Is the social media novelty wearing off?

New research from UK market research agency, You Gov, reveals that two in five (41%) of the UK online population claim to be getting bored of social media.

Some of the stats

Unsurprisingly Facebook is still the social network frontrunner when it comes to the volume of active users. 65% of the UK online population logged in within the last month as compared to 50% for YouTube, 23% for Twitter, 13% for LinkedIn and 12% for Google+ during the same period. However almost a quarter of these active Facebook users are using the site less now than they did a year ago. This ‘weaning off’ the network looks to continue as 19% expect to use Facebook less in a year’s time. The question is will new users to the site replace those who have lost interest? i.e. is usage cyclical?

The search for value

The recession is also having an impact on social media behaviour with people moving from spending time in online networks for recreation to getting involved in networks that serve a specific purpose. As people focus on ‘brand me’ and develop their professional networks for career development, LinkedIn usage is on the increase. Over half of UK internet users using the site more than a year ago and 30% also expect to use it even more in one year’s time.

Financial advice and ‘deals’ site, Moneysavingexpert.com, now has as many active users as Twitter. Similarly 10% of online consumers are active on music sharing network, Spotify.

For more on this research, click here.

Other useful articles of relevance:

Facebook Growth Over, Onset of Slow Decline

Facebook’s share of UK social networking declines

Young people ‘bored’ with social media

Great Video on Facebook’s Sponsored Stories featuring Mark Zuckerberg

A rare moment of ‘TV gold’ derived from someones interview hell! Watch Facebook’s VP of Public Policy get tongue tied under pressure from BBC journalist Emily Maitlis, in relation to the social network’s new ‘Sponsored Story’ feature.

This extract from ‘Inside Facebook‘ explores numerous topics including ‘what is advertising’ and Facebook privacy and features comments from Mark Zuckerberg. Great viewing…

When’s the Best Time to Post on Twitter or Facebook? [Infographic]

Social media marketing can be tricky with a multitude of factors affecting the impact of each tweet or post. The words you use, whether or not you include a link, what ‘call to action’ you include (if any), the network you’re using, the content you’re leveraging (text, video, picture) and even the time of day or the day of the week.

So when is engagement highest on social networks for both B2B and B2C audiences? This infographic from Argyle Social which has some insights into Twitter and Facebook…

Advergaming – Mini Maps Allows You to Drive on Any Street in the World

I just came across this great Facebook application for Mini via Adverblog. An ‘advergame’, the branded application using Google Maps technology to allow the user to select a location anywhere in the World and drive a customised Mini around. You can invite friends to race against you and post updates to your Facebook wall. Pretty slick.

It was launched by Mini France -- here’s a video which showcases what the app can do but I’d suggest just go ahead and play the game though! Try taking a drive over Sydney Harbour bridge or doing some wheelies by the Eiffel Tower!

Social Media Campaign Shows Big Brother Watching You is Sometimes a Good Thing

So you’re walking through the airport and a stranger comes up to you and hands you a box. Do you:

(A) Scream ‘bomb’ and look for security?

(B) Think wowee this is my lucky day?

Royal Dutch Airline KLM has launched an interesting social media customer rewards campaign called ‘KLM Surprise‘ at an airport in Amsterdam. When passengers check in at the airline’s Foursquare locations, the KLM Surprise team leap into action. They scour the passengers social networking profiles to find out information on the passenger in order to come up with a personalised gift to surprise them with.

Apparently travellers have gotten gifts of champagne, a watch and one guy, who was going to miss a soccer match, received a New York guide book with the best soccer bars bookmarked for him. KLM are sharing photos of the ‘surprised’ passengers on their Facebook page.

A nice idea, athough I doubt RyanAir or Aer Lingus will be imitating this any time soon…lest you get your hopes up!

The Airline did have one flaw in their social media strategy – they failed to properly monitor the campaign. The KLM Surprise website was pulling in all the tweets using the hashtag #KLMsurprise. However some crafty sods realised the airline wasn’t monitoring the feed and so tweets such as these were published along with some other unmentionables!

• I do love your ability to bring tourists and marijuana closer together #klmsurprise #hashtaggeddit
• Service so crap you feel like an inmate and not a passenger #klmsurprise

I’ve written about the handy tools available for online brand/campaign management. Such as…

• Google Alerts – Set up free email alerts on the latest Google results (news, web, etc) for your chosen keywords.
• Google Realtime Search is a handy tool which can help to find the origins of a story online. You simply type in the keywords from the story or headline and set the timeframe you want to look at.
• Twitter Search – ‘Does what it says on the tin’ and allows you to see what’s being said about you or your brand on Twitter at any time.
• Google Blog Search – Sometimes news/relevant comments appear in blog search results but might not appear in Google News searches or in the main index. Google Blog Search allows you to scan the blogosphere for mentions of your brand/company.
• RSS Feeds – Subscribe to relevant sites and keep up to date with their latest articles by using a tool such as Google Reader.
• Social Mention – Receive free daily email alerts of your brand, company, marketing campaign, or on a developing news story or a competitor
• Addict-o-matic – Allows you to create a custom page on any topic/keywords. Addict-o-matic gathers information from across web pages and social media platforms and when you visit the Addict-o-matic page you get all the relevant results for your brand/keywords.