Despite their later migration
to the Web, women ages 40 to 49 represent a dynamic force online. SheSpeaks, the
leading social network for women.s insights and word-of-mouth marketing, announced
today the results of a recent study, revealing that 40-something women are highly
involved in social networking, often demonstrating a more personal connection
to online activities than their younger peers.
A national poll of the SheSpeaks membership yielding more than
2,000 responses revealed nearly one-half (45%) of 40-something women respondents
have profiles on popular social networking sites. A majority of these social
network users indicated frequent activity on these sites, logging in several
times per week.
"Contrary to popular belief, not only are 40-somethings
active users and members of online social networks, but they are actually using
the Web in a more purposeful way than their younger counterparts," said
Aliza Freud, Founder and CEO of SheSpeaks. "These women have started to
use the Web and social networks in ways that mirror the rest of their lives
— from finding out about a product to shopping or monitoring their children.s
activities — while the online focus for women 30 or under is primarily social."
Additional findings from the study indicate that "shopping"
is 40-something women.s #1 online activity (vs. "connecting with others"
for younger women), and they research products online more than their younger
counterparts. Forty-somethings are more likely than younger generations to post
product reviews on shopping Web sites (62% vs. 53%) and to purchase products
based on e-mails from a company (50% vs. 45%). While they lag behind their younger
peers in terms of using blogs to discuss products, 40-somethings demonstrate
an active usage of peer-to-peer tools for sharing product and shopping information.
In addition, more than 70% of women with children ages 13-17 have talked about
products within a social network, compared to 62% of women overall.
As marketers explore opportunities to connect with female consumers
online, the new findings uncovered that women are broadly represented on social
networks and marketers are not reaching them in those venues. Online advertising
was found to be largely ineffective among those surveyed, with one-quarter (26%)
of respondents saying they actively ignore ads and 20% saying they are annoyed
by the presence of online ads on social networking sites.
In addition to the 40-somethings, the SheSpeaks study also uncovered
significant trends across age groups and demographics, including women under
30, Western Women, Parents of Teens and High-Income Professionals. Additional
results from the SheSpeaks study can be requested at info@shespeaks.com.
;
