Social media are now an integral part of many consumers’ everyday lives. In 2012, 92.6 % of German citizens with Internet access had at least one social network account. The country-wide acceptance and application of social media, together with the increasing distribution of smartphones, indicate a fundamental and ongoing change affecting all elements of German society. The idea of the present study is to protocol this change in a representative manner.
Essentially, this report provides indisputable evidence that social media has become a key element of German consumers’ lives. We believe that several managers today ignore the dramatic dimension of change that social media brings about for consumers and firms, misjudging social media as just another new communication tool.
The change caused by social media in terms of consumer perceptions and behavior cannot be left to agencies or social media managers alone, but must be reflected much deeper in company value chains. In this sense, the present report issues a warning, but also indicates the enormous business potential that the social media revolution offers to those who are able to act progressively and proactively.
CONTENTS
1 Executive Summary 6
2 Introduction: Understanding the Consumer is Crucial 8
3 The Method: Survey Design 9
3.1 Data Collection 9
3.2 Calculation of the Social Media Index 11
3.3 Calculation of Media Importance Pie Charts for Consumption and Brand Relationships 12
4 The Results: Social Media Status-Quo 13
4.1 Social Media Demographics 13
4.2 Social Media Networks 15
5 The Results: Social Media and Consumption 18
5.1 General Insights 18
5.2 Social Media Importance Across Industries 19
5.3 What Drives Social Media Usage for Purchase Decisions? 21
5.4 What Drives Social Media Usage for Brand Relationships? 23
5.5 Consumer Versus Company-Perceived Importance of Social Media 25
6 The Results: Social Media and Consumer Communication Habits 27
6.1 General Insights on Private Communication Means 27
6.2 Heavy Versus Low Social Media Users 27
6.3 Private Versus Business Use of Social Media 28
7 Conclusion 30
8 References 31
9 Appendix: Industry-specific Media Usage Results 32