A new comScore study found that 64.2 million Americans use their mobile phones and tablets for social networking – checking our Facebook, Twitter and blogs via apps and mobile sites.
Of those, more than half ‘fessed up to social networking via mobile “almost every day”.
According to the 2012 Mobile Future in Focus report, 84.6% of mobile social networkers spend their time perusing “posts from people known personally,” while 73.6% post status updates of their own.
Brands and organizations are also gaining traction with mobile social networkers. Fifty-eight per cent of study participants read posts from companies, while circa 32% clicked on ads via mobile.
comScore senior vice president of mobile, Mark Donovan, said: “As mobile channels present a more personal, social, and ubiquitous experience to consumers, advertisers and publishers have an opportunity to better engage target audiences.”
The number of folks using their mobiles and tablets to access social networks has rocketed over the past 12 months. The 64 million figure is a 77% increase on the previous year, while the number of daily users grew by 88%.
“2011 proved to be a groundbreaking year for the mobile industry, with smartphones hitting the mainstream, tablets emerging as a formidable fourth screen, and consumers increasingly integrating mobile behaviors into their lifestyles,” Mr Donovan said.
“As the industry continues to innovate and more consumers look to multiple devices and platforms to consume digital media, we expect the mobile and connected device landscape to be shaken up even further in 2012.”
Despite the growing popularity of mobile social networking, it doesn’t yet drive the average consumer’s decision to buy a smartphone, the study found. Mobile carrier network quality still ranks as the number one decider, while the phone’s OS and app selection also play their part.
