Strategy Analytics: Social Media Users to Exceed One Billion By 2012

Long-term Financial Viability will Depend on Targeted Advertising Success

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Social Media Applications, such as MySpace, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr, will attract over one billion broadband users within five years, according to the latest research from Strategy Analytics. This report, “The People’s Revolution: Implications of Web 2.0 and Social Media Applications,” notes that media companies must view social media both as a tremendous opportunity and a competitive threat. The report also concludes that the ability to develop successful targeted advertising techniques will be the key to long term financial viability for social media sites.

“The next 12-18 months will be pivotal for many of today’s leading social media sites, as they must prove their financial raisons d'être”

“It is clear that user generated media will increasingly compete with professional media when it comes to the attention and free time of users,” comments Martin Olausson, Director of Digital Media Research at Strategy Analytics. “However, if professional media companies choose to embrace social media applications it will enable a more direct and positive relationship with consumers, which will in turn drive increased engagement and loyalty.”

“The long term financial viability of even the largest social media sites depends heavily on the ability to develop targeted advertising techniques that are as yet largely unproven, or may ultimately be thwarted by privacy regulations,” adds David Mercer, Principal Analyst at Strategy Analytics. “The next 12-18 months will be pivotal for many of today’s leading social media sites, as they must prove their financial raisons d'être”.

Global Social Media Users, 2007-2012
	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	CAGR
Population (Mn)	6,187	6,238	6,290	6,343	6,393	6,444	0.8%
Broadband Users (Mn)	806	934	1,054	1,162	1,262	1,341	10.7%
Share of Population (%)	13%	15%	17%	18%	20%	21%	9.8%
Social Media Users (Mn)	373	489	628	774	907	1,005	21.9%
Share of Broadband Users (%)	46%	52%	60%	67%	72%	75%	10.1%

For an Executive Summary of the report, see www.strategyanalytics.com

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Strategy Analytics, Inc focuses on market opportunities and disruptive forces in the areas of Automotive Electronics and Entertainment, Broadband Connected Home, Mobile & Wireless Intelligent Systems Implementation Strategies and High Frequency Market intelligence. For more information, please visit www.strategyanalytics.com