant imagine not using my
networks. I use them for everything
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
18/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
18
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Importance of Various Online Activities
Question:How important are the following activities to you?
Key insights/findingsThe following activities are considered to be somewhat or very important:
The ability to create and edit a profile 82%
Uploading pictures 80%
Reading blogs 76%
Viewing profiles 74%
Frequency is closely related to the importance of the activity, with some notable (and understandable) exceptions:
the ability to create/edit a profile and writing blogs.
Implications for Advertisers/Marketers and Social NetworksAdvertisers and marketers have an opportunity to partner with Social Networks to develop campaigns that follow and
are integrated into the core users most prevalent/important activities. One should not underestimate the power of
brand presence. According to Bill Moran in the classic marketing article Brand Presence and the Perceptual Frame,26presence is the lubricator which simply facilitates sales by reducing the mental friction in the consumers
decision-making process.
The most successful tactics will be promotional in nature as these can be far more effective than a banner ad in
creating brand presence. Although creating and editing a profile is not a frequent activity, its importance gives the
marketer an opportunity to add value in a memorable way.
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
19/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
19
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
An example would be to sponsor tools, backgrounds, images, features, and widgets to enhance the profilers
creativity or status. This promotion could be further extended to include sponsored voting for favorite profiles and
publicity to highlight the winners.
For example, Dell leverages a variety of social media platforms for customer engagement, including an island in the
virtual world of Second Life. (http://mashable.com/2008/07/23/corporate-social-media/)
Social Networks are the most
efficient way for me to stay in
touch with what is going on. I use
them to promote my business, stay
in touch with friends and keep up
to date with what is important
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
20/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
20
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Membership in Specific Social Networks
Question:Which of the following Social Networks do you belong to?
Key insights/findingsOut of the top 20 sites listed in our survey, Facebook dominated with 83% core user members, followed closely by
LinkedIn with 73%. Incidence of Twitter membership was exceedingly high (55% vs. 5% as reported by Harris
Interactive). High incidence of membership across Social Networks is a reflection of the level of core user
involvement and the method of recruitment used.
Implications for Advertisers/Marketers and Social NetworksSocial media requires more thoughtfulness. Marketers cannot just push out their message. They need to think of the
context in which users experience marketing tactics. Once large Social Networking sites hit critical mass, the
members fragment into special interest groups. This provides the marketers with the opportunity to focus efforts on
the popular groups and tailor the messaging and tactics to match each groups focus.
The most effective marketing campaigns for adaptation to social media are those broad enough to fit the particulars
of different sites. For example, the Dove campaign The Many Faces of Beauty could have included a Put your best
face forward profile contest on a business-focused network around the idea of the importance offirst impressions.
Winner would get a make-over for themselves as well as for their website. On personal-focused networks, the
campaign would be adapted to a community cause such as helping under-privileged kids develop a positive self
image.
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
21/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
21
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Frequency of Visiting a Social Networks
Question: How frequently do you visit a Social Network site?
Key insights/findingsAbout 6 in 10 of these core users are visiting Social Network sites multiple times each day, with a total of 73%
visiting at least once daily. Not only have these sites captured a huge number of subscribers in a relatively short
period of times, they have also driven a level of unprecedented engagement. Email is the only other application that
drives more frequent usage.
Implications for Advertisers/Marketers and Social NetworksThe implications are profound; users of Social Networks are finding such high utility in these sites that they are
becoming a central component of their lives online. Marketers need to focus on how best to provide value to the
community. A deeper look into Social Network behaviors and attitudes will help guide decisions related to the
development and placement of specific marketing tactics.
Email offers the opportunity for ad placement but ads are difficult to contextualize. Social networks are increasingly
replacing or augmenting email communications and have the advantage of being able to customize ads that have
relevance to the general context of the group.
An example would be postings or inbox messages considered valuable enough to pass along to a friend.
Information sent by a friend is more likely to be opened and read.
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
22/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
22
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Source of Discovering Social Networking Sites
Question:How did you find out about the Social Network site(s) you visit or belong to?
Key insights/findingsAt the risk of stating the obvious, Social Networks are by their very nature viral. Adoption is being accomplished
primarily by word of mouth. Whether it is a friend, co-worker, or family member, women are being driven to sites
predominately through people they know.
