connectology LARGER GRAYLING How do the British connect online and what does that mean for communicators?

Transcription

1 connectology LARGER GRAYLING How do the British connect online and what does that mean for communicators?

2 Users are becoming socially selective about where they engage and how they engage. The increasing pickiness about which platforms to use; the retreat to the perceived privacy of Instant Messaging (IM); and increased impatience and disengagement with brands online, are a natural and understandable reaction to content overload and huge numbers of social connections. INTRODUCTION by Grayling UK Managing Director, Sarah Scholefield. It s time for the naysayers to repent - the death of social media has been greatly exaggerated. Grayling s new flagship Connectology report paints a picture of a nation with a ferocious appetite for social media use over 71% of us admit to logging on to our preferred platforms every single day. That said, what emerges from our new audience segmentation research conducted with 5, people aged across Britain, in partnership with HPI - is a bustling, and often overwhelming, digital landscape that risks consumer fatigue. Even the most avid of digital devotees (16-24 year olds) acknowledge the prevalence of pointless content and the sheer volume bombarding them. And the majority of us don t want to share our lives online and prefer to communicate one-to-one. With that in mind, commercial brands and organisations stand at a crossroads. The choice is stark continue saturating social media with a dizzying volume of self-centred content; or learn, adapt and get smart, truly getting under the skin of your audience, understanding their interests and needs and tailoring social media content to align with their natural online behaviours. The challenge for the communications industry is to respond to the social shift with platform specific strategies that can penetrate dark social and build reciprocal and lasting relationships. The Connectograph tool, launched today in tandem with the report itself, has been specifically developed to help organisations cut to the quick and gain the audience understanding required to get maximum return on their social media engagement strategy. We re proud to make it freely available to the industry a bold approach that underlines our commitment to advancing debate and effectiveness across the communications sector. 1

3 The march of social media continues The unstoppable march of social media continues abound, with half the nation (5%) aged admitting they have increased the amount of time they spend on social media in the past year. In sharp contrast, only 14% are scaling 5% back their use of social media. The trend holds true for all ages, but of those aged have increased the is most pronounced for younger amount of time they audiences aged 16-24s. spend on social media in the past year. % Frequency of social media use throughout the day % Time spent on social media vs 12 months ago more time less time 1 Check social media less than once Total Total Occasionally check social media Frequently check Social Media Constantly check Social Media 43% 43% check social media constantly or frequently 63% of us are now on social media every single day, 43% confessing to checking social media constantly or frequently throughout the day. Evidence suggests that social notifications act as a highly effective rallying call, with 53% mobilising immediately to look at content as soon as a notification is flagged. This rises to 73% of 16-24s. 2

4 But we re becoming socially selective Social users are highly selective about which sites they gravitate towards (52%), with 57% admitting they find a lot of social media pointless. The overwhelming volume of information on social media is an issue for 37% of people - a trend which again remains relatively consistent regardless of age. Almost a third of us (32%) are resistant to social media, saying we only use it when we have to. % agree Attitudes towards social media by age Oldest (55-64) Youngest (16-24) % who use weekly Top 1 social media platforms used by 16-64s Total (16-64) 1 I think a lot of social media is pointless Social media is not really for people like me I find the amount of information on social media online overwhelming I only use social media when I have to 57% admit they find a lot of social media pointless. Just a handful of social platforms are used on a weekly basis by a substantial proportion of 16-64s. Not surprisingly, younger audiences use a wider variety of platforms regularly in addition to the platforms shown above - Tumblr, Reddit, Google Hangouts and Viber are all used weekly by more than 1% of 16-34s. 3

5 It s getting darker and more intimate Although Facebook still leads the pack in terms of users, instant messaging (IM) services - part of the hard-to-track social sharing technology known as dark social are fast catching up. IM is now used by 72% of people monthly and daily by 45%. Among the users, daily use of IM soars to 79% - Facebook Messenger is used on a daily basis by 61% of us, with WhatsApp (43%) and Snapchat used daily by (44%). I prefer to talk to people online one to one % who use 1 Instant Messaging use Monthly at least Daily at least (once a day or more) % agree I often feel more comfortable sharing content with smaller social groups online Using group chats helps me to manage my different social circles Total Total The meteoric rise of IM reflects that fact that % of us would rather talk to people one-to-one online, rather than sharing information more widely. Half of us prefer sharing content with smaller social groups and this rises to74% of 16-24s, who are most likely (58%) to use Group Chats to compartmentalise their social circles. % would rather talk to people one-toone online 4

6 With British reserve alive and well The trend towards more intimate social platforms is not surprising given the gap between the number of friends and family we connect with online an average of 45 and the 237 Facebook Friends we typically boast. Facebook Friends decreases with age, with the youngest having the most connections (the 'intimacy gap' decreases with age as well) The average number of connections by age and type Often review their privacy settings online Don t like to voice their opinion online Say they share less online than the average Don t like sharing their lives online % % % Close friends and family Wider friends and family Facebook friends Total Despite the rise of social, we re no longer keen to broadcast every element of our lives - 61% of us don t like sharing our lives online and 43% prefer not to voice their opinion online vs only 29% who say they do. Around half (48%) of 16-64s regularly check their privacy setting online, with the youngest group most likely to do so. 61% don t like sharing our lives online 5

