Second Annual Study Confirms Growing Influence of Social Media Among U.S. Women
Palo Alto, Calif. -- April 28, 2009 -- Women are nearly twice
as likely to use blogs than social networking sites as a source of
information (64%), advice and recommendations (43%) and
opinion-sharing (55%), while they are 50 percent more likely to turn
to social networking sites as a means of keeping in touch with
friends and family (75%), BlogHer announced today. The
2009 Women in
Social Media Study by BlogHer, iVillage and Compass Partners, which
will be released today, found that while women who use social media
platforms share a strong desire to connect and to entertain
themselves, there are also ways in which the motivations for using
various social media platforms differ. Since the release of
last
year’s Benchmark Study of Women and Social Media, women are turning
in even greater numbers to blogs (55%), social networks (75%) and
online status updating (20%) as primary sources of community
interaction, entertainment and information. Because they are
regarded as trusted sources of information, blogs now wield
considerable influence on consumers’ purchasing habits – 45 percent
of survey respondents stated that they decided to purchase an item
after reading about it on a blog.
BlogHer and
iVillage, who together form the largest interactive
community of women online, conducted the research in partnership
with Compass Partners to gather insights on the ways women in the
United States use social media in their everyday lives. The study
reviews and compares data from two user sample sets – a general
population sample of more than 2,000 U.S. women aged 18-77 years
against a BlogHer Network sample of more than 1,000 women.
"Social media continues to be a growing phenomenon, and bloggers, in
particular, represent a highly engaged and influential segment of
social media users for brand marketers looking to connect to
consumers online.” said Susan Wright, President of Compass Partners
LLC. “Bloggers have a broad reach in the social media population and
the survey demonstrates that women who blog are the most actively
engaged social media participants -- constantly seeking out new
ideas and ways to share their opinions about those ideas.”
This study measured the habits and attitudes of women who
participate in any social media activity weekly or more often with
approximately half participating daily. Of the 42 million women
engaged in social media weekly, 55 percent of women participate in
some form of blogging activity; 75 percent participate in social
networks such as Facebook or MySpace and 20 percent use Twitter. As
a result of this increased activity, the 2009 study found that women
online are now more than ever before spending less time engaging in
traditional media activities like watching TV (30%), listening to
the radio (31%), and reading magazines (36%) or the newspaper (39%).
"The scale of social media usage among U.S. women continues to grow,
and blogs remain the go-to resource for those who want to gather
information, share ideas and get reliable advice," said Elisa
Camahort Page, BlogHer co-founder and COO. "At a time when the
economy is top of mind for more than 70 percent of these active
social media participants, women who blog are turning to online
resources, including blogs, to help them make their day to day
purchasing decisions."
The Executive Summary of the 2009 Women in Social Media study by BlogHer, iVillage and Compass Partners can be found here.
About the Survey
The 2009 Women in Social Media Study compares two user samples:
- A general population sample consisting of a sample size of 2,821 U.S. women aged 18 – 77 years, weighted by key age breaks to be representative. Of this group, 1,505 women qualified as “active” social media participants who participated weekly or more often. The margin of error at 95% confidence is +/- 3.0%.
- A BlogHer Network sample, consisting of a BlogHer web network intercept sample of 1,008 respondents. The margin of error at 95% confidence is +/- 3.0%.
About BlogHer
Founded in February 2005 by Elisa Camahort Page, Jory Des Jardins and Lisa Stone, BlogHer’s mission is to create opportunities for women who blog to pursue exposure, education, community and economic empowerment. BlogHer provides the number-one community and media network of blogs by women via a community hub (http://blogher.com), annual conferences and an advertising network of more than 2,500 qualified, contextually targeted blog affiliates. BlogHer provides the highest quality content on a range of topics, with all blogs continually edited to meet strict editorial standards, including content quality, category relevance and blog frequency. In July 2008, BlogHer entered into a strategic partnership with iVillage, part of Women@NBCU, which includes other NBC Universal brands including Bravo and Oxygen. The partnership also includes an investment by Peacock Equity, a joint venture between NBC Universal and GE Commercial Finance’s Media, Communications and Entertainment business, and returning investor Venrock.
About Compass Partners, LLC
Compass Partners, LLC (www.compasspartners-llc.com) was founded by Susan Wright in 2003 as a strategic marketing consultancy anchored by intelligent market research. Susan leverages her vast experience gained at top tier, consumer driven companies such as Quaker Oats, Nestle and Microsoft. Compass Partners strives to help clients reach clarity in brand and business building challenges by uncovering actionable consumer insights. A significant focus for Compass Partners is in the arena of social media helping clients who want to understand how to build community around their brands.
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415-694-6713
The Compass Partners/BlogHer 2009 Social Media Benchmark Study [PDF]
The Compass Partners/BlogHer 2008 Social Media Benchmark Study [PDF]