Those 10%

Rubicon Consulting's web practice team recently conducted a broad survey of US web users to understand better how people in the US use the web.

As reported in Research Brief from the Centre for Media Research Nov. 6, 2008 the following are some highlights:

About 80% of the user generated content on the web, including comments and questions is produced by 9% of users... the Most Frequent Contributors, says the report.

About 65% of web users are passive readers who contribute content only occasionally. They account for only about 20% of content, depending on the medium.

Another 9% of web users are pure lurkers, never contributing any content. And about 17% are community abstainers; they believe they never visit any community-related site on the web.

The vast majority of online conversation is driven by a small group of web users -- less than ten percent of them. Community experts have been aware of this phenomenon for years, calling it "participation inequality."

Rubicon's survey confirms the idea behind the "1-9-90" rule, but not its specific details. The 1-9-90 rule says that 90% of web users are completely silent lurkers. In this research, a majority of web users said they sometimes contribute something, even if it's just an occasional comment. The truly silent lurkers are only 9% of the web population.

Netting it all out, about 10% of web users generate the vast majority of all user-created content. The rest of us are more or less voyeurs.

Here's what the top 10% contribute, according to the study:

Online comments and reviews posted by the enthusiasts are second only to word of mouth as a purchase driver for all web users. Those personal reviews are far more influential than official reviews posted by a website or magazine, or information posted online by a manufacturer. The most frequent contributors are the influencers, and they have a strong influence on purchase decisions because they write most of the online recommendations and reviews.

Word of mouth (personal advice from a friend) is still the #1 driver of purchase decisions. Among web users (who are about 70% of the US population), content on the web has moved into second place, ahead of printed reviews and advice from salespeople.

These findings mean online community matters enormously to companies. Online discussion is a poor way to communicate with the average customer, because average customers don't participate. But it is a great way to communicate to them, because average customers watch and listen.

The Feminine Spin: How does this apply to women specifically?

We know women participate in Word-of-mouth: with four times as many connections between the left and right hemispheres of the brain, women tap deeply into that area that is responsible for bonding and connecting with others. This makes women three times more likely to share personal stories with a friend than men.

We also know that women, specifically moms are much more attached to media that connects them to other women online - such as internet communities, blogs and video-sharing sites - suggesting they prefer to rely on peers rather than experts to help them parent, according to a study conducted April, 2008 among 847 moms who visited the Parenting.com website. (Marketing Charts)

If you are marketing to women online you need to search out and engage the influencers talking about your product or industry. They are the people (be them women or men) whose recommendations consumers (women especially) are most likely to listen to when deciding to purchase a product or service.

Posted by: Lisa Valent