Holy Cow! That Is A Lot Of Time Spent Online Using Social Media

Yes, that was my reaction to this online consumption study by the good folks at Nielsen. (Disclosure: I am a former employee of the Nielsen Company). To me this was the biggest news of the week. Bigger than Lindsay Lohan. Bigger than “The Bachelorette” finale.  And bigger than the Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston breakup (I know, crazy right?).

Americans spend a ton of time on social networks and the growth is a bit startling. What we do online is changing. But what does this mean for the B2B Marketer?

First, let’s review some of the findings from the Nielsen study released on August 2, 2010:

• Americans spend nearly a quarter of their time on social networks, up 43% from just last year.
• 41% of online time is spent on only 3 activities: social networks, gaming and email
• Email use has declined 28% vs. last year

• Video/Movie use is still less than 4% but grew 12%
• Email is still the #1 activity on mobile devices but social network use grew 28%

So what does all this mean? Here are 7 points to consider.

1. Social media is being hyped for good reason. The way we consume information is changing rapidly as the growth rate for social media use online and on mobile devices proves.
2. Should marketing spend in social media come close to matching the nearly 25% of online time spent there? For now, I don’t think so. I think the answer depends on the marketing objectives. But growth in this space is sure to continue.
3. B2B Marketers cannot ignore this channel and need to continue advocating for our brands and with our senior executives to get more involved, become more visible and to engage with customers in this channel.
4. While not “dead”, email consumption is down. While it is holding its own in the #1 spot on mobile devices, the growth rates of social networks are catching up.
5. “Blog more, email market less.” That’s according to Jeremy Victor, editor-in-chief of B2Bbloggers.com and Founder of Make Good Media during an exchange we had with Marketing Consultant and Social Media Strategist Sima Dahl on twitter when the report came out. To adjust the changing habits, we B2B marketers are going to need to adjust our tactics to reflect the current online media consumption habits.
6. But be careful, Sima says, especially for newbies who she advises “to remember the law of diminishing returns. You can lose days online if you’re not careful.”
7. Finally, we cannot continue to ignore mobile. See my thoughts on the 10 Reasons Why Mobile is Hot! And 6 Steps to Prepare for the Mobile Revolution.