7 All making it harder for brands to connect Although 16-64s boast a sizeable average of 37 brand connections on social media rising to for the youngest group the platforms on which they connect are very limited. A quarter of Facebook monthly users choose to connect with brands and 15% willingly connect on Twitter (more than a third of the monthly users) only 4% of people are connecting with brands via instant messaging (just 6% of the monthly users). 37 Average brand connections on social media % that do Text Instant Messaging How do we connect with brands? Facebook 3% 25% % 15% 1% 5% Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Average number of social brand connections by age Phone Pinterest Snapchat Total Picture messaging also scores surprising badly 63% of 16-24s use Instagram monthly yet, only 11% of this age group connect with brands on the platform (less than a fifth). Gap The Snapchat gap is even wider 61% only of 16-24s of 16-24s use it monthly but less 2% Snapchat connect with than 2% connect with brands there. brands on Snapchat 6

8 particularly when they don t add value 65% of 16-64s find much of the content posted by brands on social media irrelevant (just 12% disagree) and more than half (51%) think most brands add no value to their social media experience (18% disagree). Despite this, there is clearly an appetite for meaningful and substantive engagement less than a third of us (29%) follow brands just to get offers and deals. 29% Follow brands just to get offers Total I m happy to make complaints publicly about brands/ organisations online I mainly follow brands/organisations on social media for offers and deals Total Most brands don t add value to my social media experience A lot of content posted by brands on social media is irrelevant to me % Agree When it comes to taking brands to task, a growing number of British people are willing to engage with brands online. 41% are happy to publicly complain about brands and organisations online and more than half of 25-34s (52%) say they are % Agree 7

9 8 It s time to reconnect where it matters Brands ignore dark social at their peril. All ages use these channels and instant and picture messaging are already a fundamental part of the daily lives of Millennials and the younger audiences behind them. Brands must move from mass broadcasting to create platform-focused content that individuals are motivated to share with their intimate connections - and find ways to track it. % 1 Instant Messaging use Monthly at least Daily at least (once a day or more) % who follow bloggers/vloggers Total Regularly check out specific blogs Regularly check out specific vlogs Online influencers including bloggers and vloggers can be critical conduits to hard to reach audiences on these platforms. But increasingly brands must also work directly with relevant platforms to build their own subscriber bases and engage, entertain and respond to them directly. Total

10 Delivering rich content that adds value Many brands are still far too self-centred on social - talking about themselves and failing to truly connect with consumers' functional and emotional needs. More than ever, it s critical to have a deep understanding of the type of content your target audience is connecting with online. That informs the brand appropriate territory in which you can add real value and build sustained engagement. With 69% of the total audience using free news sites and apps every week more than half of 25-34s do so daily there is clear opportunity for brands to produce richer and more lasting content around subjectswhere the brand and audience interests intersect. To add real value and sustain engagement brands must be informed in appropriate territories % of 16-64s who connect with this type of content online versus % of the Millennials 25-34s who have a high level of interest Local politics in these subjects Business and economy DIY and gardening Hair and beauty Celebrities Science and technology Information about my local community Games/gaming Health and fitness Travel and places Total Personal finances Music Cooking and recipes 9

11 And harnessing creative energy More than half of 16-64s (52%) post their photos online (74% of 16-24s) and 17% post their own video (26% of 25-34s). One in 1 of us writes for a blog even 6% of 55-64s are blogging. Knowing the content behaviours of their key audiences allows brands to activate, crowd-source and curate authentic shareable content that deepens connections. 6% Of s are blogging 7 5 What people share online (% who do) post own photos post own video write blog posts 3 % who have watched Youtube content in the last year Total watched professional video watched video made by individuals 1 Total Video is increasingly critical - 48% watch professionally made videos, 58% watch videos made by individuals. Amongst 16-24s, 82% watch videos made by individuals (up from 48%). 65% of 16-24s subscribe to a YouTube channel. What s in it for them? should drive audience as creator activity be it rewards or reputation. A quarter of 16-64s admit their online image matters a lot climbing to 43% of 16-24s. 1

12 A segmentation model for better connections Savvy Exhibitionists 8% of national total Always-on content generators who share their lives on multiple platforms Super Connectors 17% of national total Widely connected content sharers who embrace picture messaging Considered Contributors 34% of national total Regular connectors sharing personal content with those they know To better understand how British consumers are connecting online and what it means for communicators, Grayling has worked with HPI Research to classify consumers into six distinct types of digital connectors based on key behavioural and attitudinal measures. New Traditionalists Private Pragmatists Social Minimalists The model was developed using factor and correlation analysis of the Connectology research conducted online with a nationally representative sample of 5, British people aged years. It provides a snapshot of how different segments of the population connect online where, when, why and with whom - to help inform more effective and targeted platform and content strategies. 18% of national total Limited personal and brand connections on mainstream platforms 7% of national total Prefer functional online connections with small groups or individuals 16% of national total Disengaged from social media and least connected across all platforms 11

13 The Connectograph Grayling UK s free to use tool; built to help you better understand what types of digital connectors make up your consumer audiences. It uses HPI's and Grayling's proprietary segmentation model - built on a study of 5, consumers aged across Britain. To learn more about the Connectology Segments and how you can use them to inform more effective platform and content strategies, please contact: Total Sample Age All Gender All Savvy Exhibitionists Super Connectors Considered Contributors New Traditionalists Private Pragmatics Social Minimalists Grayling is a leading global communications network, delivering data-driven strategies for Public Relations, Public Affairs and Stakeholder Engagement, Investor Relations and Event Management. Grayling operates from 54 offices in 26 countries worldwide across Europe, North America, the Middle East & Asia. In the UK, Grayling has a wholly owned network of eight offices, providing our clients with on-the-ground support where they need it. Headquartered in London, HPI are a team of passionate, creative and expert researchers with the mission to enable our clients to Discover More through integrated research solutions and genuinely insightful thinking. Daniel Lewis Partner daniel.lewis@hpiresearch.com To use it simply click here and choose the age group and gender most relevant to your audience. Sarah Scholefield Managing Director UK & Ireland sarah.scholefield@grayling.com +44 ()