Survey of 1,000 UK internet users on their Social Media Behaviour. Customer Service and Brand Engagement expectations are particularly interesting. See www.iabuk.net for more.
Social Networking in Ireland - an Amrach report August2010
2010 IAB UK Social Media Survey
1. Social Media
Exclusive data for IAB UK
December 2010
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Copyright 2010 Lightspeed Research. Proprietary Information. All Rights Reserved.
2. About this survey
The survey was run on Lightspeed Research's UK online panel in November/December2010. The results are
based on 1,000.
Highlights from the results
• Most people log in to social networks throughout the day, although 43% check social networks before
bed, and one in five check them when they wake up.
• Holiday, wedding and birthday party photos are the most commonly viewed pictures on social
networks
• 28% have uploaded a picture of a meal they were eating to a social network site - this increases to
47% for 18-34 year olds
• About one quarter of respondents had texted a friend or updated their Facebook status about an X-
Factor performance.
• Three quarters of respondents heard about Michael Jackson's death on the news
• Most respondents make complaints via a website (44%) or by phone (26%)
• Those who lodged a complaint online were asked how quickly they would expect a brand to get back
to them. For all options, within a day was the most common answer.
• Being professional and friendly are the two characteristics respondents most want in a brand to have
in their advertising and communications
Results
• Most people log in to social networks throughout the day, although 43% check social networks before
bed, and one in five check them when they wake up.
o Women are more likely than men to log in at lunchtime
o 18-34 year olds are the most likely to log in at any of the time periods we asked about
o Those in the North are most likely to login throughout the day, while those in the south are the
most likely to login at lunch time
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Copyright 2010 Lightspeed Research. Proprietary Information. All Rights Reserved.
3. When do you normally login to social
networking sites:
Total Male Female
50 % % %
48
52
45 %
43 % 41 %
21 %
19 % % %18 %
19 18
15 % 15 % % % 13 % %
14
17
14 12 %
9% %%
11
8
2% % %
1 2
I login Bef ore you When you At lunch At dinner While I am During work At school
regularly go to bed wake up time time on the go
through out (i.e. through
the day my mobile)
Source: Lightspeed Research, UK data
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Copyright 2010 Lightspeed Research. Proprietary Information. All Rights Reserved.
4. When do you normally login to social
networking sites:
18 – 34 35 – 54 55 – 64
55 % 57 %
48 % %
45
44 %
30 %
27 % 26 % 25 % 24 %
16 % 15 % % 15 %
11 % 13 11 % %
10 9% 7%
3% 5% 4%
0% %
0
I login Bef ore you When you At lunch At dinner While I am During work At school
regularly go to bed wake up time time on the go
through out (i.e. through
the day my mobile)
Source: Lightspeed Research, UK data
When do you normally login to social
networking sites:
North Midlands South
55 %
47 % % 45 % %
48 45
38 %
23 %
19 % % % 18 %
18 18 18 %
15 % 13 % % 14 % % %
14 12 12 10 % % %
8 10
2% % %
1 1
I login Bef ore you When you At lunch At dinner While I am During work At school
regularly go to bed wake up time time on the go
through out (i.e. through
the day my mobile)
Source: Lightspeed Research, UK data
4
Copyright 2010 Lightspeed Research. Proprietary Information. All Rights Reserved.
5. • Holiday, wedding and birthday party photos are the most commonly viewed pictures on social
networks
o Once again 18-34s are the age group most likely to have viewed each type of picture on a
social network site
o One in five 55-64 year olds haven't looked at any of these picture types on a social network
site
Have you viewed pictures from the following
occasions on a social networking site?
Total Male Female
76 % % %
75 77
70 %
65 % %
59 63 % % 66 %
60
23 % % %
22 23
14 % % %
16
12
3% 4% 2%
holiday wedding birthday party christening f uneral None of the
above
Source: Lightspeed Research, UK data
Have you viewed pictures from the following
occasions on a social networking site?
