Nielsen’s “Social Media Report – 2012”

January 31, 2013      Admin

Market research firm Nielsen has just released what should be one of the more authoritative reviews of consumer use of social media —The-Social-Media-Report-2012.

Very comprehensive information that you’ll find helpful as you plan the level of effort your organization should be making with media like mobile and social nets.

Some factoids:

  • 17% of US consumer PC time is spent on Facebook.
  • The PC still is used twice as much as mobile devices to access social media.
  • That said, minutes spent on mobile are skyrocketing, while time spent on PCs is barely inching forward.
  • Pininterest is the fastest growing social app — unique audience up 1698%, but still about one-fifth the size of Twitter audience and 6% the size of Facebook.
  • 50% of social media users express concerns/complaints about brands/services at least once a month (53% compliment brands).

Says Nielsen:

“The days when companies could tightly control brand messaging and progress consumers along a linear purchase funnel have long ended. Social media has fundamentally changed the consumer decision journey. Consumer decisions and behaviors are increasingly driven by the opinions, tastes and preferences of an exponentially larger, global pool of friends, peers and influencers.”

Of interest to nonprofits might be what Nielsen calls “Social Care Use” — using social nets to seek customer service. 47% of social media users engage in social care, prompting this comment from Nielsen:

“Social care, i.e. customer service via social media, has become an immediate imperative for global brands. Customers choose when and where they voice their questions, issues and complaints, blurring the line between marketing and customer service. Brands should consider this evolution and ensure they are ready to react on all channels.”

For our non-US readers, the report includes comparisons with social media usage in other regions.

All in all, excellent source material.

Tom

 

 

One response to “Nielsen’s “Social Media Report – 2012””

  1. Kim Silva says:
    January 31, 2013 at 12:00 pm

    Since when is marketing and customer service NOT intertwined? Once again, my old-school customer service training is coming forth. Forgive me for being a dinosaur.

    And, I would love more access to customer service from my vendors, especially retailers. When customers can get answers fast and when they need them, it makes the whole process much smoother. If I have to call an 800# and be put on hold, I want to scream. I presume that my donors would feel the same. We’ve had a lot of success communicating via social media. It takes time, but it is an important reason we do social media – not to necessarily bring in new donors, but to steward and connect with our existing donors, volunteers, and supporters.

    Interesting article. Thanks!

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