According to the BlogHer and iVillage “2010 Social Media Matters Study,” co-sponsored by The Nielsen Company and Ketchum, social sites are now a frequent destination for nearly three-quarters of Internet users. The study found similar rates of usage among men and women, and pegged the percentage of weekly social media users at 73% of the online population.
Respondents’ top daily media activities were social as well. Watching television is still on top, but Facebook was the next most common media destination visited every day. Among survey respondents, social media games were as popular as reading print newspapers.
Among BlogHer Network users only, usage was significantly higher. For example, 77% read blogs every day and 35% used Twitter.
Social destinations become more important when these especially social-savvy users are looking for information about a potential purchase. Search engines are the No. 1 starting point for information about products and services, but blogs, user-generated content and social networks were more likely to be used frequently for purchase advice than traditional sources such as magazines, television and newspapers.
Among all US Internet users, about one-fifth said blogs and social networks were a good place to find out about new products. One-quarter liked to visit social networks for advice and recommendations and more than one-third considered social networks a good media destination for general information.
“The days of relying on one source for information are over,” said Jodi Kahn, executive vice president of iVillage, in a statement. “Online peer-to-peer advice on message boards has increasingly become one of the most valuable sources for product recommendations. Marketers cannot afford to overlook this captive audience.”
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