What do people actually do online?
Less porn and more family history than you might expect. That’s the answer from the latest Nielsen data on UK internet usage.
Looking at the most popular online sectors in September, the top ten are:
- Member communities (6 hours 35 minutes on average spent by people on this sector)
- Online games (5 hours 3 minutes)
- Email (2 hours 12 minutes)
- Videos / movies (2 hours 3 minutes)
- Adult (1 hour 56 minutes)
- Classifieds / auctions (1 hour 53 minutes)
- Instant messaging (1 hour 38 minutes)
- Genealogy (1 hour 27 minutes)
- Software manufacturers (1 hour 13 minutes)
- Gambling / sweepstakes (1 hour 11 minutes)
For those interested in corporate communications, it’s numbers 1-3 that are indeed the most important to think about. What they say is, ‘people like playing games, using social networks and sending each other lots of emails’. However, look at many public relations plans, especially in the corporate sector, and social networks are often just a glitter of modernity sprinkled on a traditional approach; games are thought childish and irrelevant and email? Doesn’t even get a mention.
Yet there’s a big clue in the name public relations. It’s what the public does that matters and it is the public’s preferences that need to be catered for.
Really useful info-and I’m pleased to say that in appointing me to a senior role as Head of Networks and Campaigns, The Health Foundation has realised the need to think about 1-3 (or 1-2 more specifically)…I just hope I can provide something a little more practical than ‘thinking’ alone!
Thanks Ruth – and congratulations! It is great that the Health Foundation is seeking to harness the power of networks (both on and offline, formal and informal). We look forward to working with you to achieve this!
Interesting data. But, as you say, we’re targeting “the public”. Is it not possible that people are more likely to give their undivided attention to categories like Games, Genealogy and Movies? I suspect I am not alone when I say that I leave Facebook and/or Twitter open and then ignore them most of the time. Plus, Facebook’s poor market performance may reflect the ability of the public to tune out the “junk”. PR planners need to think very carefully about what data like this actually tells them.