In addition, with the massive amount of media attention these sites have received it is hard to imagine someone not
being aware of Social Networking. Surfing the web was a leading source of discovering Social Networks (45%). We
believe that a large percentage of those discovering Social Networking sites by surfing the web were initially
prompted to look at the sites by something they read or heard about in the media.
Implications for Advertisers/Marketers and Social NetworksWith the great success of Social Networking sites, marketers must figure out how to integrate themselves into the
social fabric of the web. This has challenged marketers on many levels but there are many potential approaches to
consider:
Develop a fan page to drive engagement and collect data
Create promotions with links into the fan page to increase traffic
Integrate offline and online marketing with web addresses on packaging and advertising, contests that require
codes be entered in the website or fan page
Sponsor groups or entire sections of a site
Sponsor newsletters
Create excitement and entertain with content, contests, special offers, and promotions
Post links to popular websites on fan page and request they host links to your fan page
For example, Jeep connects with customers via a community page with links to photos on Flickr, the companys
MySpace and Facebook pages and a list of enthusiast groups. (http://mashable.com/2008/07/23/corporate-social-
media/)
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
23/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
23
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Importance of visiting/belonging to a Social Networking site
Question:Why do you visit or belong to a Social Networking site, and how important are these?
Key insights/findingsWhether it be for business or personal use, interactions with others is the primary motivation for participating in
Social Networks. Business activities such as networking and promotions are the most highly valued benefits of Social
Networks. On the personal side, keeping in touch with friends, family, and group members is an important benefit.
Implications for Advertisers/Marketers and Social NetworksSocial networks are most valued for facilitating communications. Marketers can join in the conversation if they avoid
direct sales pitches and instead become a contributing member of the community. Through an understanding of
community needs, marketing efforts can focus on informing and facilitating activities of the highest perceived value,
such as:
Helping professionals network by developing marketing tactics to help give exposure
Facilitating reconnections with a widget Whatever happened to.
Promoting businesses through sponsoring voting for best in category
Facilitating communications of group activities through RSS feeds
For example, HSBC built the HSBC Business Network to connect entrepreneurs using blogs, videos and forums.
(http://mashable.com/2008/07/23/corporate-social-media/)
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
24/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
24
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Number of groups joined or started
Question:How many groups have you joined or started?
Key insights/findingsEven among this core Social Network user group, starting a network community group is reserved for influencers
(56% of core users). The average number of groups joined is 2-5, but there are a sizeable number of core users that
belong to more than 10 groups (29%).
Implications for Advertisers/Marketers and Social NetworksCore users actively start and participate in groups. Social Network groups are a great venue to have meaningful
dialogue about brands, product or service experiences, and upcoming products. Marketers should find ways to help
people create and join groups by way of widgets or links.
Group creators are likely to be top influencers. Careful nurturing of a respectful, mutually beneficial relationship could
lead to brand advocacy and/or support of your marketing efforts.
For example, Yamaha (UK) empowered their community members by providing them tools to create Social Networks
within their branded environment. (http://mashable.com/2008/07/23/corporate-social-media/comments)
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
25/36
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
26/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
26
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Total Number of friends or connections
Question:How many connections or friends do you have on the networks you belong to?
Key insights/findingsAccording to a study by Rapleaf, women have an average of 62 online friends with 70% having between 1 and 50
friends. Our research skewed towards a higher number of connections, which reflects the behaviors of a core user
group.
Implications for Advertisers/Marketers and Social Networks
Those with friends and influence are attractive targets for advertisers.Their influence can best be leveraged by
providing something of value for viral distribution. Caution should be taken in not attempting to overuse their
influence as it could have a negative impact on both the brand and the influencer.
Some bloggers use their online real estate to drive revenue at the expense of the reader. Too many advertisers on
a page can lead to a loss in credibility and overpower the content. Google analytics can provide metrics on specific
sites, which can be a useful tool in selecting where to focus efforts. Examples of social media metrics are unique
visitors, cost per unique visitor, page views, visits, return visits, interaction rate, time spent, video install, and relevant
actions taken.
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
27/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
27
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Concerns about using Social Networks
Question:What concerns do you have regarding Social Networks and how important are those concerns to you?
Key insights/findings
Consistent with other published research, privacy is one of the top concerns about using Social Networks. The nextmost prevalent concern is the time one needs in order to keep up with network communications.
