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U.K. Social Networking Site Usage Highest in Europe
LONDON, October 10 /PRNewswire/ --
- U.K. Users Average 5.8 Hours per Month on Social Networking Sites
- Heavy Users Spend 22 Hours per Month
comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world,
today released a report into the online habits of the U.K.'s social
networking community, based on data collected through the comScore Segment
Metrix H/M/L analytical tool, released last month.
Social networking sites such as Bebo.com, Facebook.com and MySpace.com
facilitate informal communications and information sharing across the
Internet. The European social networking community stood at 127.3 million
unique visitors in August -- reaching 56 percent of the European online
population. U.K. participation in social networking usage proved to be the
highest in Europe, with 24.9 million unique visitors -- 78 percent of the
total U.K. online population -- now belonging to the country's social
networking community.
Usage of social networking sites in the U.K. proved heavier than the
European average in terms of hours spent, pages viewed, and the number of
visits per month. The average visitor to social networking sites in the U.K.
spent 5.8 hours per month on those sites in August and made 23.3 visits. This
was a significantly heavier usage level than in France, which averaged 2
hours per month and 16.8 visits per visitor, or Germany, with 3.1 hours per
month and 13.8 visits per visitor.
European Usage of Social Networking Sites - Selected Countries
Ranked by Total Unique Visitors Age 15+
August 2007
Source: comScore World Metrix
Total % Reach of
Unique Country's Average Average Average
Visitors Total Online Hours per Pages per Visits
Territory (000) Population User User per User
Europe 127,297 56.4 3.0 523 15.8
U.K. 24,857 77.9 5.8 839 23.3
Germany 15,475 46.9 3.1 423 13.8
France 13,332 49.6 2.0 476 16.8
Spain 8,828 61.5 1.8 251 14.9
Italy 8,736 49.3 1.8 346 12.6
- Age 15+, home & work locations; Excludes traffic from public computers
such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.
Heavy users of social networking sites in the U.K. (defined as being the
most active 20 percent of the social networking community by time spent
social networking), spent a substantial amount of time viewing social
networking content in August, devoting 22 hours per person to their favourite
social networking sites and making 71 visits. This user segment also consumed
an extremely high volume of content from the social networking category,
viewing over 3,000 pages per month.
Conversely, Light users (defined as being the least active 50 percent of
the social networking community by time spent social networking) spent
significantly less time engaged with such content, making just 4.6 visits per
person and consuming only 47 pages of social networking content over the
course of the month.
Bob Ivins, EVP of International Markets at comScore, said: "This study
reveals the importance of looking beyond averages if one is to clearly
understand the characteristics of the key segments that make up the users of
social networking sites. Averages provide a valuable summary of the behaviour
of visitors to European social networking sites, but as the segmentation of
this audience shows, there is a lot more that smart media planners need to
know. As an example, about eighty percent of all online activity at Social
Networking sites can be attributed to only 20 percent of visitors. Using
comScore Segment Metrix, marketers can define consumers behaviourally across
the full range of 110 categories reported in the comScore World Metrix
service and identify the best sites for reaching the desired segment across
the web -- making media and promotion plans more targeted, efficient and
effective."
Total U.K. Heavy, Medium, & Light Social Network Site Users
August 2007
Source: comScore Segment Metrix
Total
Unique Average Average Average
Visitors Hours per Pages per Visits
Segment (000) User User per User
All Users 24,857 5.8 839 23.3
Heavy Users 4,971 22.1 3,198 71.1
Medium Users 7,458 3.9 587 22.8
Light Users 12,429 0.3 47 4.6
- Age 15+, home & work locations; Excludes traffic from public computers
such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.
About comScore
comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital
world. This capability is based on a massive, global cross-section of more
than 2 million consumers who have given comScore permission to confidentially
capture their browsing and transaction behavior, including online and offline
purchasing. comScore panelists also participate in survey research that
captures and integrates their attitudes and intentions. Through its
proprietary technology, comScore measures what matters across a broad
spectrum of behavior and attitudes. comScore analysts apply this deep
knowledge of customers and competitors to help clients design powerful
marketing strategies and tactics that deliver superior ROI. comScore services
are used by more than 700 clients, including global leaders such as AOL,
Microsoft, Yahoo!, BBC, Carat, Cyworld, Deutsche Bank, France Telecom, Best
Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Financial Times, ESPN, Fox Sports,
Nestle, Starcom, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, Verizon,
ViaMichelin, Merck and Expedia. For more information, please visit
http://www.comscore.com
Web site: http://www.comscore.com
