UM's latest survey revealed dramatic changes in how consumers use social media. Social networks like Facebook and MySpace are becoming dominant for content sharing. The survey interviewed over 22,000 internet users in 38 countries from November 2008 to March 2009. It found that social networks continue growing, with over 62.5% of active internet users now belonging to one. Uploading of photos, videos and other media to profiles is also increasing.

1. Wave . 4 Survey

23. U.S.A. is a dominant player in the social media space  having an internet penetration at just 70% Video continues to become as mainstream as TV viewing for active internet viewers with 83% now watching audiovisual content via the web Video watchers: 32  83%, Create Social Network profile: 39  59% U.K. is defying global convention when it comes to watching videos. Brits are watching fewer videos than they did in Wave 3, in contrary to the rest of the world (86  79%) Visit a friend’s page (71%), Manage Social Network profile (64%)

24. Germany has been steady in its adoption of social media and there are few drastic changes (an increase of five per cent here, two per cent is the norm) There has also been a decline in the number of active Internet Users who are watching videos (77  74%) Create Social Network profile (47%), Blog readers (57%) Korea one of the most advanced global markets for telecommunications and internet, but the truth among active internet users aged 16-54 is more prosaic (internet on the move just 6%) Despite a drop in the percentage of active internet users creating blogs, they are more likely to put their thoughts to keypad, image or video than every other nation in the world Create Social Network profile: 62%, Blog readers & writers: 88% & 61%

25. Country spotlights • Brazil has yet to form a standard attitude towards social media, though the percentage of actual online users has risen from 12 to 13.5 million. • India records steady progress across the board with rising use of all social media platforms. • In China, while the penetration of social media remains well below10% for every single platform, the number of consumers blogging has risen to 90% while another 90% of them are watching videos online.

26. 10-step programme for successful social media: 1) Listen to/observe what the target audience is doing in social media 2) Create a “social object” that is relevant to the brand and of genuine interest 3) Segment the target into tribes. Give them something they can join. 4) Allow them to engage via their preferred platform of choice—create multiple interfaces to your community 5) Make the experience better when shared

27. 10-step programme for successful social media: 6) Optimise your content for sharing—particularly via newsfeeds and Twitter 7) Use paid-for media to get the ball rolling 8) Take advantage of extreme targeting offered by social networks 9) Make sure you have the resources to manage your community management and refresh the content. 10) Track the results and optimise where necessary