Social Networking: The Newest Trend!

The newest and fastest growing trend for social networking is the use of mobile devices as opposed to traditional desktop PC access to social sites.

A recent survey conducted by Ruder Finn, one of the largest independent PR agencies in the world, shows that the use of mobile devices for social media is increasing in leaps and bounds!

Here are some of the factoids gleaned from this recent research, in which Ruder Finn looked at the “intent” behind mobile use:

• 91% of mobile phone users go online to socialize compared to only 79% of traditional desktop users.

• Mobile phone users are 1.6 times more likely to manage finances compared to traditional desktop users (62% versus 39%).

• Mobile phone users are 1.4 times more likely than traditional desktop users to rally support for a cause (67% versus 47%).

Source: the Ruder Finn Study February 2010

According to this study, called the Mobile Intent Index, mobile phone users are not accessing internet for educational purposes or for creative expression.

The data illustrates the increase of mobile phone applications. Three out of five, or 61%, of study respondents download applications at least once a month. 36% download applications from social networking sites at least once a month.

eCommerce entrepreneurs of all descriptions will probably find the following information from the study interesting:

Mobile Intent Index Survey Results

Mobile phones are a social connector.  91% of mobile users go online to socialize, compared to only 79% of traditional users. They are using their mobile phones "at the moment" to connect with others. The top socialize intents are:

• Instant message  62%

• Forward e-mails  58% , content 40% and photos 38%

• Post comments on social networking sites 45%

• Connect to people on social networking sites 43%

So there you have it---almost half of the study participants are using mobile devices to access social sites!

This data collected in the study is relevant to ecommerce, too:

Intent of Mobile Phone Users Differ by Gender and Age

• Men look at prices but women buy.  When shopping, men are more likely than women to compare prices (47% vs. 30%), but women are more likely to purchase (40% vs. 30%).

• Women express themselves while men do business.  Women are much more likely than men to personally express themselves (49% vs. 35%) but men are much more likely to do business (62% vs. 57%).

• Men want to get away.  Men (79%) are much more likely than women (61%) to use their mobile phone to simply "escape."

• Women want to make others laugh.  Many more women (70%) than men (58%) go online using their mobile devices to entertain others.

• Youth are the target for retailers. Youth (44%) are more likely to shop over their mobile phones than the average mobile user (35%).

• Seniors want to learn. Seniors (82%) are much more likely than the traditional user (64%) to use their mobile phones to educate themselves.

It’s easy to see that social media and ecommerce are intertwined and will become even more so as time goes by.

If you haven’t started working on a social media marketing strategy for your home dropshipping business or other ecommerce endeavor---it’s time!

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