Implications for Advertisers/Marketers and Social NetworksAside from respecting the privacy and safeguarding the security of network members, marketers must be
respectful of their time. Keep communications brief and ensure any requirements placed on the network members
will be to their benefit. While sophisticated network members do not shy away from innovative applications with
some complexity, they appreciate opportunities to save time and effort. Sponsored applications to streamline their
network activities such as the ability to get screen information would likely be well received. Marketers should stay
away from marketing tactics that require time-consuming involvement and focus instead on those with high value and
potential for viral distribution.
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
28/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
28
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Most Important Tools or Features on a Social Network
Question: Which tools or features are most important on a Social Network?
Key insights/findingsTools to provide the ability to set levels of privacy and security are the most important features to core users. These
features are even more important than the core functions of belonging to a Social Network, such as posting
comments/photos and inviting friends to join your network.
Implications for Advertisers/Marketers and Social NetworksGiven that privacy and security are at the top of the list of core user needs, marketers must carefully gauge and
monitor any communications they have with the target group. Social media efforts could potentially work against the
marketer if mishandled. Marketers should carefully research the practices of Social Networks they are considering
and avoid those that do not honor member confidentiality.
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
29/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
29
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Length of Time Have Used Social Networking Sites
Question: How long have you been using Social Networking Sites?
Key insights/findingsIf 45% of core Social Network users have belonged to a Social Network for less than two years, there is still
significant growth on the horizon.
Implications for Advertisers/Marketers and Social NetworksMarketers may be entering into an environment where members are familiar and comfortable with the way things are
being done. On the other hand, members may be ready for novelty an excellent opportunity for the marketer to be
noticed. New activities/approaches should be pre-tested so as not to have the effort backfire and cause more harm
than good.
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
30/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
30
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Perceptions of Proficiency with Social Networking
Question: How proficient are you at using Social Networks?
Key insights/findingsCore Social Network users tend to be confident in their Social Networking abilities.
Implications for Advertisers/Marketers and Social NetworksMarketers should find ways to help core users to stay ahead of the curve by introducing new applications and
providing updated, useful information. It is best not to shy away from widgets and applications with some complexity.
Users are increasingly more sophisticated and may become alienated if communications and functionality is
dumbed down.
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
31/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
31
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Comfort with Various Means of Social Network Revenue
Question: Social Networks have several ways to make money. What is your comfort level for each of thesemethods?
Key insights/findingsCore Social Network users understand the need for Social Networks to support themselves through advertising but
are not willing to have their data sold or be charged a subscription fee to access the site.
Implications for Advertisers/Marketers and Social NetworksSocial networks need to look to advertising revenue to be profitable. Potential products or services for sale on the
site should be optional for members and not a requirement for site access. Advertisers should strive for engaging
and useful communications on the site so that it is viewed as an enhancement to the community rather than a painful
requirement.
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
32/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
32
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Women are one of the fastest growing segments on Social Networks with 53% of online women use
Social Networks at least weekly. We believe this trend will continue for the foreseeable future.
The adoption of Social Networks by older women is especially strong. The largest age group in our core
user survey was women over 50 years of age.
They are highly educated, with 23% of respondents having a Masters, PHD, or other advanced degree
(vs. 8% Nationally).
Over a third report they are in business for themselves. They spend a significant amount of time online
each day with 49% reporting they spend 1 2 hours per day for personal use and 48% reporting they
spend 5 or more hours per day online for work.
They belong to multiple Social Networks with 48% reporting they belong to four or more Social Networks.
The top 5 reasons they belong to Social Networks are:
Network professionally Stay up-to-date with friends
Stay up-to-date with groups they belong to
Promote their business
Research products or services
They visit Social Networks frequently with 59% visiting Social Networking sites multiple times per day,
14% reporting at least once per day, and 14% reporting several times per week.
They are highly engaged and comfortable with the technology. The most popular activities are:
Viewing video
Reading blogs
Posting photos Writing in blogs
Posting comments
The have a lot of connections/friends with 83% reporting they have 50 or more connections or friends.
They join and/or start a large number of groups with 28% reporting they belong to more than 10 groups,
with business related groups being the most popular group they join or start.
Safeguarding personal privacy is the number one concern for women using Social Networks.
