Reaching Your Audience
in the Digital Age :
Key Research Trends to Watch
Aaron Smith
Research Associate
Pew Internet Project
Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism
September 6, 2012
• Part of the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan “fact tank” based
in Washington, DC
• PRC’s mission is to provide high quality, objective data to thought
leaders and policymakers
• Data for this talk is from nationally representative telephone
surveys of U.S. adults (on landlines and cell phones, incl. Spanish)
• Presentation slides and all data are available at pewinternet.org
Tourism & the 3 Technology “Revolutions”
Computers,
internet and
broadband
Smartphones
and mobile
computing
Social Media
*
The Internet/Broadband
Revolution
85% of American adults (and 95% of teens) are now internet
users
Internet use by age group
% of American adults age 18+ who use the
internet (any device/location)
100%
97%
= 94% for all 18-49
91%
90%
80%
70%
78%
77%
74%
60%
50%
53% = 2.6x increase
54%
40%
30%
20%
20%
10%
0%
2000
2001
2002
2003
18-29
2004
2005
30-49
2006
2007
50-64
2008
2009
65+
2010
2011
2012
66% of Americans are home broadband users
% of American adults age 18+ who have a
high-speed broadband connection at home
80%
63%
70%
42%
33%
60%
16%
50%
40%
6%
62%
66%
47%
24%
11%
3%
41%
30%
66%
55%
34%
38%
37%
30%
28%
23%
20%
15%
10%
0%
June
2000
10%
April
2001
March
2002
March
2003
April
2004
March
2005
Dial-up
March
2006
March
2007
Broadband
April
2008
7%
5%
3%
3%
April
2009
May
2010
Aug
2011
April
2012
Of course, not everyone has joined the
internet/broadband revolution
Roughly 1 in 6 adults do not use the internet, and 1 in 3
adults are not part of the broadband revolution
Internet and broadband adoption are highest among:
 The financially secure and (especially) financially well-off
 Those under the age of 65
 The well-educated (some college, college grads)
 Parents w/ children living at home
 Whites and English-proficient Asian Americans and Latinos
 Urban and suburban residents
“The Broadband Difference”
• Greater overall engagement in online activities
• Search becomes the norm (92% of online adults)
• Multimedia meets the masses:
Watch online video (71%)
Post photos online (46%)
• Content creation and e-commerce take off:
Buy a product (71%)
Share something you created online (30%)
Blogging (14%)
Widespread access totally changes how we learn about
businesses (even ones in our backyard)
The sources people rely on the most for
information about local businesses:
Of those who cite the internet as a
major source of info…
51%
The internet
•
About 2/3 say they turn to
search engines
•
About 1/3 turn to other online
sources (such as topical or
specialty sites)
•
This group skews towards 1839 year olds, college grads,
mobile news consumers,
recent transplants & parents
47%
31%
Newspapers
30%
23%
Word of mouth
22%
8%
Local TV or radio
13%
0%
10%
20%
Restaurants, bars and clubs
30%
40%
50%
Other local businesses
60%
Print sources are particularly
relevant to older adults (esp. those
65 and older)
Other key trends
8 in 10 adult internet users go
online to research a product or
service they’re thinking of buying
2/3 make air/hotel/car reservations
online (2x increase vs. March 2000)
Half have taken a virtual tour of a
location online
1/3 have rated/reviewed
a product, service or person online
One downside to the internet/broadband revolution:
information overload
7/10 adults are “overwhelmed by the amount of news and information available
today”, and 1 in 5 are overwhelmed by the number of products (and info about
those products) available to buy (still, ¾ like having lots of choices)
Solutions to info overload: customization/personalization, reliance on friends
and social networks, direct access to relevant info (apps, etc)
Summary: Impact of Internet/Broadband Revolution
 Most (not all) are along for the ride
 Internet and broadband use widespread
 Usage especially high among a few key grps
 “E-travel” commonplace
 Vast majority of travelers now conducting
pre-trip research and booking travel online
 Info seeking
 Heavy reliance on search as a starting point
 Challenges with info overload
The Mobile Computing
Revolution
Comparing the Broadband and Mobile Revolutions
Internet/Broadband Era
Mobile/Social Era
Stationary (desktop
computer)
Portable (laptop,
tablet or smartphone)
Flow of
information
Mainly one way
Built for sharing,
reviewing, &
participating
Info Consumption
Discrete, task-oriented
