These are among the key findings of a new study entitled 'The State of Social Media in South Africa 2011' published today 26 October 2011 by Fuseware and World Wide Worx.
“The question of how many South Africans use each of the major social networks comes up frequently, so determining that number has become a priority for us,” said the intelligence analyst. said Michal Wronski, Managing Director of Fuseware and co-author of this report. .
“Data was collected using a combination of analysis of social network databases by Fuseware, information provided directly by social networks, and consumer market research from World Wide Worx.”
In conjunction with World Wide Worx Consumer Market Research, we analyzed Fuseware's extensive database of Twitter usage and found that there were 1.1 million Twitter users in South Africa in mid-2011. This has increased him 20 times in just over a year.
“One of the factors driving Twitter's growth is the media's obsession with the network,” said World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck, co-author of the report.
“Most radio and television personalities with large audiences engage in intensive campaigns to drive listeners and viewers to both Twitter and Facebook. The former starts from a very low base. This is why we are experiencing the greatest growth.”
Similar to the global environment, not all Twitter users are active users, with only 40% tweeting, but perhaps an equal number simply watch, follow, and use it as a breaking news service .
MXit remains South Africa's most popular social network, with around 10 million active users. Its demographics contradict the common media image of MXit as a teen-centered environment. 76% of MXit's male user base and 73% of its female users are over the age of 18.
A surprising discovery was made from analyzing Facebook data. Of his approximately 4.2 million Facebook users in South Africa by August 2011, only 3.2 million of his had accessed the site since the beginning of the year.
“This is not only a result of the fickle nature of the youth market, but also part of the reason why many users leave the site once the novelty of the site wears off,” says Wronski.
“For example, once BBM gained traction in private schools, many teenagers who previously flocked to Facebook began choosing BBM’s more immediacy.”
LinkedIn, aimed at professional users, also reached the 1.1 million mark, much higher than this, but still saw an 83% increase in South African users from 2010 to 2011. Of these, 112,000, or 10%, are business owners.
Consumer research analyzed in the report reveals that future usage intentions for most social networks are strongly correlated with age. The younger the user, the higher the intention to use the service.
“This is just one of many microtrends shaping social networking,” Goldstuck says.
“For example, statistics from MXit, Facebook, and BBM show that as social networks become mainstream, their penetration across all age groups deepens. As a result, as social networks mature, the age curve continues. It will flatten the landscape.”
sauce: it news africa
