msi the faces of social media

Faces of Social Media:

Percep2ons in 2013

© 2013 MSI Interna/onal 2

Remember when social media was comprised of male engineers?


MySpace takes social to the next level, implemen/ng the concept of connec/ng with friends and personal “walls.”

Innova/ve AOL sets the stage for social networking before we even know it as “social.”

Pinterest allows for social sharing of photo collec/on ‘pinboards’.

Instagram features mobile photo sharing.

LinkedIn brings business networking online.

TwiOer brings a more real-‐/me experience to social media.

Google creates G+ to get back in the game.

Facebook is born, forever changing social media.


Over 1 billion users

Over 500 million users

Over 200 million business professionals



Over 48.5 million users



“What are the respec2ve personali2es of these communi2es and where will they be going in the future?”

As we’ve witnessed this explosion of social media, we con/nually ask ourselves,


To answer these ques/ons, MSI deployed an interac/ve methodology where par/cipants were asked to associate photos of a cross sec/on* of people with each of the major social networks.

In essence – have consumers put a face on the social media outlets.

*Note: In an effort to reduce par/cipant burden, we focused solely on age and gender. The inclusion of race would have at least tripled the number of photos to be sorted.


Methodology

Sample Size

•   628 total online interviews leveraging a free associa/on technique

•   Sampling error of +/-‐ 3.9% at 95% confidence interval

Respondent Criteria

•   18 years of age or older •   Not in sensi/ve industry

Data Collec2on

•   February 2013

Interview Length

•   13 minutes

•   Personality aOributes of the faces of social media •   Associa/on of 10 faces to social networking sites •   Social media usage habits

Survey Topic and Content

•   Completes were stra/fied and balanced by age and gender of online popula/on

Sampling Specifica2ons


Percep2ons of our faces

Teens’ faces were viewed as being on the cuOng edge of social trends.

Seniors were seen as conserva2ve, family-‐oriented, trustworthy and set in their ways.

Gen X and Gen Y males and females shared the trait of needing to be the best.

Differences by gender were most prominent among the Baby Boomers, where the male was viewed as a leader and the female was associated with maternal traits.


to social networks? So how do these

associa/ons carry through


Key findings:

On average, consumers allocate 6 of our faces to Facebook, indica/ng greater user diversity. In contrast, other sites received about 3-‐4 faces, sugges/ng a much narrower user profile.


Social network site associa2on

Teen Females (74%)

Gen Y Females (68%)

Teen Males (66%)

Gen X Females (53%)

Gen Y Males (48%)

Most associated with:

Boomer Females (42%)

Teen Females (58%)

Gen Y Females (43%)

Teen Males (46%)


Gen X Males (70%)

Boomer Males (67%)

Gen Y Males (67%)



Teen Females (40%)

Gen Y Females (46%)

Gen X Females (47%)



Teen Females (65%)

Gen Y Females (52%)

Teen Males (61%)

Gen Y Males (41%)


Gen Y Males (44%)


Gen X Males (42%)

Senior Males (34%)

Boomer Males (43%)


Key findings:

18 years old

55+ years old

When it comes to awareness, Facebook is pervasive across all ages, while Instagram doesn’t resonate among those over 45.

Pinterest is most recognized to middle-‐age consumers.

45 years old

© 2013 MSI Interna/onal 13 * Usage data based to online popula1on.

Key findings: When it comes to usage, Facebook usage is high among all age groups. Instagram and Pinterest are clearly used more by those under 35. Usage of LinkedIn increases with age*.

35 to 55+ years 18 to 35 years

18 to 55+ years

© 2013 MSI Interna/onal 14 * Usage data based to online popula1on.

Key findings: When we look at age and gender, Instagram, TwiOer and Google+ clearly appeal

to the under 35 demographic. Pinterest and to some extent Instagram skew more female. And LinkedIn is more popular with older males and females.*


most associated with them?

We then asked ourselves, what is the personality of these

sites based on the faces


Social Network Site Associa2on Personality: •   Diverse personality to match

the diverse user profile

Personality: •   Care about social status •   Social buOerflies •   Prefer movies to books •   Not seen as workaholics

Personality: •   Need to be best at what they do •   Workaholics •   Independent •   Leaders of the pack

Personality: •   Care about social status •   Not conserva/ve

Personality: •   Social buOerflies •   Wait in line for newest technology •   Trend seOers •   Not conserva/ve

Personality: •   Need to be the best at what they do •   Not ar/s/c •   Set in their ways


But since change is inevitable, what does the future hold?


Using momentum as an indicator, people see these 5 sites on the rise:

*Bases vary

When asked, respondents indicated that the following sites were on their way up and have a lot going for them.* No2ce how Pinterest has the highest momentum among all age groups.


Further, women believe that Pinterest is the brand with the highest momentum by a large margin.


And given that Instagram and TwiXer are younger sites, these are worth watching as far as future growth. Let’s not forget that Facebook started as a social network of predominantly young people.


But Facebook is not “dying out.” In fact, it appears that younger adults are not abandoning Facebook for the newer alterna/ves – rather they’re adding other sites and simultaneously increasing their usage of social media overall.

Interested in learning more about the kind of marke/ng research insight MSI can provide for your company?

Contact us at: [email protected] 610-‐265-‐2000

Or visit our website: msimsi.com

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