Mobile News Consumers Are Opinion Leaders
People joke around that every young person now runs into walls, because they're staring at their iPhone or Droid instead of looking where they're going.
Yet the young people of today are on the leading edge of how news and information is consumed.
It's changing news gathering, advertising and public relations far faster than even supporters of digital media expected.
The State of the Media 2011 report report has interesting number about mobile news consumers -- of all ages -- versus non-consumers, and it's worth looking at those first.
According the report, of people who get local news on mobile devices:
Those numbers are impressive, and useful.
The bigger takeaway is that people who get local news on mobile devices are opinion leaders. They're optimistic. They're connected. They talk to a lot of other people.
It's an audience everybody will want to reach.
And those numbers are for all adults. When you break it down, it's more striking.
Here's what that same Pew Research Center's report found for demographics of people who get local news on mobile devices:
Think about those numbers. If you pay any attention to TV or radio ratings, you'll notice stations bragging about winning not just their time slot, but the 18 to 35 age group.
That's because advertisers covet those viewers more than any others.
Young adults just starting out need to buy cars and clothes. They go to movies. They buy concert tickets. They spend money on weddings and need to pick a bank and buy their first home.
Advertisers lust after the 18 to 35 demographic because they know it's a lot easier to covert the undecided into buying your products, and developing a lifetime of brand loyalty, than to lure people away from brands and products that they already feel loyal toward.
The same is true for public figures and public relations.
You want to reach that 18 to 35 demographic, whether you're a rock star, a politician, an author or an actor.
You want to be where they are. And they're walking around with their head down, looking at their iPhones and Droids, reading the news and finding movie theaters.
Yet the young people of today are on the leading edge of how news and information is consumed.
It's changing news gathering, advertising and public relations far faster than even supporters of digital media expected.
The State of the Media 2011 report report has interesting number about mobile news consumers -- of all ages -- versus non-consumers, and it's worth looking at those first.
According the report, of people who get local news on mobile devices:
- 35 percent say they and others like them "can have a big impact on their community" (vs. 27 percent of adults who don't get news via mobile devices)
- 65 percent say it's easier today to keep up with information about their community than compared to five years ago (vs. 47 percent)
- 51 percent say they use six or more sources of local news and information per month (vs. 21 percent)
- 75 percent use social networks (vs. 42 percent)
- 15 percent use Twitter (vs. 4 percent)
Those numbers are impressive, and useful.
The bigger takeaway is that people who get local news on mobile devices are opinion leaders. They're optimistic. They're connected. They talk to a lot of other people.
It's an audience everybody will want to reach.
And those numbers are for all adults. When you break it down, it's more striking.
Here's what that same Pew Research Center's report found for demographics of people who get local news on mobile devices:
- 8 percent of adults 65 or older got local news on mobile devices
- 33 percent of those 50 to 64 years old did so
- 63 percent of adults 30 to 49
- 70 percent of people 18-29
Think about those numbers. If you pay any attention to TV or radio ratings, you'll notice stations bragging about winning not just their time slot, but the 18 to 35 age group.
That's because advertisers covet those viewers more than any others.
Young adults just starting out need to buy cars and clothes. They go to movies. They buy concert tickets. They spend money on weddings and need to pick a bank and buy their first home.
Advertisers lust after the 18 to 35 demographic because they know it's a lot easier to covert the undecided into buying your products, and developing a lifetime of brand loyalty, than to lure people away from brands and products that they already feel loyal toward.
The same is true for public figures and public relations.
You want to reach that 18 to 35 demographic, whether you're a rock star, a politician, an author or an actor.
You want to be where they are. And they're walking around with their head down, looking at their iPhones and Droids, reading the news and finding movie theaters.