Key Findings
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
33/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
33
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
1. The Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Mary-lands Robert H. Smith School of Business Changing ConsumerPriorities in Tough Times. Consumer Technology Pulse: ResearchResults (March 2009)http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/news/releases/2009/pdfs_docs/WhitePaperTechPulse.pdf
2. Craig McLurg, Inside WebTrends Engage 2009WebTrends Announcments (April 8, 2009):http://www.webanalyticsworld.net/2009_04_01_archive.html
3. Nora Ganim Barnes, Ph.D. and Eric Mattson, Social Media inthe Inc. 500: The First Longitudinal Study (Center for MarketingResearch at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth July 11,2008)http://www.umassd.edu/cmr/studiesresearch/blogstudy5.pdf
4. Brian Morrissey, Social Media Outlay Still Small Forresterfindsthat marketers still relegate efforts to the sidelines, 2009http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/digital/e3ie-2b23ab2b6e7cd34591a961df87dc4eb (March 16, 2009)
5. G. Michael Maddock and Raphael Louis Vitn, Dive into SocialMedia Now Business Week, May 2009http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/may2009/ca20090512_532970.htm (May 12, 2009)
6. David Recordon, A Social Web Intro at the Internet IdentityWorkshop 2009http://www.slideshare.net/daveman692/a-social-web-intro-at-the-internet-identity-workshop
7. Cate Riegner, Media Shifts to Social Media NetpopResearch LLC 2009 Social Media Report,http://www.slideshare.net/Netpop/netpop-connect-media-shifts-to-social-2009 p. 13.
8. Nielson Wire, Time Spent on Facebook up 700%, but MySpaceStill Tops for Video, June 2, 2009http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/time-spent-on-facebook-up-700-but-myspace-still-tops-for-video/
9. Raging Analytics, Make Online Shopping a SocialExperience, October 13, 2008,http://www.raginganalytics.com/blog/tag/online-retailer/
10. Richard MacManus, Study: Women Outnumber Men on MostSocial Networks, July 29, 2008http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/social_networks_women_outnumber_men.php
11. Chris V. Thangham, Women Outnumber Men onFacebook, MySpace, Bebo and other social networks, DigitalJournal, July 30, 2008http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/258009
12. Gord Hotchkiss, Human Hardware: Men and WomenMarch21, 2008http://searchengineland.com/human-hardware-men-and-wom-en-13614
13. Rebekah Russell-Bennett and Dr Larry Neale, What value dousers derive from social networking applications?, QueenslandUniversity of Technology, June 17, 2009http://insciences.org/article.php?article_id=5725
14. Susan Wright and Elisa Camahort Page, 2009 Women andSocial Media Study by BlogHer, iVillage and Compass PartnersMay 29, 2009 p 18, and p 22
15. Justin Smith, Fastest Growing Demographic, Women over55 www.insidefacebook.com, February 2, 2009http://www.insidefacebook.com/2009/02/02/fastest-growing-demographic-on-facebook-women-over-55/
16. Kathleen Clark, Atelier Report, March 5, 2008http://www.atelier-us.com/internet-usage/article/leveling-the-us-online-population
17. 2007 US Census Report,http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html
18. Kathleen Clark, Atelier Report, March 5, 2008http://www.atelier-us.com/internet-usage/article/leveling-the-us-online-population
19. 2007 US Census Report,http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html
20. Kathleen Clark, Atelier Report, March 5, 2008http://www.atelier-us.com/internet-usage/article/leveling-the-us-online-population
21. ComScore Press Release, U.S. Hispanic Internet AudienceGrowth Outpaces Total U.S. Online Population by 50 Percent,April 16, 2009http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2009/4/U.S._Hispanic_Internet_Audience_Growth
22. 2007 US Census Report,http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html
23. Darrene Hackler, Ellen Harpel, and Heike Mayer, Small Busi-ness Research Summary, Human Capital and Womens BusinessOwnership, April 2008
24. 2000 US Census report on Education attainment forwomen. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_QTP20&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U
25. IBIT
26. Journal of Advertising Research, Vol 30, No. 5,October/November 1990
Footnotes
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
34/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
34
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
Social media provides an opportunity for marketers to gather valuable insights without formal market research.
On the most basic level, monitoring posts and discussions can give you a sense of the breadth of issuesrelated to your brand, company and category. Niche networks and forums provide an opportunity to expand
beyond the most popular Social Networks and explore unique issues and needs.
