TREND TRUTH
Social Media makes impact on Global news feeds
Turn on the news and you can see footage from YouTube. Most media outlets not only have websites but corporate blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter presence. As an example of how social media impacts the news, the June 16 coverage of the Iranian election dominated the discussion on Twitter. Twitter, a real time social media platform, is, according to the NY Times, “one of the fastest-growing phenomena on the Internet.” According to data collected by FGI Research on June 28, 2009, 20% of Americans currently have an account with Twitter. Which begs the question: Does Twitter have a big enough credible presence to affect the news?
Consumer Opinion on Social Media
FGI Research has concluded that 51% of Americans believe that Social Media sites, like Twitter, affect the news. National news networks like CNN or FOX news use Twitter regularly to report how the country feels about different topics. Social media is an interactive forum that makes it quick and easy to generate immediate feedback. It is a quick, convenient barometer for the media to interpret the sentiment of a large sample of Americans. What’s more, it is another outlet for media to publicize their content. 29% of all respondents said that they use social media sites, like Twitter, to follow the news; and of those, 46% said that they find the same amount or more news on social media sites than they did last year.
The News Also Impacts Social Media
It’s not a stretch to say that the increased attention in the national news has boosted Twitter’s membership. According to our study, Twitter is growing: 17% of respondents, who are not currently users, say that they plan on creating an account within the next 6 months. This means that, according to our data, Twitter is growing faster than MySpace, YouTube, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, and Flicker. In fact, microblogging is becoming a breakout form for reaching large audiences in an inexpensive way to make updates in real time.
Actionable Insights
What does the relationship between social media and news mean for businesses? As we said, social media offers a quick, free and easy way to reach out to consumers for marketing. It also offers a barometer of consumer opinion. Using advanced research methods and mining tools, companies can trawl social media for insight into consumer opinions –opinions they might not readily share in a survey or even an online community. It is vital to not only talk to consumers through social media but to listen to what they are saying in order to create more effective business and marketing strategies. Social media won’t just have an impact on the news. It will impact the entire market.
Next Steps You Can Take
Survey Methods
Date of Study: 6/29/2009
Total Responders: 315
Sample Source:FGI SmartPanel
August 27th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
The news media has begun to learn that the public is watching and that they are ‘connected’. It should be obvious that if they ignore the media used to connect, they would be remiss indeed, as the valuable resource provided by millions of viewers cannot and should not be ignored. Thus, their interest in such media should not be merely as a study in social organizations and discourse, but as a source of eyewitness news as well.
August 27th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Since one can no longer trust the news media to report the news in an unbiased way we have no choice but to turn to social networks to get to tha truth.
August 27th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
With more and more coverage about twitter as a business owner I am starting to think I have to create a twitter account just to be relevant to my viewers. Having the link on your site seems to tell people that this company is in the know and completely accessible.
August 27th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
I just can’t find the time to spend monitoring news in this fashion. I would much rather pull up an actual news website and read the news and comment directly through their website.
August 27th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
There would be a lot not known about what was happening in Iran at the time of the elections if people were not able to twitter. It really broke the government enforced silence and let the people have their say.
August 28th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
I have no desire whatsoever to use this service. I do not live my life in the palm of my hand, and this so-called ’social’ media is creating anything BUT ’social’ behavior. It creates nothing more than dozens of people in the room ignoring each other, and staring into their hands.
December 5th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
I have been in the marketing field for years and believe in your business ways and means of how best to serve the manufacturer and public.
January 26th, 2010 at 6:20 pm
I do not have any of the twitters, etc. as listed above. Do not want to get
involved with them.
January 26th, 2010 at 8:00 pm
I believe that most people do not know how to fill leisure time more creatively.
January 27th, 2010 at 2:00 am
I have an account with Facebook and LinkedIn. Twittering would be too much for me for the present.
Sonny Low
January 29th, 2010 at 9:16 am
I don’t have twitter; not particularly interested in it. I have an account with Linkedn; but non of the other sites – there is to much personal information going around.
February 1st, 2010 at 10:00 am
I do not have a social media account with any of the above and do not plan to. I do not have the time for it.
February 6th, 2010 at 9:30 am
I am on Facebook,Linked In,Twitter and Myspace. I currently am not using my Twitter or Myspace account. I prefer Linked in for networking and Facebook for keeping in touch with friends and family
February 10th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
none of above, i don’t need it…
February 14th, 2010 at 9:16 pm
I have an account with both Twitter and Facebook. I believe it has some influence with media news since all major networks have used and are members of Twitter.
February 16th, 2010 at 11:15 am
I also do not have a Twitter account. I do have a Facebook account that I created in Jan 2010 and it is very time consuming to be looking at all of the time but I have reunited with a lot of old friends from high school. I don’t like the idea of having to check too many accounts and email and facebook are enough for me. I don’t plan on signing up for anymore of these social networking accounts.
February 18th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
I worked for a publisher for ten years. I strongly agree getting your name out there and this approach.
February 19th, 2010 at 3:39 pm
I have facebook, youtube, vroc.org, and twitter. Twitter is not being utilized.
March 20th, 2010 at 9:52 pm
I have facebook only. I did have Twitter, but canceled it.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:22 am
I don’t have any of those accounts