Survey by ACTIVE Network Shows Which Social Platforms Drive the Most Action and What Happens ‘Beyond the Click’
SAN DIEGO – ACTIVE Network (NYSE:ACTV), the leader in cloud-based Activity and Participant Management™ (APM), released new insights into the relationship between online social interactions and offline activities. The ‘Beyond the Click’ survey of 500 consumers commissioned by ACTIVE found that, on four out of five top social platforms1, over 50% of users have taken offline action directly as a result of an online interaction. The findings suggest that, by connecting online behaviors to offline activity, organizations can grow their customer base, increase revenue and drive greater participation.
According to the ‘Beyond the Click’ survey, the three most popular offline actions taken as a result of online engagement are to contact a person directly, attend an event and participate in an activity such as a sport or a class. The survey also revealed the impact of mobile apps on offline action, finding that 44% of smartphone users report using a mobile app to help them achieve a personal goal, such as improving their health, fitness, knowledge, education or appearance. These findings have implications for event and activity organizers, who should look to online interaction and mobile apps to both find new revenue streams and foster greater engagement among their current customer base.
“Online engagement is playing an increasingly important role in all facets of our lives, and ACTIVE is interested in understanding the factors that convert online interaction into offline action,” said Kristin Carroll vice president of corporate and consumer marketing at ACTIVE Network. “Our research in this area helps us evolve our offerings to develop ways our business customers can drive attendance, participation and revenue.”
The survey showed that, among the 5 top social platforms it reviewed, Facebook drives the most offline actions. According to survey respondents, Facebook leads to the most direct contacts or in-person meetings, and also prompts the most donations to a cause. While Twitter drives the second fewest offline actions, the engagement it does inspire is active in nature—25% of Twitter users have participated in an activity and 30% have attended an event as a result of online interactions according to the survey. Facebook users surveyed were also found highly likely to participate in an activity or attend an event as a result of their online actions, with 44% of respondents indicating they’ve attended a class, sport, or other form of activity and 58% noting they’ve been promoted to go to an event.
“While it’s easy to measure online interactions in clicks or shares, it is very hard to measure resulting offline actions and their economic value to a business,” continued Carroll. “The closest most companies have come to measuring the impact of social media is tracking purchases generated or putting an arbitrary dollar value on a click. But, as this survey shows, users can take many other offline actions that have an economic impact, and can lead directly to an increase in sales of offline activity.”
According to the survey, LinkedIn is the most successful platform in causing users to change their job. The findings also revealed that the second most likely platform to prompt a job change is Pinterest. No respondents reported changing their job as a result of a Twitter interaction. Pinterest was also the platform responsible for driving the most respondents to make a lifestyle change, just ahead of Facebook.
ACTIVE Network provides cloud-based technology to power activities, from marathons to youth camps to fishing to business meetings and conferences. It has a track record in applying technology to drive offline actions. In 2011, ACTIVE Network powered over 80 million transactions, most of which represent an individual online registration for a physical or community activity or in-person event.
500 responses were collected through a web-based survey conducted by Survey.com of The Active Lifestyle Panel. The Active Lifestyle Panel is ACTIVE Network’s proprietary consumer panel of over 55,000 registered Active.com users.
About ACTIVE Network
ACTIVE Network (NYSE: ACTV) is on a mission to make the world a more active place. With deep expertise in Activity and Participant Management™ (APM), our ActiveWorks® cloud technology helps organizations transform and grow their businesses. We do this through technology solutions that power the world’s activities and through online destinations such asACTIVE.com® that connect people with the things they love to do. Serving over 50,000 global business customers and driving over 80 million transactions annually, we help organizations get participants, manage their events and build communities. ACTIVE Network is headquartered in San Diego, California and has over 30 offices worldwide. Learn more atACTIVEnetwork.com or ACTIVE.com and engage with us on Twitter @ACTIVEnetwork, @ACTIVE and on Facebook.
1 The survey asked respondents about their usage and actions on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Pinterest. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Pinterest, as mentioned herein, are the trademarks of each of their respective owners. No association between or among any of the foregoing with ACTIVE Network, this press release, any ACTIVE Network products or services, or any other company or product is intended or should be inferred.
