Social Networking Sites
How Kiwis use social media from Nielsen Online...
More stats – just in from Nielsen Online
May 18th, 2009Hard on the heels of our handy collection of NZ social media stats, we have new stats about how kiwis use social media from Nielsen Online.
From the press release:
“Our survey results provide fascinating insight into the online behaviour of New Zealanders and show the large numbers of consumers generating their own content on the web” says Tony Boyte, Research Director, Nielsen Online.
“If we look at Internet activity over the last four weeks, (48%) of us have created, updated or looked at an online profile on a social networking site; and nearly (30%) have contributed to a message board, online forum or wrote/commented on a blog.”
Results also show that more than two out of every five have uploaded pictures (41%), uploaded music (12%), uploaded videos (10%) or posted a review of a product or service online (9%).
Furthermore, when it comes to consuming media, almost half of the Internet population have downloaded, streamed or watched a video clip online (45%); or downloaded, streamed, or listened to music (37%).
“Add to that the number of people using online directories (47%), reading newspapers or publications online (79%) – and a staggering (81%) using search engines – and we begin to see that the Internet has become pivotal as a personal communication, media consumption and research tool for New Zealanders,” says Boyte.
Activities
According to the Nielsen 2010 Social Media Report, of NZ internet users:
- 81% sent or shared a photo
- 75% posted photos online
- 73% sent or shared a link
Of regular online activities:
- reading wikis is up 26%
- creating social network profiles is up 16%
- updating social network profiles is up 17%
- looking at others’ social network profiles is up 16%
Altogether, 1.92 million online New Zealanders have looked to their fellow internet users for opinions and information about products, services and brands.
Platforms
72% of New Zealanders use Facebook (source: Saatchi & Saatchi/Colmar Brunton, quoted here)
From the Nielsen report:
- 82% of online NZers have visited Facebook
- 70% have a Facebook profile
- 79% of social networkers say Facebook is their main social networking platform (was 19% in 2007!)
- Of those who have Facebook as their main profile, 54% visit the site at least daily, and 39% are on the site for at least 4 hours per week.
- 84% of mobile social networkers have visited Facebook (the most popular mobile site accessed)
And from Perceptive‘s July 2010 Omnibus, 15-24 year olds engage with Facebook the most frequently (surprise!).
From the Nielsen report:
- 27% of online New Zealanders have visited twitter.com
- 11% have created a Twitter profile
From Saatchi & Saatchi / Colmar Brunton:
- 14% of New Zealanders “use Twitter”
From Perceptive’s Omnibus survey, again, 15-24 year olds spend the most time on Twitter.
LinkedIn is a bit of a survivor. It’s older than most other social networks (established 2003) and it has successfully evolved from simply a place to post your resume online to a successful, business-focused social network.
LinkedIn has grown like topsy worldwide, and in New Zealand…
- There are more than 200,000 users according to Clifford Rosenberg, LinkedIn’s managing director Australia/NZ
- 8% of New Zealanders use LinkedIn, according to Saatchi & Saatchi/Colmar Brunton
- According to Perceptive, 35-54 year olds engage the most frequently with LinkedIn
YouTube
YouTube is the world’s second biggest search engine. And in New Zealand…
- 15% of mobile social networkers have accessed YouTube on their phone (Nielsen Report)
- Kiwis love engaging with YouTube, with a skew towards the younger audience (Perceptive)
Bebo
Yep, Bebo. It’s pretty much on life support, and virtually unusable for businesses (especially since they’re no longer selling NZ advertising) but it still has people on it. However it’s on the outskirts.
- In 2007, 35% named Bebo as their main social networking site. Today, it’s 4%. (Nielsen)
- 23% of mobile social networkers access Bebo on their phone.
MySpace
While Bebo was the king in NZ just 3 years ago, MySpace was the king of the world. Not so much any more.
According to Saatchi & Saatchi/Colmar Brunton 9% of New Zealanders use MySpace.
According to Nielsen, more people have a main profile on MySpace now (5%) than in 2007 (less than 1%).
According to Perceptive, MySpace is mostly frequented by 25-34 year olds.
Business
From Perceptive’s Omnibus:
This offers some guidance to companies who often feel caught in the “damned if you do/damned if you don’t” aspect of online engagement.
According to Nielsen:
- 42% of online kiwis are interacting with companies via social networking sites
- 44% have published opinions specifically about products, services and brands
- 73% have read other consumers’ product opinions
- Almost 2/3 of those who haven’t read consumer reviews and discussions intend to do so in 2010
- 44% of Twitter users in NZ say they have followed companies or brands
According to Saatchi & Saatchi/Colmar Brunton:
- 34% of kiwis want companies to actively interact with them
- 51% want companies to respond to requests on social media
- 41% want companies to solicit feedback
- 56% find companies on social media more engaging
- 57% feel better served by companies on social media
Conclusions
- Social media in New Zealand is mainstream.
- Businesses are active in social media and consumers are welcoming their presence.
- The best engagement is done on the customer’s terms
Many thanks to Jessica from Perceptive for her help putting this post together!
P.S: there’s also some great information from Social Media Club Auckland’s August session on measurement and analytics.
1-1 of 1