activity
Continuous, alwayson activity
Connection type
Device ownership tells the story of the mobile revolution
% of American adults age 18+ who own each device
100%
88%
Now more laptops
than desktops
80%
73%
61%
68%
60%
58%
46%
40%
Now more
smartphones than
“regular” cell phones
35%
30%
20%
18%
2%
0%
April 2006
Dec 2007
Cell phone (general)
April 2008
Desktop
April 2009
Laptop
Tablet ownership up 6x
in just two years
3%
May 2010
May 2011
Smartphone
E-reader
April 2012
Tablet
Around 1/3 of the country has given up their landline
phones entirely (this is a huge deal for my line of work)
Cell owners are doing more and more with their phones…
% of adult cell owners who use their phones to…
100%
82%
80%
79%
73%
73%
65%
60%
53%
44%
44%
44%
38%
40%
29%
43%
34%
31%
27%
22%
20%
0%
Take pictures
Send/receive text
msgs
Access the
internet
Sept 2009
Send/receive email
May 2011
Record video
March 2012
Download apps
…as smartphones become more and more widespread
•
17% of all cell owners go online
mostly using their cell phone,
instead of a desktop or laptop
computer
•
For many in the under-30 crowd,
smartphones are an essential
purchase—regardless of income
level
•
Mobile devices alter the
racial/ethnic “digital divide” story
•
Mobile users do more online,
spend more time with content,
share more with others
Smartphone owners use their phones for a range of
(complex/sensitive/advanced) activities
% of smartphone owners who use their phones to…
Check weather reports or forecasts
52%
Use a social networking site
50%
Get turn by turn navigation or directions while driving
77%
68%
15%
65%
Play games
37%
64%
Get news online
36%
64%
Upload photos online
15%
Listen to an online radio or music service
22%
Check bank balance or do online banking
21%
Look for health or medical info
6%
Visit a government website
6%
Use Twitter
10%
Watch movies or TV shows through a paid… 4%
0%
% do this on "typical day"
58%
53%
44%
43%
31%
16%
15%
20%
40%
% ever do this
60%
80%
100%
Apps can provide direct pathways to discovery and
exploration of physical spaces
Apps provide direct connections to information
% of app downloaders who have downloaded each type of app…
App use is particularly prominent among 18-29 year olds (65% of cell owners)
Most app users turn regularly to just a small handful of apps…
…but tourism-related activities (trip planning, exploration of physical location,
reservations, reviews) are well suited to the apps world
Tourism-specific examples of mobile devices and
exploration of physical space/location
% of all adults who have used a handheld device
(phone/e-reader/tablet) to…
View or download visual arts content
16%
Watch or download a music, dance or
theater performance
15%
View or download info/images from a
historic site, park or monument
12%
Download or listen to audio tour at a
museum, gallery or historical site
View/download info or images from a
museum
8%
6%
74% of smartphone owners use their phone to get
directions, recommendations or other info based on their
present location, and 21% use their phone to get coupons
or deals to use at local businesses
Key words of the ubiquitous mobility era: just-intime and spontaneous
•
41% of cell owners have used their phone
recently to coordinate a gathering or gettogether
•
30% have used their phone recently to decide
whether or not to visit a particular business,
such as a restaurant
•
20% have recently used their phone to visit a
website that was mentioned on television
(overall, half are “connected viewers”)
Age comparisons: just-in-time info
% of cell owners in each age group who have performed these real-time activities in the previous 30 days
60%
45
Coordinate a gathering
27
23
39
Solve an unexpected problem
49%
26
15
Decide whether or not to visit a
business, such as restaurant
Look up something to settle an
argument
37
43%
18
18-29
12
45%
31
30-49
15
4
29
Look up sports score
33%
50-64
14
5
Get up-to-the minute traffic or
public transit info
31%
23
65+
11
4
21%
Get help in an emergency situation
21
18
16
0%
20%
40%
60%
Source: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Mobile Survey, March 15-April 3, 2012.
80%
100%
Summary: Impact of Mobile Revolution
 Just in time information
 Where can I get a deal?
 What’s something fun to do here?
 “Networked Info” packed into the
physical travel experience
 Apps, QR codes, real-time deals
 Announcement and validation
 Sharing travel successes (or failures) in real
time
 “Check out this awesome place I found!”
