Over half of social network users willing to share social data for personalized content: new study
New research has found that over half of UK social network users are willing to share data from their social media profiles to see products and content relevant to their interests.
The survey of 2,000 UK social network users by social personalization expert Intent HQ, found that two thirds of respondents said they only followed people or brands they had a genuine interest in. Around a third (32%) also agreed they had become more selective in the information they shared about likes and interests on social networks.
The most common sites that people were willing to share their social data with were general retailers (39%) and supermarkets (38%). Other popular verticals for sharing social data were music (29%), travel (22%) and film and TV (22%).
The research also revealed a depth of valuable data available for digital content and ecommerce personalization. Over half of social network users (54%) had shared their relationship status and 50% their interests and hobbies. In addition, 30% had shared information about holidays and 35% about events they had attended.
Never Miss a Retail Update!As well as sharing social media data, 56% of social network users confirmed they would also log into another website using their Facebook or Twitter profile for a personalized experience. Accessing offers and discounts on relevant products was found to be the key driver, cited by 57%, followed by products based on their interests (41%) and then seeing content that friends and family had engaged with, such as music, videos or articles (34%).
Men were found to be more likely to log in using their social profile for relevant content recommendations relevant to their interests while women were more likely to share the social data for relevant deals and offers. Women were also more likely to turn to their social networks for advice on leisure activities including which books to read and ideas on days out.
The study found some resistance to sharing social data on other websites, with the biggest barrier being privacy concerns. Frustrations included annoying notifications and irrelevant updates.
Jonathan Lakin, chief executive of Intent HQ, said: “The statistics clearly show the value of social data in personalization. People are becoming more savvy and selective about what they share on social networks, which only makes the data being made available much richer for true personalization and creating a tailored online experience. This huge volume of data is incredibly powerful, allowing marketers to go far beyond domain specific information in their personalization strategy, targeting intent as opposed to purely using lagging data.
“We’ve also identified a clear consumer openness to social personalization, when users know why they are sharing their social data and what they will get in return. The barriers around privacy and over-sharing frustrations should not be ignored, but can be overcome by earning trust, clear transparency, focussing on intent and delivering on the quality online experience. It’s also interesting that it is the youngest age group that is most open to sharing their social data, a sign that this is only going to grow.”
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