Social Networking: survey of national levels of engagement

[PRNewswire] comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a study of the social networking category in Russia, based on data from the comScore World Metrix audience measurement service. The study found Russia to have the world's most engaged social networking audience, with visitors spending 6.6 hours and viewing 1,307 pages per visitor per month.

Two-Thirds of Global Internet Users Access Social Networking Sites

Of the 1.1 billion people age 15 and older worldwide who accessed the Internet from a home or work location in May 2009, 734.2 million visited at least one social networking site during the month, representing a penetration of 65 percent of the worldwide Internet audience. The Russian social networking audience had the highest engagement among the 40 individual countries reported by comScore, with an average of 6.6 hours and 1,307 pages consumed per visitor. Brazil ranked close behind at 6.3 hours, followed by Canada (5.6 hours), Puerto Rico (5.3 hours) and Spain (5.3 hours).

"Social networking has become a popular online pastime not only in mature Internet markets like North America, but also in developing, high-growth Internet markets such as Russia," said Mike Read, SVP & managing director, comScore Europe. "In a country as geographically large as Russia, social networking represents a way of connecting people from one corner of the country to the other. The highly engaged behavior of social networkers in Russia offers significant opportunity for marketers and advertisers seeking to reach these audiences."

Top 20 Highest Engagement Social Networking Country
Audiences
Ranked by Average Hours per Visitor*
May 2009
Total Worldwide, Age 15+ - Home & Work Locations
Source: comScore World Metrix

Country Average Hours Average Pages
per Visitor per Visitor
World-Wide 3.7 525
Russia 6.6 1,307
Brazil 6.3 1,220
Canada 5.6 649
Puerto Rico 5.3 587
Spain 5.3 968
Finland 4.7 919
United Kingdom 4.6 487
Germany 4.5 793
United States 4.2 477
Colombia 4.1 473
Mexico 4.0 488
Chile 4.0 418
Ireland 3.8 462
Turkey 3.7 427
Venezuela 3.7 454
France 3.6 526
Australia 3.4 374
New Zealand 3.4 386
Switzerland 3.2 430
Italy 3.2 399

* Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet
cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.

Vkontakte.ru is Russia's Largest Social Networking Site

Of the 31.9 million people who accessed the Internet in Russia in April, 18.9 million visited at least one social networking site, representing a reach of 59 percent of the total online population. The most popular of these sites was Russian-based Vkontakte.ru with 14.3 million visitors, followed by Odnoklassniki.ru (7.8 million visitors), Mail.ru - My World (6.3 million visitors) and Fotostrana.ru (1.6 million visitors). Facebook.com attracted 616,000 Russian visitors, up 277 percent versus year ago.

A Selection of Leading Social Networking Sites
Ranked by Total Unique Visitors (000)*
May 2009
Total Russia, Age 15+ Home & Work Locations
Source: comScore World Metrix

Property Total Unique % Reach of Total
Visitors Online
(000) Population
Total Russian Internet
Audience 31,907 100%
Social Networking 18,877 59%
Vkontakte.ru 14,310 45%
Odnoklassniki.ru 7,750 24%
Mail.Ru - My World 6,321 20%
Fotostrana.ru 1,624 5%
Privet.ru 942 3%
Moikrug.ru 839 3%
Facebook.com 616 2%
Steamcommunity.com 433 1%
MySpace Sites 371 1%
Vkrugudruzei.ru 214 1%

* Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet
cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.


Russia Has World's Most Engaged Social Networking Audience