Almost Half of Americans Say They Engage With Brands on SocNets

January 17, 2013

Ipsos-US-Brand-Engagement-on-SocNets-Jan201347% of Americans agree that they follow or engage with at least one brand on a social networking site, according to survey results from Ipsos Open Thinking Exchange, putting the US slightly above the 24-country average (44%) in brand engagement. Within the US, women are 21% more likely than men to say they engage with brands on social networks, and 18-34-year-olds are more than twice as likely as those 50 and up to do so (63% vs. 29%).

The study also reveals some other interesting demographics dynamics in brand engagement:

  • Married respondents are about 9% more likely than those who aren’t married to follow/engage with brands on social networks (49% vs. 45%);
  • The employed are 21% more likely than the unemployed to follow/engage with at least one brand (51% vs. 42%);
  • Chief income earners are 10% less likely than those who aren’t the primary breadwinners to follow/engage with a brand;
  • Business owners are 28% more likely than those who don’t own a business to follow/engage with a brand (59% vs. 46%); and
  • Senior executives, decision-makers, and leaders are 40% more likely than those without such authority to follow/engage with a brand (63% vs. 45%).

Interestingly, there appears to be little correlation between time spent social networking and the propensity to follow a brand, at least with respect to these demographic gaps. For example, recent research from Ipsos demonstrated that those with low household income spend more time social networking than those with high household income, and the unemployed spend more time than the employed. Those gaps were not seen in the brand engagement study. Of note, though, business owners and senior executives appear to spend more time social networking and more likely to engage with brands. Unsurprisingly, women outpaced men, and the young outpaced the more mature in both respects.

Other Findings:

  • Across the 24-country sample, India (74%) and Indonesia (72%) stand out as the most socially connected with brands, each with more than 7 in 10 respondents claiming to follow or engage with at least one brand.
  • On the other end of the spectrum, just 16% of respondents in France and 19% in Japan agree that they follow or engage with a brand on a social network.
  • Regionally, citizens in the Middle East and Africa (60%) and Latin America (57%) are the most likely to engage with at least one brand on a social network, with the G-8 countries (29%) and Europe (33%) bringing up the rear.

About the Data: The Ipsos data is based on a weighted sample size of 12,000, from an online survey conducted between November 6th and 20th, 2012 across 24 countries, with adults aged 18-64 in the US and Canada, and 16-64 in all other countries. The US data is based on a sample size of 500.

The countries reporting were: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the US.

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