Articles

21.1.2011 The rise of mobile social media mavens

The potential for advertisers to tap into the influence of social network users via mobile is highlighted in new data from Kantar Media's Futureproof study. To some, social networking remains a fad, perpetuated by narcissistic nonsense where people tell their ‘friends’ what they had for breakfast. Analysis of Kantar Media’s Futureproof data suggests that rather than a passing fad, social networking could lead to 2011 once again being christened the year of mobile.

Kantar Media’s Futureproof study documents the changing fortunes of the social networks and pinpoints a common theme of the success of Facebook and Twitter in 2010, one which competitive networks are likely to continue developing  in 2011 - mobile integration. Futureproof data demonstrates the increasing importance of mobile internet use and shows significant growth of mobile social networking in 2010. Forty four percent of ‘frequent’ social network users have accessed Facebook via a mobile device, up from 30% in 2009, with half now accessing every day. Perhaps unsurprisingly, frequent mobile social media users are young, trendy, tech savvy, affluent and, crucially, willing to pay for content (so long as it’s right for them).

So what does all this mean for advertisers? Well, not only are mobile social network users attractive in terms of their potential spending power, but also in terms of their influence over others. These people are highly connected (they are using social networks, after all) and are most likely to be seen by their peers as experts across various commercial categories and they are able to convince others of their opinions. This makes them influencers on other people’s buying decisions. In other words, these frequent mobile social media users are most likely to be the mavens and Influencers across all product categories tested on TGI.

B.L. 21.1.2011