18 – 34 35 – 54 55 – 64
82 %
74 % % 76 % 77 %
72
60 %
59 %
56 %
47 %
31 %
18 % %
21
16 %
20 %
8%
4% 2% 2%
holiday wedding birthday party christening f uneral None of the
above
Source: Lightspeed Research, UK data
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Copyright 2010 Lightspeed Research. Proprietary Information. All Rights Reserved.
6. • 28% have uploaded a picture of a meal they were eating to a social network site - this increases to
47% for 18-34 year olds
o Men are more likely than women to have done this
Proportion that have uploaded a picture of a meal
they were eating onto a social network site
47 %
32 % 31 %
28 % 27 %
24 % 25 %
21 %
13 %
Total Male Female 18 – 34 35 – 54 55 – 64 North Midlands South
Source: Lightspeed Research, UK data
• About one quarter of respondents had texted a friend or updated their Facebook status about an X-
Factor performance.
o Women and those aged 18-34 were slightly more likely to have done these things than men
o Those living in the South (19%) were much less likely to have updated their Facebook status
about a performance than those in the Midlands (25%) or the North (26%)
Have you ever done any of the following things
whilst watching X Factor?
Total Male Female
55 %
51 %
46 %
29 %
26 % 24 %22 %25 %
22 %
14 %13 % 14 %
9 % 10 % 7 %
5% 6% 4%
Texted a f riend Updated status on Phoned a f riend Sent an email Sent a tweet about I don’t watch X
about a Facebook about a about a about a a perf ormance Factor
perf ormance perf ormance perf ormance perf ormance
Source: Lightspeed Research, UK data
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Copyright 2010 Lightspeed Research. Proprietary Information. All Rights Reserved.
7. Have you ever done any of the following things
whilst watching X Factor?
18 – 34 35 – 54 55 – 64
70 %
51 %
38 % 39 %
32 %
23 %
23 %
15 %14 %
12 % 11 % 11 % 11 % 9 % 10 %
4% 3% 2%
Texted a f riend Updated status on Phoned a f riend Sent an email Sent a tweet about I don’t watch X
about a Facebook about a about a about a a perf ormance Factor
perf ormance perf ormance perf ormance perf ormance
Source: Lightspeed Research, UK data
• Three quarters of respondents heard about Michael Jackson's death on the news
o Twitter was the least common way of hearing the news
How did you first hear about Michael Jackson
dying?
Total 18 – 34 35 – 54 55 – 64
91 %
77 %
74 %
58 %
12 % 12 % 11 %
8% 6 %5 % 7% 5% 6% 5% 5 %4 %5 %3 %
2% 0% 2 %3 %1 %0 %
On the news Someone told you On a social Via text message Other On Twitter
in person networking site
Source: Lightspeed Research, UK data
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Copyright 2010 Lightspeed Research. Proprietary Information. All Rights Reserved.
8. • Most respondents make complaints via a website (44%) or by phone (26%)
o 18-34 year olds are the least likely to use phone or post, and the most likely to use a
Facebook
o One in five have never made a complaint
How do you normally make complaints about
brands?
Total Male Female
45 %
44 % 42 %
38 %
36 %
33 %
24 % 19 %
22 % %
19 20 % 20 %
12 %
8% 8 %8 %8 %
5%
2 %3 %1 % 1 %0 %1 %
Via a website On the phone Via post On a f orum On a On Twitter Other social I have not
Facebook networking made a
page site complaint
Source: Lightspeed Research, UK data
How do you normally make complaints about
brands?
18 – 34 35 – 54 55 – 64
45 %
44 %
40 % 38 % %
39
30 %
25 % %
24 19 % %
22
19 %
16 % 15 %
12 %
7%
5% 5 %4 % 3 %1 %2 %
1 %0 %1 %
Via a website On the phone Via post On a f orum On a On Twitter Other social I have not
Facebook networking made a
page site complaint
Source: Lightspeed Research, UK data
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Copyright 2010 Lightspeed Research. Proprietary Information. All Rights Reserved.
