Do you use Twitter? Facebook? Blogs? LinkedIn? The Internet?
If you do, why? Seriously, what’s your intention of going online?
Now, why do you use social media? For fun, to sell, to learn, to socialize, to find your community…
Ruder Finn, one of the world’s largest public relations agencies, released the RF Intent Index, July 2009, an online tool that provides a new view on why people go online. (Go play with their cool RF Intent Index widget.) According to Rudder Finn, it redefines how we look at demographics.
RF Intent Index
The RF Intent Index is an ongoing online research study, updated quarterly, that provides an analysis of the underlying motivations or reasons people go online—their intent. It is divided into seven major intent categories with 295 specific activities people perform online.
It shows that a person’s intent may be a better indicator for how to develop a communications campaign than demographic formulas. It also underscores how critical those using web communications need to gain deep insight into user intent, and how the right message, at the right place, at the right time is more important than ever.
RF Intent Index Chart
Here are some of the highlights that may interest you:
100% of people go online to have fun and pass the time.
96% of people go online to learn.
92% of people go online to connect; 86% to share; 76% to discuss; 72% to be part of a community.
More than 4 in 5 people (80%) go online to socialize, which is twice as many as those who go online to shop or do business.
More men (42%) than women (36%) go online to do business.
Women comment, men read: 55% of women go online to find venues for personal expression compared to only 43% of men.
The age of blogs: 44% of people go online to create or update blogs and 42% of people go online to read other people’s blogs.
What does this have to say for advocacy groups, businesses, charities, event organizers, government, nonprofit associations, and other organizations? Seems there’s some good research here on why your organization may want be online in the social arena.
Jeff,
Thanks for a great resource! I played with the Ruder Finn Intent Index and looked at details. It said less than 1/3 of folks got to have online conversations and less than 1/4 to join a social networking site.
Yet at ASAE and in the buzz, SN is a big focus – and money is flying.
I’m wondering…
If such a small percentage goes to social networks for the vary reasons associations are pushing, are we on the right path?
Do associations know if their members skew differently?
If only a third or less of folks are into SN will we be able to force the rest to follow? Or will the nonbelievers just die off?
Will someone else snag the other 66% who don’t go to social media for those reasons?
Lots of questions to ponder.
Cynthia
@Cynthia:
Could it be that we’re reading the smaller fine print differently than intended? How many times do you go online to join a social networking site? It’s not your intention each time you go online to join a new social networking site, is it? Once you’ve joined it, you don’t have to rejoin. I think the larger percentages speak volumes that 72% go online to be part of a community. Just because you’re part of a community doesn’t mean you have to leave a comment. You can be a community participant and never have an online conversation. It happens all the time.
Let’s use my association as an example. We have a velvet rope eCommunity for our members and we have an active participation of 100% of our corporate members. We have a high percentage of active users each day and less than 18 months ago, they did not have any eCommunity at all. Our members didn’t even know what an eCommunity was two years ago, or that they would benefit from it if they had it. They could not even articulate or describe it yet they kept telling us they wanted a way to network and converse with each other online. So, we gave them one. And, it’s been very successful for us.
We had a third-party research firm survey our membership in January 2009. Results showed that 74% of our c-suite executives were using social media on a daily basis. 74% is a high number for insurance executives so I think the emphasis for associations is clear.