Women are Shyer on Social Media… Except When it Comes to Brands

LONDON, February 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Men are More Open About Personal Topics

Women are shyer than men on social media except when it comes to which brands they like, according to a new Social Media Habits and Privacy Concerns Study from uSamp™.

uSamp (http://www.uSamp.com), a leader in providing targeted audiences and SaaS technologies for business intelligence, surveyed 600 adults in the UK in January 2012. 78% of women said they would share which brand they preferred compared to 74% of men.

Phone numbers, income and home addresses were the least popular subjects to share on social media for both sexes. Only 3% of women said they would post their physical address on a social network and only 4% would share their phone number.

Men are less shy than women about their salaries: 10% of men would share their income publicly while only 6% of women would do so.

They are also less coy about their age: 55% of men will confess to how old they are, compared to 45% of women.

And even more interestingly, men were more open about their relationship status than women. 73% of men will share whether they're coupled up or not, compared to only 70% of women.

Gaelle Normand, MD of uSamp in Europe, comments: "This is good news for retail brands trying to harness social media as a marketing tool. Those targeting a female audience are likely to see more success with viral campaigns, as women recommend their favourite products to friends and followers more readily. Those brands with a male following might find it slightly harder to create a buzz through social channels."

The Social Media Habits and Privacy Concerns" survey is one of uSamp's Datapoint studies.

Supplemental information, including questions and answers are available upon request.

Table: Percentage of men vs. women prepared to disclose information on social networks.

       Topic to share             Men                Women
    Name                         88 %                83 %
    Email address                47 %                35 %
    Physical address              7 %                 3 %
    Location                     35 %                34 %
    Phone number                 12 %                 4 %
    Political affiliation        49 %                41 %
    Religious affiliation        58 %                52 %
    Income                       10 %                 6 %
    Brands liked                 74 %                78 %
    Relationship status          73 %                70 %
    Personal photos              51 %                45 %
    Date of birth                55 %                45 %
    Education                    64 %                57 %
    Occupation                   63 %                54 %

About uSamp

uSamp (uSamp.com) is a premier provider of technology and survey respondents used to obtain consumer and business insights. uSamp's solutions and SaaS platform transforms the way companies gain intelligence to make better, faster decisions about their products and services by tapping into uSamp's 6.5 million global panel of survey respondents. The Los Angeles-based company was ranked #11 in the 2011 Forbes America's Most Promising Company List and has its European base in London.