Social media good for business

MEDIA RELEASE

31 May 2012

Social media good for business

Survey shows brands improve their profile on social media sites

Kiwis of all ages are prolific users of social media but it’s not just to keep up to date with family and friends. Nearly 60 per cent of Kiwis follow at least one brand and over one third (37 per cent) say a social media presence makes a brand more appealing to them, according to a recent Colmar Brunton survey

The survey of more than 1,000 Kiwis across all ages showed that 63 per cent of respondents actively use social media sites, with 59 per cent following at least one brand, the most popular being online shopping sites such as Amazon and Trade Me (30 per cent), airlines (26 per cent) and retail stores (24 per cent) And for the most part, having a social media presence is a positive: only three per cent said it makes the brand less appealing, with 37 per cent saying it makes it appeal more.

Colmar Brunton’s innovation and business development director Vanessa Clark said Kiwis under 40 are much more likely to be active followers of companies on social media sites, and more likely to give feedback, but over 40s should not be ignored.

“Over 40s do not tend to give much away compared with younger groups, who are more likely to use social media to share their thoughts, lives and opinions,” she said.

“However, older consumers can be powerful advocates once they’re won over. They just need a little more ‘wooing’ to actively engage and commit.’

The survey also showed that increasingly, smartphones are being used to access social media: 47 per cent of online Kiwis now have smartphones, up from 27 per cent last year, and three quarters (73 per cent) use their smartphone to access social media.

Other highlights include:

- Facebook is the most popular social media site, with 62 per cent of respondents saying it is the site they visit most often, compared with 2 per cent for Twitter

- Over half (51 per cent) of respondents use Facebook daily

- Linked In is most popular amongst those aged 40-49, who are 3-4 times more likely to be sharing information and updating links than younger age groups

- MySpace is a ‘faded star’ with only 23 percent of those who were aware of MySpace (86 per cent of all respondents) saying they’d ever visited it at all, and even then, only rarely

- 19 per cent of respondents use a smart phone or other portable device to access social media sites

ENDS

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