Understanding students online IAB and The Student Room Research April 2011.

Understanding students online IAB and The Student Room Research April 2011

http://www.chaucer.ac.uk/post16/

Overview

• The IAB, Internet Advertising Bureau and The Student Room, the world’s largest student site, researched thestudentroom.co.uk audience with a view to understanding students online usage, how they are accessing the internet and to gain an understanding of the role that online plays in research and purchase decisions

• Online questionnaire hosted by Survey Monkey and distributed to students on thestudentroom.co.uk website

• Fieldwork 3 weeks across Jan 2011

• Survey sample size of 1000+ completed responses

• Natural fall out of demographics

Time spent online

Favourite past time is browsing the web

Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010

Watching TV

Going on Facebook

Reading books

Browsing the web Hanging out with friends

1. 2. 3.

6.4. 5.

Hobbies

20%

16% 15%

11%

9% 9% 8%8% 7%

7% 6%6% 6%

5% 4% 4% 4% 3%2%

%

Average % share of free time spent doing any of the following:

Socialising online is equal to offline and is more popular than engaging in hobbies or sport


More free time spent on community sites/forums than

Shopping offline and watching DVDs

Lapt

op

Mp3

pla

yer /

ipod

Tele

vision

Stan

dard

Mob

ile

Smar

t pho

ne e

.g ip

hone

Radio

Bicyc

le

Deskt

op P

C

Ninte

ndo

DS

Ninte

ndo

Wii

SLR D

igita

l cam

era

A car

Xbox

360

Play

stat

ion

3

Tabl

et e

.g i-

pad

eRea

der e

.g K

indl

e

Mot

orbi

ke o

r sco

oter

80%

73%

57%55%

43% 42% 40%

33%

25% 24% 24%

17% 16%13%

5% 3% 2%

%

More visitors to The Student Room site own laptops than TVs

Which of the following do you personally own (as opposed to being able to make use of someone else’s)?


…and are using their laptops to view TV shows daily – as often as on the communal TV set

A TV set in communial space (e.g lounge)

A laptop A TV set in bedroom A desktop computer

54 49

2819

2219

12

11

1116

918

13 16

51 53

Daily A few times a week A few times a month Never

%


How often do you typically watch TV shows?


Majority spending between 3-4 hours online per day…

2%17%

37%29%

7%9%

Less than an hour1-2 hours3-4 hours5-6 hours7-8 hours8 hours +

Typically how much time do you spend online per day?

…of which is accessed via different devices Rise in online smart phone usage expected in 2 years time

58

22

12 105 4 2 2

54

17 1913

5 4 5 3

NowExpect to in 2 years time

%


Of time spent online per day, average % accessed using the following devices

50% access the internet via a smartphone everyday – this is

expected to rise to 76% in 2 years time

98

60 59

51 4943

40 39

29 2923

20 1815

Ave

rage m

inute

s per

day


Average minutes spent per day on the following type of sites

More time spent per day on social networking sites than academic/research sites

Majority commenting… and watching video online

Write blog posts

Upload video to YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook etc.

Tweet

Play games on Facebook

Play online games in a web browser

Participate in groups on social networks

Play games online through a PC or games console

Discuss and debate on forum sites

Chat on social networking sites

Chat on Instant Messenger

Watch on demand TV online

Share photos on social networking sites

Update social networking status

Click that you 'Like' things (Facebook thumbs up)

Watch video online

Comment on photos, videos or status updates

13%

14%

18%

19%

20%

27%

27%

39%

43%

46%

50%

51%

60%

63%

66%69%

Regular activities online

Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk -January 2010

Online Research and Purchasing

Students value opinions from friends on social networking sites… but still open to views from other trusted sources

56%51% 50%

10%3%


Before making a decision to purchase whose opinions online do you value when researching on the internet?

Product review sites seen as the most helpful in aiding purchase decision making

72%

35% 34%31%

23%

11%


What type of sites are the most helpful to you when making purchase decisions?

Online community sites seen to be as helpful as price comparison sites

Search engines most commonly used to research before purchasing

Search Engines Online shops Review sites Manufacturer/Brand website

Community/Forum sites

Social Networking sites

6652 49

42

205

28

40 3944

44

31

6 9 12 14

36

64

FrequentlyOccasionallyNever

%

If you want/need to buy something, how often do you research your purchase using the following? (For example, this could be something from a new laptop to a pair of jeans?


How often do you research purchases before you buy using any of the following?

Word of mouth builds brand awareness

From a fan page on Facebook

From a magazine article

From an advertisement in a magazine

From a TV programme

From likeminded people or friend on a forum/community site

From an online Advertisement

From a friend on a social networking site

From a newspaper/magazine

From a news, entertainment, fashion website etc.

From a TV advert

From a friend in person

20%

28%

31%

34%

37%

37%

39%

40%

42%

54%

71%

Where do you tend to find out about cool new products and services?


Online retailers most frequently used sites to purchase

Online retailer (e.g. Amazon, ebay)

High street shop website (topshop,

asos)

Official Website of a brand/product

Through price comparison sites

A social networking site

65

3419

7 2

31

47

57

28

9

519 24

65

89

FrequentlyOccasionallyNever

%

How often do you use the following types of website to make an online purchase?


Price and quality most influential factors

Price Quality Recommendation Convenience Keeping up with the latest trends

8373

36 3316

1625

54 56

35

1 110 11

49

Very Moderately Not Very

%

How important are the following factors in influencing what and where you buy things online?


Paid for content is driven by apps

a paid for app for iphone, ipad or

equivalent

online gaming credits

a virtual gift a paid content subscription (e.g

The Times)

a paid for app for facebook

58%

30%26% 23%

4%

Over a third of the total sample have paid

for one or more of the following

The majority of users paying for content online are buying apps for their iphone/ipad

Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010, base – all who have paid for content online

Music, books and games preferred purchases online

71% 70%

50% 48%43% 41%

37% 36%

23%16% 14%

11% 10% 10% 7%


Which of the following types of purchases would you make online as opposed to in an actual store?

Brands on Social Sites


Large majority have seen brands advertising on social sites

83%

17%

YesNo

Do you follow or are you friends with brands on social sites?

Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk, January 2010

Almost a third do follow or are friends with brands on social sites

30%

70%YesNo

8 out of top 10 mentioned were fashion brands

Which brands do they follow?

*Top 10 mentioned brands

Discounts Exclusive content Competitions My friends do Petitions and polls Funny videos

35%30%

24%

8% 8% 6%

76%

28%

35%

6% 8% 6%

If answered yes - why?If answered no - what would encourage you to?


Majority follow (or would follow) brands for discounts and exclusive content

Summary

• Time spent online is evolving across platform

• Free time spent ‘hanging out with friends’ is equal to free time spent on Facebook

• More time spent on social networking sites than academic, career or college websites

• Online peers considered almost as helpful as real life friends online in terms of aiding a purchase decision

→ Community sites as helpful as price comparison sites in aiding decision making

• Potential for discounts and exclusive content to encourage greater brand following on social sites

Contact Us

Kailan D’ArcyMarketing Executive

The Student [email protected]

01273 624 948

Jamie O’ConnellMarketing DirectorThe Student Room

[email protected]

01273 624 948

mailto:[email protected]





http://www.chaucer.ac.uk/post16/

Understanding students online IAB and The Student Room Research April 2011.

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