69% of US online shoppers regularly use social media sites, according to the "2010 Social Media Report" from ForeSee Results.
The overwhelming winner in terms of shopper presence was Facebook, with more than half of respondents using it regularly. YouTube took the second spot, with former giant MySpace far behind its rival. Only about 1 in 10 online shoppers surveyed used Twitter.
Social media sites used regularly by US online shoppers, December 2009 (% of respondents):
- Facebook: 56%
- YouTube: 22%
- MySpace: 15%
- Twitter: 11%
- LinkedIn: 8%
- Flickr: 5%
- Yelp: 2%
- Other social Website: 2%
- I do not use social sites: 31%
More than half of online shoppers who use social media choose to engage with brands on the sites by friending or following them. While some social site users interacted with a large number of brands, most were fans of only a few. Social network users actively want to engage, but their time and attention is limited.
Number of brands/retailers that US online shoppers interact with on social media sites, December 2009 (% of respondents):
- 1-5: 61%
- 6-10: 21%
- 11-20: 10%
- 20+: 8%
The report also confirmed earlier research that the top reasons for interacting with brands on social sites were to get a good deal and learn about products, with nearly half of brand followers selecting each goal. Only a few were interested in customer support. (eMarketer, February 2010)
