Tag: Facebook

Social media behavior tracked in new study

| April 8, 2013

social media studySocial media study sheds some light on the interests of consumers

Digital agency iAcquire recently partnered with SurveyMonkey, a market research firm, in order to shed some light on how people use social media. Years ago, as consumer electronics first began growing more popular, there were concerns that technology would lead to the society’s isolation from itself; people becoming more enthralled by technology and less integrated into their communities and society as a whole. The advent of mobile technology appears to have put those concerns to rest, as smartphones and tablets have enabled people to stay in constant contact with one another no matter where they are or what they are doing. Social media plays a major role in this constant connection.

Social media engagement increased 30 billion minutes between 2011 and 2012

According to a new study produced by iAcquire and SurveyMonkey, the time consumers spend engaged in social media has increased by 30 billion minutes from 2011 to 2012. The two firms have studied the way people use social media, tracking what they share, how they share, and what they search for. The firms also took note of age demographics and which of these demographics favored particular social networking sites.

Older consumers are more connected to social networks

According to the study, those between the ages of 18 and 29 favor Orkut, a social media site operated by Google. Reddit, DeviantArt, and Github follow closely behind. For those older than 30, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter are the most favored social networks. Facebook is not strictly preferred by either demographic, but is still used regularly. The study shows that social media is most prolific among those over the age of 30 and that the majority of all social media users, across all ages, do not use Facebook search or the search functions of other social networking sites.

Facebook begins slipping

The study shows that Facebook is beginning to lose traction with social media users, with its time engagement falling 4% between 2011 and 2012. During the same time, engagement in Google+ rose by 80% and engagement in Pinterest rose a staggering 1,000%. Social media behavior is expected to continue evolving, especially as social networks begin to focus more heavily on the mobile space as a way to engage a new generation of consumer.

Consumers devote much of their time to mobile games

| April 6, 2013

mobile games consumersFlurry highlights the time investment consumers devote to mobile games and social networking

Flurry, a mobile startup that offers analytic reports concerning the mobile space, has released a new report concerning how mobile consumers use their time. Smartphones and tablets have become a very important part of the lives of millions of people all over the world. These devices are regularly used to interact with contacts, shop, watch movies, and play games and offer consumers nearly endless access to the Internet and all the resources therein. Flurry notes that there are three main activities wherein Android and iOS users spend the majority of their time.

Consumers spend most of their time in apps, specifically Facebook

According to the firm, Android and iOS users spend an average of 2 hours and 38 minutes every day on mobile applications. Approximately 80% of this time is spent within an application itself, 32% of this time is spent on mobile games, and 20% is spent by browsing the Internet. Social networking accounts for the majority of the time consumers spend on their smartphones and tablets, with Flurry’s report showing that much of this time is devoted to Facebook.

Mobile games account for large portion of time spend on mobile devices

Mobile games take up a significant portion of consumers’ time as well, with many investing their time into these games while traveling or waiting for events to begin. Mobile games are the primary form of entertainment for those on mobile devices, whereas entertainment platforms like YouTube account for significantly less time investment by comparison. Mobile games appear to be so popular because they are easy to pick up and play and most are free.

Facebook may find success through engaging consumers with mobile games

Facebook could have a significant opportunity due to how much time mobile consumers invest on the platform. The social network already boasts of 680 million mobile users accessing it every month. If Facebook can find a way to engage these people more effectively, it may be able to significantly eclipse other social networks, like Twitter and Pintrest. Mobile games may be an adequate way to accomplish this task, as consumers have already shown their willingness to play these games, especially through Facebook, which boasts of a substantial social gaming network.