Survey Claims Early Adopters Tiring of Social Media

Tired little Moo by Leanne Johnson

A new report from analysts Gartner suggest that some audience segments audience are showing signs of fatigue in their social media consumption.

"The trend shows some social media fatigue among early adopters, and the fact that 31 percent of Aspirers [younger, more mobile, brand-conscious consumers] indicated that they were getting bored with their social network is a situation that social media providers should monitor, as they will need to innovate and diversify to keep consumer attention," said Brian Blau, research director at Gartner.

The research seems to indicate that, for some, the initial 'shiny new toy' effect of social media tools may be wearing off. Blau continues,

"Branded content needs to be kept fresh and must be able to capture people’s attention instantly. The new generation of consumers is restless and short on attention span, and a lot of creativity is needed to make a meaningful impact,"

This emphasises the important of the 'media' in 'social media'. All the fancy tools in the world won't be any use if the material transported across them isn't engaging. This highlights the opportunity for social media savvy brands to engage users through content. In the light of falling advertising revenues across the board, this could be music to the ears of media firms. 

Other results from the survey include:

  • 24% of respondents said they were using their favourite site less than when they first registered
  • 37% were using their favourite site more and this group tended to represent the "young and tech savvy"

So, why were the 24% using it less? According to the results, there were no particularly strong indicators but 33% said online privacy was a concern. 

Gartner reports that, globally:

  • 40% using site more than when they first started
  • 40% using about same amount
  • 20% using it less

The survey of 6,295 respondents between 13 and 74 in 11 countries, analysed responses gathered between December 2010 and January 2011.

Photo (cc) Leanne Johnson. Hat tip: HEXUS.

15 August 2011 by Sam Michel
Sam Michel

Sam Michel is the founder of Chinwag and blogs here for work, and more randomly at Toodlepip. He runs Chinwag Jobs, Digital Mission and tends to focus on murky place where technology, community and marketing collide. You'll find him on twitter @toodlepip.

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Comments

Maybe

Submitted by Sam Michel on Tue, 16/08/2011 - 5:45pm.

@Chris - you might be right, it certainly has the potential to be integrated into a helluva lot more of our day-to-day online activity. The number of touch points Google has is pretty ominous even if you're Facebook.

Google+

Submitted by Chris Humphries on Tue, 16/08/2011 - 3:22pm.

Maybe this audience is looking for a social product that is different enough and easy enough to integrate with other things they use. Perhaps Google+ will be that product?

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