Mobile social networks taking off- research
- Added:
- May 21, 2008
Nielsen Mobile, a service of The Nielsen Company, reveals how UK mobile phone subscribers are taking online social networking beyond the home and office.
Almost half (44%) of UK mobile phone subscribers belong to an online social network. Of this group, one in four (25%) use their mobile phone for social networking-related activities
Around 812,000 Britons each month, or 1.7% of all UK mobile subscribers, visited a social networking website using their mobile during the first quarter of 2008
Facebook is the most popular site for mobile social networking, being visited by over half a million Britons (557,000) from their mobiles, or 9% of all UK Mobile Internet subscribers
Most Popular Social Networks on UK Mobile Phones
|
Rank |
Social Network |
Unique Mobile Subscribers (000s) |
% Mobile Internet Reach |
PC Internet Rank |
|
1 |
|
557 |
9.0% |
1 |
|
2 |
MySpace |
211 |
3.4% |
2 |
|
3 |
Bebo |
162 |
2.6% |
3 |
|
4 |
Windows Live Spaces |
109 |
1.8% |
4 |
|
5 |
Flixster |
90 |
1.5% |
6 |
|
6 |
Friends Reunited |
76 |
1.2% |
5 |
|
7 |
WAYN |
60 |
1.0% |
21 |
|
8 |
Yahoo! Groups |
59 |
1.0% |
10 |
|
9 |
Faceparty |
50 |
0.8% |
17 |
|
10 |
BBC Communities |
49 |
0.8% |
6 |
Source: Nielsen Mobile, UK, Q1 2008. E.g. On average 557,000 Britons accessed Facebook through their mobile phone (=9% of all UK Mobile Internet users) each month in Q1, 2008. Facebook is also the most popular social network on the PC.
Kent Ferguson, Client Services Manager, Nielsen Mobile: “Social networking is already a global phenomenon, and mobile could be the next big thing in the space. Large numbers of people are interacting with their social networking profiles while they’re on the move. There could be increased consumer demand for mobile social networking driven by the flat fee price plans offered by the leading operators that give subscribers unlimited mobile Internet access.”
Mobile vs. PC – how the leading social networks compare
The four most popular social networks on the mobile are also the four most popular on the PC
Travel social network WAYN has the strongest performance on the mobile compared to the PC, ranking 7th on mobile Internet compared to 21st on PC Internet
Most Popular Social Networks on UK PCs
|
Rank |
Social Network |
Unique PC Audience (000s) |
% PC Internet Reach |
Mobile Internet Rank |
|
1 |
|
8,912 |
27.5% |
1 |
|
2 |
MySpace |
5,200 |
16.0% |
2 |
|
3 |
Bebo |
4,507 |
13.9% |
3 |
|
4 |
Windows Live Spaces |
2,957 |
9.1% |
4 |
|
5 |
Friends Reunited |
1,595 |
4.9% |
6 |
|
6 |
BBC Communities |
1,556 |
4.8% |
10 |
|
7 |
Flickr |
1,482 |
4.6% |
- |
|
8 |
Photobucket |
1,203 |
3.7% |
- |
|
9 |
Flixster |
1,194 |
3.7% |
5 |
|
10 |
Yahoo! Groups |
904 |
2.8% |
8 |
Source: Nielsen Online, UK, Q1 2008. E.g. On average 8.9 million Britons visited Facebook via their PC (=28% of all Britons online) each month in Q1, 2008. Facebook is also the most popular social network on the mobile.
Alex Burmaster, European Internet Analyst, Nielsen Online: “The increasingly competitive nature of social networking online is being replicated in the mobile space. The leading players remain the same but networks such as WAYN and Faceparty have considerably improved on their PC ranking in the mobile world. In an effort to differentiate their offerings and pull ahead all the networks are looking to what the mobile medium can offer – particularly when it comes to attracting 15-24 year olds, a group highly representative amongst social networking addicts.”
Most common mobile social-networking related activities
One in five (21%) Britons who use their mobile for social networking activities, use it to add friends
Most Popular UK Mobile Social Networking-related Activities
|
Rank |
Activity |
% of Britons who use Mobile Phone for Social Networking Activity |
|
1 |
Send messages/mail |
55% |
|
2 |
Read messages/mail |
47% |
|
3 |
View pictures |
33% |
|
4 |
Upload photos |
29% |
|
5 |
Add friends |
21% |
|
6 |
Receive text alerts |
19% |
|
7 |
View profiles |
19% |
|
8 |
Create or update profile |
12% |
|
9 |
Upload videos |
7% |
|
10 |
Participate in chat rooms |
6% |
Source: Nielsen Mobile, Q1, 2008
E.g. 55% of Britons who use their mobile phone for social networking activities send messages/mail
Burmaster concludes, “It’s all about adding value. By tapping into the key elements of mobile phone activity, such as text and images, the social networks can increase engagement and ‘stickiness’ amongst their members as well as maximising audience numbers and activity on their own site.
For example, within minutes of a social networker making a new friend whilst out and about, they can add them to their digital friends list. This simultaneously enhances both the phone and the network as an extremely important modern-day social utility.”