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September 17, 2009

Surprisingly, Women's Purchases Largely Uninfluenced by Social Networks

Though highly engaged in social media, women on the whole say, surprisingly, it does not influence their purchase behavior, according to a

Ann Handley

Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs

Though highly engaged in social media, women on the whole say, surprisingly, it does not influence their purchase behavior, according to a recent study by ad:tech Chicago and Q Interactive's "Women Channel."


The August 2009 study, titled "Women & Brands Online: 'The Digital Disconnect' Emerges," investigates the digital lives of women and how brands fit into that world.

"We know women are social creatures and highly active in mediums like Facebook, where they now outnumber men. Yet we found they are virtually uninfluenced - and sometimes put off - by brands in channels that are a routine part of their day," said Matt Wise, president of Q Interactive.

The full results of the study were presented ad:tech Chicago, on Sept. 2, by Wise and Jonathan Ashton of Agency.com.  

The following are among the findings of the study, which polled more than 1,000 American women of various ages, geographies and types of household:

  • 75% of women say they are "more active" in social networking than last year, and more than half (54%) report visiting social networking sites at least once per day. Nearly 31% say they visit weekly, and 7% say monthly.
  • The social network most used by women is Facebook--nearly two-thirds of women say they use it most--followed by the nearly 16% who cite MySpace. About 3% report using Twitter the most.

  • 75% of women say social networking sites "not really" (38%) or "not at all" (37%) influence what they buy. Still, about 22% report that social networking sites "somewhat" influence what they buy, and some 3% report being "greatly" influenced.
"While brands seem to have such small influence within this space, which is relatively new territory for marketers, over half of the women surveyed have 'befriended' or 'become a fan of' at least one brand. This tells us there is a willingness among women to partner with brands in social media - but the current dialogue is not where it needs to be," said Drew Ianni, Chairman, Programming for ad:tech Expositions.

The study also found as follows:

  • Though 83% of women feel either "neutral" (64%) or "negative" (19%) when they see a brand on a social networking site, and only 17% say they feel "positive," 52% of women surveyed have "befriended" or "become a fan of" at least one brand.

  • Asked what they do most on social networking sites, 10% of women say they engage in product/brand-related activities ("get product information, including coupons and savings" and "writing reviews about products").

  • Sending private messages, cited by nearly 35% of women, is the activity women engage in most on social networking sites, followed by sharing photos and chatting/sending instant messages (roughly 13% eacj).

As for where social networks figure in women's online activity overall, the study found as follows:

  • Checking/updating their status on social networking sites is third on the list of what they do online, with more than 12% of women saying so.

  • Checking email (33%) and (23%) looking for coupons and savings are first and second.

  • Shopping is third (12%), followed by playing games (10%)

Where have women found the time to become so engaged in social media? Apparently by reducing time with other media:

  • Some 46% say they now spend less time watching TV as a result of spending time on social networking sites.

  • Next to suffer is reading books (24%) and reading magazines (23%), followed by watching movies, listening to the radio, and reading the newspaper (each cited by roughly 17-19%).

The survey also asked women about the most important factor in making purchase decisions: Price was cited 47%, and quality was cited by 46%. Brand was fourth at 2% ("other" was third at less than 4%).

Ann Handley is an 11-year veteran of creating and managing digital and is currently the Chief Content Officer of http://www.marketingprofs.com, which provides strategic and tactical marketing know-how for marketing and business professionals. She also blogs at http://www.annhandley.com.

Photo credit: andrewarchy  

About the Author

Ann Handley

Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs