By adaptive - April 15th, 2013

Understanding the profile of your corporation’s customers is vital ensure social media touch points are leveraged for maximum advantage.

For corporations trying to make sense of their social media followers looking closely at the demographic profile of these groups can be highly revealing. Businesses that clearly understand who their brand advocates are, which sectors of the population are using which social media platforms and why, plus how geo-social standing impacts on the use of social media networks is the granular data that populates the sales funnel and concludes with increased conversions.

The latest research from Pew Internet reveals for the first time the social breakdown of network users across the US. Some of the key results include data that shows the 18-29 age group is the most active users of social media. Just over 10% more women use these networks than men, with an almost even number across highly diverse income bands. A similar even spread of users can also be seen when location is considered. It seems that whether you are in a rural or urban environment, social media is an important communications tool.

One of the key results from the Pew Internet survey is an almost even split between the genders and a clear preference for Facebook.

When the demographic make up of any social media network is considered there is always a tendency to assume that the younger age groups make up the vast majority of users. Research from K&A BrandResearch and Research Now clearly supports this with using online communities coming second to general search as the most prolific activity this group engages in. However, 77% of the 30-49 age group is active on social networks most notably Facebook. If your corporation’s core customer base is over 30 years old, don’t dismiss social media as a channel to reach these customers.

Household income, education level and race are all factors that need to be considered when using social media to reach specific groups.

Focusing on the commercial aspects of the demographic profile of social media users reveals that the most active 18-29 year olds are also high consumers of specific goods. The annual PiperJaffray assessment of the teen market reveals the usual suspects including fashion and personal care as the categories attracting the highest spend in this group.

PiperJaffray states: “Teens have cited "friends" as the strongest influence over their purchase decisions for the duration of our survey history, but "Internet" is quickly rising in profile. Approximately 53% of females and 52% of males indicate that social media impacts their purchases with Facebook being the most important, followed closely by Twitter and Instagram. But the popularity of Facebook is waning among teens with 33% citing it as the most important, down from 42% six months ago.”

"Our spring 2013 survey results suggest teens have a heightened sense of awareness surrounding seasonal spending fluctuations and broader macroeconomic sensitivities,” said Steph Wissink, Co-director of Research and Senior Research Analyst at Piper Jaffray. “Spending has moderated across discretionary categories for both upper-income and average-income teens when compared to the prior year and prior season. Yet nearly two-thirds of respondents view the economy as consistent to improving, and just over half signalled an intent to spend ‘more’ on key categories of interest, particularly fashion and status brand merchandise."

Social shopping

Looking at the wider demographic of online shoppers shows that there is huge opportunity that corporations can leverage to attract significant percentages of the discretional spend that now takes place online and in physical stores. Research by Rakuten within its e-commerce index shows that nearly half of all social media users recommend products. What’s more, the UK is the leading with way with over a third of Britons sharing product information across their social networks. And Brits are also the biggest spenders with on average, £1,088 spent per person per year online. This compares to just £464 a year ago.

“At Rakuten’s Play.com, social platforms were responsible for generating £1.8 million of direct sales in 2012, and this growth has been boosted by a 122% increase in orders from social networks specifically over the last six months,” said Adam Stewart, Marketing Director at Rakuten.

Their survey also revealed that when it comes to shopping with mobile devices one in ten of Western shoppers regularly use these platforms. In the US it is 10% and in Spain 9%. The demographic make up of preference for online or high street shopping is also telling. Both German and Austrian shoppers (46%) prefer bricks and mortar stores to make their purchases. But the Taiwanese and Brazilian shoppers, 29% and 26% respectively follow their UK counterparts in their preference for online shopping.

“Social is set to become increasingly important, for example Gartner predicted earlier this year that 50% of information on new customers will be based on social network identities, such as ‘login with Facebook’, by the end of 2015, which is up from less than 5% today. As an industry we need to build consumer confidence in social shopping platforms, as well as allowing shoppers to easily share content through these channels,” Stewart concluded.

In addition, RichRelevance have also looked closely at the demographic components of mobile shoppers. In March, shopping on mobile represented a 9.1% revenue share of all e-commerce sales, up nearly a percentage point (from 8.2%) since the Christmas shopping period. Mobile shopping continues to outpace desktop purchasing. In March, the average purchase on mobile was £109.68 compared to £100.05 on desktop computers.

The majority of mobile revenue comes from iPads, which account for 82% of all mobile spend. However, March average order values (AOV) were highest on iPhones, jumping up significantly from the prior month. March iPhone purchases averaged £135.63 compared to £119 on other mobile devices, £111.41 on the iPad and £107.70 on desktop. The most expensive purchases were made on the iPhone, at an average of £84.77 per item compared to £74.38 on other mobile devices, £69.63 on iPad and £38.46 on desktop.

Brits were nearly twice as likely to spend on mobile as Americans, where mobile accounted for only 4.6% of revenue. American shoppers made their largest purchases on their iPads: the average order value was $158 for iPad vs. $105 for other mobile devices vs. $104 for iPhone and other iOS devices in March 2012. Whilst the percentage of shopping sessions on iPads also rose in the US on weekends, iPad share of shopping sessions reached only 7% on weekends compared to 5% during the week.

“Today’s consumers visit retail websites from multiple platforms throughout the day. Whether they are shopping from their desk at work, browsing on their mobile phone while in the queue at lunch or making a purchase at home in the evening from their iPad, they expect a consistent experience that is optimised for any device they choose,” said Darren Hitchcock, vice president of UK and European territories, RichRelevance.

Mobile commerce is clearly growing and is also becoming popular with increasingly diverse demographic groups.

Also, ebay has made a prediction that social shopping will top £3.3 billion by 2014 – doubling its current estimates. Head of mobile shopping at eBay, Petra Jung, commented: “There’s a billion pound prize for UK retailers in using social to help customers make up their minds when they’re looking to buy something. Generating direct sales is part of the prize in social shopping but using peer-to-peer networks to influence purchasing decisions is the far bigger opportunity. Many shoppers, particularly women, want fun and inspiration as much as information when they shop, and social networks are a great way to seek out a friend’s advice, see other people’s style, and get ideas.”

What this means in practice is that corporations need to do more to understand the profile of their core consumers. The research that is carried out here will pay massive dividends as this data feeds into every aspect of your business’ social media activity and influences each and every message that must be tailor made to fit the demographic group you are targeting.

Next Reads

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