Most Influential Teens Socialize Offline More Than Average

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MyYearbook and Ketchum published recently the results of  a survey on teen social media users.

Image representing myYearbook as depicted in C...

Image via CrunchBase

It showed that Online Influencers are more likely than the average teen to participate in social media activities by updating their status at least once per day. But the study also shows, that they are sending 3,000 texts per month and spending more time socializing and influencing their peers offline. Social media teen influencers are defined as the top 15% most active and most engaged teens in the myYearbook community.

Teen social media influencers’ popularity translates offline, as 40% are more likely to have attended a party over the last weekend than average teens. They are 20% more likely to have had a friend visit them at home in the last week and they are also more active than the average teen in terms of listening to music, playing video games, and reading books, newspapers, and magazines.

Image representing Geoff Cook as depicted in C...
Image via CrunchBase

Geoff Cook, CEO of myYearbook, says “The survey dispels the notion that the most engaged teens on a social network are most likely to be home alone on a Saturday night; those teens who are most social online are most social offline.”

Teen social media influencers are hyper-communicators and hyper-purchasers, with 97% spending two hours per day on a social networking site, 95% updating their statuses at least once per day, and 91% having more than 500 friends on their social networks.

Sharing information on the products social media influencers use is very common (87%), compared to only 50% of teens in general. Influencers look to recommendations from friends and peers as their most trusted source. This is also backed by the latest Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey of over 25,000 Internet consumers from 50 countries – 90% trust recommendations from people known and 70% trust consumer opinions posted online. When it comes to purchasing a product, 52% of teen social media Influencers trust their friends’ recommendations most, compared to 9% who would most trust an adult.

While watching television 88% of teen social media influencers are texting and 79% are online, versus 74% texting and 66% online among average teens. 50% of the influencers spend three or more hours online while only a quarter spend the same amount of time watching television. Teens aged 15 to 17 are actually the most engaged online, whereas activity among 18- and 19-year-olds is dropping slightly, most likely due to increased face-to-face socialization, as the study states.

Humorous or shocking content is what resonates most with teen social media users. The majority of respondents prefer interaction from brands to be clear and straightforward, but they also appreciate when a brand can be edgy, funny or shocking – as long as it is done well.

What do you think: how important are teens as social media influencers for brands?

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