Attitudes Towards Mobile Social Networking-Marketing Dissertation Topic

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Key points

●              Some 50% of those accessing networks via mobile do so using a specific application, due to the speed and ease of use that this route offers.

●              A significant percentage (40%) feel that accessing a social network in this way is only suitable for basic things, mainly due to the slower speed of the mobile web in comparison to fixed line broadband access.

●              Cost is a barrier for two in ten respondents, a reflection of the fact that the mobile web is not always included within the cost of a contract, outside of smartphone packages.

Internet respondents were asked:

“Thinking about using social networks on a mobile phone, which of the following attitudes, if any, apply to you?”

The importance of mobile applications

FIGURE 1: Attitudes towards mobile social networking, February 2010

Base: 321 internet users aged 16+ who have accessed any social network websites using mobile phone

	%
I access my profile through a mobile application I’ve downloaded	50
It’s only good for doing basic things eg sending messages, status updates	39
I only ever use it if there’s nothing else to do (eg I don’t have a newspaper/book)	25
I only use it when there is no other alternative	22
I tend to access more often this way than using a PC	21
I don’t use it that much because the mobile web is expensive	21
I use it regularly to manage my social life while I’m out and about	19
I do just as many activities on my mobile as I would on my PC at home	12
I use it to get friends’ opinion while shopping eg on what to buy	5
None of these	3

SOURCE: GMI/Mintel

●              A significant proportion of those that do access social networks on their mobile do so over an application that they’ve downloaded. This is understandable, because dedicated social networking applications are designed to make it quicker and easier to access social networks on the go. Applications take away the need to surf to a particular homepage using a browser, for example, and they also offer slimmed down functionality, making it easier to navigate them on a smaller screen.

●              Another reason for their popularity is due to the fact that social networks are refined in the way they distribute mobile applications, making it easy for less technologically sophisticated users to obtain the best possible experience. Mobile users looking to download Facebook’s application, for example, will find that Facebook can recognise the type of phone and offer the correct version to download (an app for touch screen phones or non-touch screens, for example).

Key Analysis: It’s likely that the popularity of social networks will continue to motivate manufacturers and network providers to preload social network applications onto a wider variety of handsets. This will be enabled by the increasing sophistication of all handsets as a result of the rapid rate of innovation in the mobile sector. It will therefore become a standard feature, in the same way that all new PCs ship with a preloaded internet browser, for example. It’s also likely that network providers’ operating systems focused around social networking, such as Orange Social Life and Vodafone 360 will also become more widely used as the software filters down towards more budget handsets (these are currently only available on higher-end smartphones).

Not a PC replacement – yet 

●              Despite the focus on mobile by social networks, nearly 40% of respondents feel that it’s only good for doing basic things. This view is reinforced by the 22% of respondents who see it as an option if there is no other alternative (namely a PC). At the same time, for a quarter of respondents, social networking is only the final option when there is nothing better to do (for example, if a book or newspaper isn’t handy). Clearly, the likes of Facebook have yet to become a credible challenger to traditional media as a way of passing time on the commute.

Key Analysis: Part of this is due to the fact that smartphone ownership is still niche, and social networks’ efforts to introduce applications designed for more budget handsets has only been introduced recently (Facebook Zero was launched in February 2010, for example). However, the problem is perhaps more due to the fact that 3G mobile internet is not as fast as fixed line broadband. The quality of connections can vary by location; mobile networks are also struggling to cope with increasing demand, which has pushed capacities to the limit. So while it’s theoretically possible to get a 7Mbps internet connection over the 3G web, it’s more likely to be 1Mbps or less.

Costs act as a barrier  

●              Another challenge to greater adoption of mobile social networking is cost, with 21% of internet users saying that they have curbed their usage because of the expense of accessing their profiles this way. Unlike fixed line broadband, which often comes free with a telephone line (as is the case with TalkTalk, for example) mobile internet access can be an additional cost over and above a basic contract. In the case of O2, users either pay 99p for a day’s usage, or obtain a web ‘bolt-on’ for £7.50 a month, for example. While smartphone contracts are perhaps more expensive, they offer better value in this respect by having free data access built into the package.

Key Analysis: Despite social networks’ innovations in the mobile arena, accessing them in this way still offers poor value for many. Those on lower-quality handsets are limited in what they can access, and in many cases have to pay extra for the privilege. 

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Source-Mintel. (2010, April).Social Networking - UK. Retrieved from http://academic.mintel.com/