9. • Those who lodged a complaint online were asked how quickly they would expect a brand to get back
to them. For all options, within a day was the most common answer, with the majority of respondents
falling in the "within a day" to "within 3 days" window.
o Respondents were more lenient with a complaint lodged on a website, with 27% saying up to
3 days was reasonable, compared to only 16% that gave this time period for a complaint on
Twitter.
o About one in five respondents would expect a response within the hour on twitter or on
Facebook.
o Only a small proportion of respondents expected responses within 10 minutes
o Gender and age results are consistent with the overall
How quickly would you expect a brand to get
back to you? (those who lodged a complaint
online)
Website Twitter Forum Facebook
50 %
42 % % %
43 42
27 %
19 % 21 %
17 %
14 % 16 % 18 %
10 %
6%
5 %6 % 7 %8 %9 %9 % 9 %8 %9 %
3% 2%
Within 10 minutes Within an hour Within a day Within 3 days Within a week Within 28 days
Source: Lightspeed Research, UK data
Base: Those who lodged a complaint online
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Copyright 2010 Lightspeed Research. Proprietary Information. All Rights Reserved.
10. • Being professional and friendly are the two most important characteristics for a brand to have
Characteristics consumers would like
brands to have in their advertising and
communications
Prof essional 37 %
Friendly 33 %
Creative 26 %
Respectf ul 26 %
Innovative 23 %
Entertaining 17 %
Clever 16 %
Cheap 16 %
Human 15 %
Generous 13 %
Funny 12 %
Cutting-edge 10 %
Cool 9%
Adventurous 7%
Mysterious 3%
Brave 2%
Chatty 1%
Boring 1% Source: Lightspeed Research, UK data
None of the above 6%
Continued over
10
Copyright 2010 Lightspeed Research. Proprietary Information. All Rights Reserved.
11. • Friendly is more important to women than men
• Innovative and cool are more important to men than women
Characteristics consumers would like
brands to have in their advertising and
communications
Prof essional 36 %
37 %
Friendly 28 % 38 %
Creative 26 %
26 %
Respectf ul 24 % 28 %
Innovative 20 % 25 %
Entertaining 15 % 18 %
Clever 15 % %
17
Cheap 16 %%
17
Human 14 %
15 %
11 % Male Female
Generous 15 %
Funny 10 % 13 %
Cutting-edge 8 % 11 %
Cool 6% 11 %
Adventurous 6% 8%
Mysterious 33 %
%
Brave 2%
2%
Chatty 11 %
%
Boring 01 %
%
Source: Lightspeed Research, UK data
None of the above 5% %
7
Continued over
11
Copyright 2010 Lightspeed Research. Proprietary Information. All Rights Reserved.
12. • The importance of professional, respectful and human communications increases with age
• Innovative, cheap, cool and cutting edge are most important to 18-34s
Characteristics consumers would like
brands to have in their advertising and
communications
Prof essional 29 % 38 % 45 %
Friendly 30 % 34 %
35 %
Creative 28 %
27 %
22 %
Respectf ul 21 % 27 % 32 %
Innovative 26 %
21 %%
22
Entertaining 15 % %
18 %
19
Clever 13 % 17 %%
18
Cheap 14 % 20 %
15 %
Human 12 % 15 %
20 %
12 % % 18 – 34 35 – 54 55 – 64
Generous 13 %
14
Funny 12 %
11 %
12 %
Cutting-edge 6% 9 % 13 %
Cool 8% 14 %
2%
Adventurous 6 %%
7%
8
Mysterious 34 %
2% %
Brave 4%
01 %
%
Chatty 1%
1%
1%
Boring 01%%
1
% Source: Lightspeed Research, UK data
None of the above 5 %%
6
6%
For more information please contact:
Ralph Risk, Marketing Director, EMEA
T: +44 (0)207 896 1950 | M: +44 (0)787 650 7689| F: +44 (0)207 896 1901
rrisk@lightspeedresearch.com | www.lightspeedresearch.com
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Copyright 2010 Lightspeed Research. Proprietary Information. All Rights Reserved.