Report shows social is at the heart of media consumption

Australians prefer a balanced diet for their media and entertainment and social is at the heart of everything, a recent survey has shown.

Deloitte’s annual Media Consumer Survey found put 60% of Australians put using the internet for social or personal reasons in their top three entertainment activities, equal with watching TV on any device.

According to the report, both overall engagement with social media and the frequency with which we use it are increasing. Now, 80 per cent of Australian respondents use social media, up from 65 per cent in 2012. Fifty nine per cent of survey respondents use social media on a daily basis, and 23 per cent do so more than three times a day.

“Social media use is so ingrained in Australia that for the first time more than half of survey respondents (51 per cent) stated that the time they spend interacting with others through social media is as valuable as the time they spend together in person," said Deloitte telco, media and technology leader, Stuart Johnston.

“In fact social networks have now become social ecosystems. We are now using social to interact with a much wider ‘ecosystem’ of content and information, and we both contribute to and draw from this ecosystem."

Keeping up to date with breaking news is one of the top three reasons for using social for 36 per cent of survey respondents. More than a quarter 26 per cent of survey respondents also said they maintain a blog.

When it comes to business, half of survey respondents said they believe customer service issues are more effectively raised and resolved through social media. Meanwhile 55 per cent said they are able to learn more about a company, brand, product and service through their use of social media than via their website. However, consumers are still wary of the commercial presence in social media, with 59 per cent are concerned with the use of posts and tweets being used for commercial purposes.

Johnston said social media for businesses presents something of a 'paradox' when it comes to effective engagement.

“This is useful information for all businesses, no matter whether in the technology, media and telecommunications sector, financial services, public sector, utilities or retail," he said. "If more than half of us rely on social media as the best way to connect with businesses, Australian businesses definitely need a social strategy.”

Mobile connectivity remains top of the engagement agenda, with 81 one per cent of Australians spellbound by their smartphones. For Johnston, this means that mobile technologies continue to be paramount when it comes to engaging and retaining customers.

“Connectivity is the name of the game," he added. “The modern Australian family or household is a connected one - with an average of two TVs, two laptops, two tablets and two smartphones!”

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