On www.sherpablog.com (Market Research via Social Media, Adam Sutton, 4/17/09), there are four main
categories of information that can involve mining social media:
1. Brand monitoring What consumers are saying about their companies and their competitors
2. Trend analysis Current trends in a market and where the market is heading
3. Customer information Information about current and potential customers as well as best language to use
when communicating to customers
4. Unmet needs Collect information about what products consumers wish they had
On www.sociableblog.com, there was a blog posted (April 29, 2009) on 100 tips and tools to research the
social web. The following are just a sampling of the tools, sites, alerts, and tips offered in the posting:
Set up alerts: Use various services to track industry keywords and/or other relevant information.
Set up feeds: Save time by setting up an RSS feed that will collect news for you
Sign up for Delicious (the biggest collection of bookmarks online) and Digg (highlights top news across the
web)
Explore tools to monitor popularity of keywords and conduct power searches
Harvesting Insights from Social Media
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
35/36
Connecting women to your brand through social media
35
The Power of Social Networking For Women Study - July 2009
With the rapid growth of Social Networks, it is
important that the marketer have the ability toevaluate market research so as not to bemisinformed in making decisions. The following arekey considerations in judging the quality of researchon social media:
Defining the populationOne of the first steps in designing a market research
study is to define the population you would like to
generalize to. For this study, the population would be
women who have joined at least one Social Network.
Creating the Sampling FrameThe design of the sample is based on the goal of
getting the best representation of your population as
possible. For some populations, this can be a
challenge in terms of accessibility, incidence, and
cost. Other considerations in designing the sample
frame include the size of the sample and the level of
precision desired.
Types of Sampling MethodsProbability sampling allows one to generalize the
results of a survey to the population at large. There
are many different types of probability or random
sampling but they all share the common
characteristic of giving each person in your
population an equal probability of being chosen.
Statistical tests (such as significance, margin of error,
etc.) are only valid for results drawn from a
probability sampling frame.
Non-probability sampling does not involve random
selection.
Creating the questionnaireThe way questions are worded in a survey can havea profound impact on the results. Data quality is also
directly related to questionnaire length, the flow, the
complexity of the tasks required, whether an
incentive was offered, and how engaged the
respondent is with the entire survey experience.
Considerations in analysis andreporting of dataAccording to The Art and Science of Interpreting
Market Research (DVL Smith/JH Fletcher, 2004),
there are eight broad areas one should consider in
determining to what degree compensation is required
when interpreting market research:
Could the context in which the research was
conducted have affected responses?
Was the research design fit-to-purpose?
Was the sample representative of the target
audience?
Was the most appropriate data collection method
use?
How natural was the dialogue with the
respondent?
Were the questions asked neutral and unbiased?
Was the study professionally executed?
Have the study results been presented (or put
in the public domain) from a neutral standpoint,
or in a way that might seek to advance aparticular position?
Brief Market Research Tutorial
8/8/2019 The Power of Social Networking for Women Research
36/36
36
Authors
Contact Information
ShesConnected
Properties
Cathy HarrisonVP, Market Research
Cathy is responsible for leading the market research
efforts for ShesConnected Multimedia Corp. She
has over 20 years of experience in both quantitative
and qualitative research techniques across a broad
range of industries. She is dedicated to the pursuit
of actionable consumer insights using cost-effective
and creative research solutions. Prior to joiningShesConnected, Cathy worked at Bose Corporation,
The Response Center, Wrangler, Young & Rubicam,
and The Advertising Research Foundation.
617-674-2169 ext 289
Mark GrindelandCo-founder & CEO
Mark is co-founder and CEO of ShesConnected
Multimedia Corp., and has been exclusively focused
in Social Media since 2007. His unique skill set
encompasses Advertising, Mobile, and Social Media
at executive levels. With over 25 years of experience
working with some of the worlds leading consumer
brands he is well equipped to provide strategicleadership in the ever changing media landscape.
Mark was a co-founder of m-Qube Inc. the premier
provider of mobile messaging and data solutions
in North America. He was also the Chief Executive
Officer, Wunderman Cato Johnson - Europe, Middle
East, and Africa region. Prior to that Mark was a
Senior Vice President at Digitas.
617-674-2169 ext. 200
ShesConnected Multimedia Corp - Boston
2 Woodstock Drive,
Framingham, MA 01701
Tel: 617-674-2169
Fax: 617-674-2469
www.shesconnected.com
www.shesconnectedmultimedia.com
ShesConnected Multimedia Corp - Toronto
40 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 502
Toronto, ON M4P 3A2
Tel: 416-761-4071
Fax: 416-761-4073