SOCIAL MEDIA
Social Networks and Video Sharing: An Untapped
Opportunity for Marketers
Lead Analyst
Marissa Gluck
Contributing Analysts
Michael Gartenberg
Josh Bell
Zak Kirchner
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Published September 2009. © 2009 Interpret, LLC
Social Networks and Video Sharing: An Untapped Opportunity for Marketers
Catalyst: Video is now social media, as consumers increasingly record, upload and share both professional and
user-generated content. But what is the relationship between active social networkers and video
consumption?
Core Questions:
• Are heavy video consumers also influencers?
• Are video sharing site users more likely to engage with brands and products?
Interpret Insight: There is a strong correlation between heavy online video consumption and intense social
networking. Active engagement on video sharing sites is a strong predictor of networking behaviors such as
status updates, creating groups and connecting with brands and companies. While just 6 percent of the
population has visited a company’s profile on a social networking site, 28 percent of video site users have.
Marketers need to reach these social media evangelists through online video to harness the influence they
have on their brands.
Active Social Networkers Are Also Heavy Video Consumers
There is a significant amount of crossover between consumers who engage in social networking activities and
video consumption. Consumers with social networking profiles are far more likely to both download and
stream movies and television shows than consumers who don’t regularly use social networking sites. For
instance, 65 percent of social network users have streamed a TV show, and 68 percent have streamed movies.
In contrast, just 35 percent of consumers who do not use social networks have streamed a TV show and 32
percent have streamed a movie. The numbers are even more disparate for downloading video, with social
networkers far more likely to have downloaded a TV show or movie than non-networkers.
Active Video Site Users Are Also Heavily Engaged in Social Networking Activities
Consumers who use video sharing sites such as YouTube or Hulu are much more likely to engage in social
networking activities than the general population, including creating a group, updating their status, or sending
a message to their friends. These consumers not only communicate with their friends, but they are also likely
to engage with companies and brands. Over a quarter of video site users (28 percent) have also visited a
company’s page or profile on a social networking site such as Facebook or MySpace, compared to just 6
percent of the total population. Similarly, almost two-in-five video site users (38 percent) report that they have
clicked on an advertisement or sponsor link on a social networking site, versus 7 percent of the overall
population. The pattern