Only 6% of Israelis have never used Facebook, while 66% have never used Twitter, according Universal McCann’s 2015 social media research study, “Wave 8 The Language of Content.” The study included 50,000 respondents in 65 countries. The Israeli portion of the study was carried out by New Wave.
The study reveals that 18.5% of Israelis have never used Skype, and 57% have never used LinkedIn. Low exposure rates are even more notable in niche social networks - 80% of Israelis have never used the blogging platform Tumblr, and a similar percentage have never used Snapchat.
About half of Israelis have never used Instagram, and about a quarter of Israelis have never used Google+. YouTube had the highest exposure rate among Israelis - just 0.6% of the population has never used the video platform.
The study also addresses usage and indicates that 70% of Israelis are on Facebook at least once a day up 11% from last year, and much higher than the global average of 45%.
44% of Israelis visit YouTube at least once a day (compared with 30% globally), and a surprising 22.5% visit Google+ on a daily basis. 66% of Israelis between the ages of 25 and 44 say that social networks are an integral part of their social lives.
The study also addresses smartphone and Internet usage: 30% of Israelis surf the web for more than five hours a day almost double the global average, which is 15.5%. In Italy, the rate is 21%, and the US rate is 16%.
As for general smartphone usage, the study indicates that 22% of Israelis use their smartphones for more than five hours a day, compared with a global average of 17.4%.
The smartphone penetration rate in Israel is 90% compared with 84% globally. This is an increase of 15.5% compared with last year. More Israelis have smartphones than desktop computers (70%) or laptop computers (78%).
The study indicates that Israelis enjoy consuming content more than they enjoy creating it. The online activities that Israelis most enjoy include watching videos, using instant messaging services, downloading apps, and visiting corporate websites. The least popular activities are blogging and uploading videos.
The Universal McCann study investigated what the five universal needs of online consumers are. Foremost is learning new things and staying up to date. Another need is keeping in touch and sharing information. Third is distraction, fourth is self-discovery, and fifth is building a career and making money.
Half of Israelis between the ages of 25 and 54 say they think more highly of companies that are active on social media, according to the study. 36% of Israelis in the same age bracket don't care that companies track their activities online. 66% of Israelis between the ages of 25 and 54, however, say that there should be transparency regarding brands promoting content online.
Universal McCann Digital VP Clients Lior Shvo said, "We understood that the Israeli consumer really likes consuming content, but doesn't like creating content. (87% consume video, posts and articles, compared with 29% percent who create content.) This fact challenges us to be more exact when we work on messaging and the level of engagement that we expect from our consumers.
"The content that our consumers do create (liking, sharing, writing posts) is very different from the content they consume. In effect, each of us has a digital persona that we maintain with our content strategy. As advertisers, we need to match our message to the consumer so it suits his or her personal content strategy."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 14, 2015
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