The Social Media “Revolution”
2/3 of online adults use social networking sites, and
nearly half do so on a typical day
% of adult internet users who use social networking
sites like Facebook, LinkedIn or Google+
80%
61%
65%
66%
60%
46%
48%
43%
40%
38%
29%
27%
16%
20%
13%
8%
0%
9%
2%
2005
2006
2008
Ever
2009
2010
Typical day
2011
2012
Only search and email are more popular than social
networking on a “typical day” basis
% of adult internet users who do the following on a typical day
Use a search engine to find information
59%
Send or read e-mail
59
Use an online social networking site
48
Get news
45
Go online just for fun or to pass the time
44
Look for info on a hobby or interest
35
Check the weather
34
Look online for news or information about politics
28
Look for information online about a service or product you
are thinking of buying
28
Watch a video on a video-sharing site like YouTube or Vimeo
28
Young adults lead the way on social network use,
but older users are gaining ground
Since 2009, use by 50-64 year
olds has doubled; use by
those 65+ has grown threefold (13% to 38%); women
bigger users than men
% of internet users in each age group who use
SNS
100
80
92%
80%
73%
57%
60
38%
40
20
0
Teens 12- Adults
18-29
17
Teen Data July 2011
Adults
30-49
Adults
50-64
Adults
65+
Adult Data August 2012
Twitter is not as popular as other sites, but
is growing steadily
% internet users in each group who use Twitter…
16% of online
adults now use
Twitter, up from
8% in late 2010
Teen Data July 2011
Adult Data August 2012
Main Reasons American Adults Use SNS
Stay in touch with current friends (67%)
Stay in touch with family (64%)
Reconnect with old friends (50%)
Connect with people with shared
interests or hobbies (14%)
Make new friends (9%)
Follow celebrities, athletes
or politicians (5%)
Find romantic partners (3%)
Social networks give rise to “News Participators”
As of Jan 2010, 37% of internet users
contributed to, commented on, or
disseminated news content via SNS
71% got news/info through email or SNS posts
As of Jan 2011, 41% of adults were “local news
participators”
Share links to local news stories/videos
Comment on local news stories/blogs
Post info about their community on SNS
Contribute to online discussions about their community
Tag or categories local content
Social networks allow for personal connections with
public figures and entities…
% of SNS/Twitter users who follow…
Individual artists, musicians or
other performers
41%
Musical, dance or theater
groups/venues
Arts galleries or other visual arts
orgs
Museums
29%
11%
8%
…and those personal connections can help you find
and engage with your “Superfans”
44% of all adults have attended a live music, dance or theater
performance in the last 12 months; it’s 77% for people who
follow a music/dance/theatrical group or venue on a social
networking site
35% of all adults have visited a museum in the last 12 months;
it’s 82% for people who follow a museum on a social networking
site
35% of all adults have attended an arts, craft or music festival in
the last 12 months; it’s 55% for people who follow individual
artists, musicians or performers on a social networking site
29% of all adults have visited an art gallery, show or exhibit in
the last 12 months; it’s 82% for people who follow an art gallery
or other visual organization on a social networking site
Summary: Impact of Social Media Revolution
 For users/consumers
 Cutting through the clutter by getting advice
from “people like me” (note: just one
element of many in decision process)
 Helping others with recommendations
 Announcement/validation, part II
 For vendors/producers
 Forge direct connections with current &
potential fans
 Variety and scale is a huge challenge—
choose where to actively engage, where to
lurk, where to ignore
Current Impacts and Future Trends
The New Reality: consumer
expectations for information
 Information is free
 Information is “at my
fingertips”
 Information is available
whenever and wherever
I want or need it
 Information is available
from multiple sources
 Information is all around me
Information is Woven Into Our Lives
Mobile is the needle, Social Networks are the thread
Mobile…
Social Networks…
Moves information
with us
Surround us with
information through our
many connections
Makes information
accessible ANYTIME
and ANYWHERE
Puts information at
our fingertips
Magnifies the demand
for timely information
Makes information
location-sensitive
Bring us information
from multiple, varied
sources
Provide instant feedback,
meaning and context
Allow us to shape and
create information
ourselves and amplify
others’ messages
Next Generation “Info Weaving”: Augmented Reality
What does all of this mean for YOU?
You can be a…
People today have access to more info than at any
time in history. What they need is…
Filter
Curator
Node in a Network
Community Builder
Lifesaver
Tour Guide
Trusted experts and filters
to help them find, identify and utilize the best and
most accurate information
Someone to show them how/why information
relates to them and is relevant to them
Information purveyors can…
Let people customize info
to meet their own needs
Provide people with direct access to the
information that is most important to them
Be a one-stop shop by aggregating info, providing
links to related material, and
recommending other sources
Participate in online social networks and
make information easy to share
Information Purveyors Can…
Create networks/communities around their info
Facilitate connections between people with shared interests
Get, listen to, and respond to feedback
Identify and meet needs by tuning in to the online
conversation
Provide timely information when and where
people need it most
Make their information portable
Operate in a 24/7 world, be constantly connected
Connect their information to real-world places
Create opportunities for information immersion
and augmented realities
THANK YOU!!
All data available at: pewinternet.org
Aaron Smith
Research Associate
Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project
asmith@pewinternet.org
Twitter:
@pewinternet