Trends Insight – Women Online
Claire Higgins, head of marketing, Hearst Digital, looks at new research examining how women use the internet…
Although vast amounts of studies have been undertaken on general online usage patterns there has been a distinct lack of purely female centric research. With an estimated 48% of internet users in the UK being female this seems an almost unforgivable oversight.
In order to redress this, a recent survey called We Know Women Online has been undertaken to gain a greater understanding of how women use the internet. The research aims to show how to better target and market more effectively to the online female population.
The survey was carried out via Hearst digital’s portfolio of websites, including handbag.com and cosmopolitan.co.uk. Forty questions were asked, covering six insight areas from web 2.0 to online advertising, and over 4,500 women aged 16 to over 75 replied to the survey.
How important is the internet to women?
The first insight area that the survey focussed on was ‘How important is the internet to women?’ The response was overwhelming. Women online rated the internet as the most important media in their lives, closely followed by TV and magazines.
Frequency of use was also high with 85% of respondents using the internet daily. Unsurprisingly, 25-34 year olds were the most frequent users, with 73% using the internet more than once a day. Interestingly, however, the research also revealed women over the age of 45 are logging on almost as often as those between the ages of 16 and 24, with 61% and 65% logging on more than once a day respectively.
The internet’s ability to enhance women’s lifestyles across all age groups also became evident, with 74% ‘strongly agreeing’ or ‘agreeing’ with both the following statements: ‘The internet makes my life easier’ and ‘The Internet helps me keep in touch with friends and family’.
The influence the medium has over women, their choices and attitudes, was also impressive. Whilst almost all respondents (96%) use the internet as a research tool, it was seen as the media of choice for generating inspiration – touching on the emotional connection that these women now have with this medium.
Finally, the internet was viewed by 65% of women as a way of saving money, with 74% also saying that it helped save them time.
How important are social media activities to women?
In a web 2.0 age, we need to understand how women are interacting with social media activities. When analysing what activities they do online, the proportions using Wikipedia, instant messaging and social network applications decrease as age increases, whilst usage of online forums and RSS feeds shows relatively little variation by age.
We also have a clear Friends Reunited vs Facebook generation gap, with 32% of 45+ year olds stating they belong to Friends Reunited versus 79% of 16-24 year olds with a Facebook account.
The reasons behind the use of these social networks, is, however, where the generations differentiate themselves even more. Younger users are clearly more interactive with their social networking. 78% of 16-24 year olds stated they use social networks to share photos and 56% stated they use it to organise a night out. Women over 35, however, have a markedly different use for using social networks, with 59% of 35-44 year olds and 45% of over 45’s stating they use social networks to see what other people are doing.
These statistics highlight that the younger group are far more ‘multi dimensional’ and proactive in their activities, whereas the older group tend to use social media as a way of keeping up to date. Thus we have ‘The passive web 2.0 Vs the proactive posters’. This is also reflective on how the younger users have grown up in a generation where social media is the norm.
The role of environment
Seventy one percent of women engage with women’s websites at least once a week, with 16-34 year olds visiting more frequently. Interestingly, the results show that older women use women’s websites as the chance to relax and take some time out, whereas for the younger demographic it was much more about getting a quick fix and source of inspiration.
Does online influence brand preference/pre-disposition?
The study found the two main reasons why women click on an online advertisement are ‘offers & competitions’, and if they want to find out more about the product or service.
This stresses the importance of having advertising with a hook. Where there is an offer or call to action, there is a greater chance that women will interact with the brand.
The research also shows that 49% of women like it when adverts are relevant to the website that they are on. This suggests that where the environment and advertising works together, the results will be much more effective – such as fashion advertising in the fashion channel, etc.
Finally, respondents also said they form opinions on brands online: 56% of respondents stated online advertising encouraged them to learn more about the brands and 47% of respondents stated they are more likely to buy a brand after seeing it advertised online.
Hearst Digital: www.hearstdigital.co.uk