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Gen Y’s Are Not Yet Taking Flight on Twitter

June 2, 2009

Participatory Marketing Network Study: Gen Y’s Are Not Yet Taking Flight on Twitter
Social networking is hot for Gen Y, but Twitter has yet to catch on

FROM TWTRCON ’09 – SAN FRANCISCO  (RPRN) 6/2/2009-— The Participatory Marketing Network (PMN), an organization that helps marketers transition from push and permission marketing to participatory marketing, today released results of a new study showing that only 22 percent of Generation Y consumers are using Twitter. When asked about social network usage, however, 99 percent of this same group reports having an active profile on at least one social networking site. PMN conducted the study in May 2009 with its research partner, the Lubin School of Business' Interactive and Direct Marketing (IDM) Lab at Pace University, by questioning 200 PMN panel members and consumers between the ages of 18-24.

“Twitter dominates the news, but clearly we’re only touching the surface of its potential as a marketing vehicle,” said Michael Della Penna, co-founder and Executive Chairman “This is a classic ‘glass half full’ scenario for Twitter because it’s clear that Gen Y has an appetite for social networking, but still hasn’t fully embraced micro-blogging. There is a tremendous opportunity now for marketers to develop strategies to get this important group active on Twitter too.”

Other findings from the PMN Twitter/social networking research include:

- Twitter has yet to catch on with Gen Y Only 22 percent of this group say they use Twitter
- 85 percent follow friends
- 54 percent follow celebrities
- 29 percent follow family
- 29 percent follow companies

- Online social networks are hot for Gen Y
- 99 percent have a profile on a social networking site
- 89 percent have downloaded an application to their profile page
- Photos (89 percent), games (53 percent), entertainment
(51 percent), news (32 percent) and weather (29 percent) are
the most popular applications

- Mobile social networking is heating up for Gen Y
- 38 percent have an iPhone or iPod Touch
- Games (53 percent), entertainment (35 percent), lifestyle
(31 percent), financial – “free” (28 percent), financial “paid”
(7 percent) are the most popular mobile applications
- More than one quarter (26 percent) indicated none

For more information about the Twitter/social media study, contact Michael Della Penna at info@thepmn.org. During TWTRCON, the PMN also announced that it has added two new industry veterans to its advisory board, George LeBrun and Bill Hanifin. LeBrun and Hanifin are both successful entrepreneurs with proven track records of helping leading brands engage customers in ongoing dialogues that build loyalty. Both will be instrumental in helping the PMN shape the future value proposition for its growing membership.

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