Wealthy consumer membership in online social networks increases dramatically to 60% in 2008, up from 27% in 2007, according to The Luxury Institutes most recent WealthSurvey. The survey was conducted among wealthy American consumers with an average income of $287K per year and an average net worth of $2.1 million. The wealthy belonged to an average of 2.8 social networks, and had an average of 110 connections. Membership in social networks goes up as income increases — those earning $300,000+ per year participate in an average of 3.4 social networks. The leading social networks among those surveyed are: MySpace (16%), LinkedIn (13%) and Facebook (11%).
“Being connected is second nature to these over-achievers,” said Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute. There has also been a rapid increase in the 55+ wealthy consumer whose participation in social networks increased five-fold to 49%. However, because the wealthy have much to lose, they will not tolerate behaviors exhibited by some social networks that do not allow opt-out of tracking private purchase information, make it difficult to exit, and give out personal data without permission. Sixty-five percent of those surveyed said they would disconnect if personal information was given out without permission.
With the rise in popularity and usage, it’s a given that networking sites can play a major role in searching for your next job and getting your foot in the door for an interview. Networking is about building and maintaining positive relationships with family, friends, co-workers, colleagues, neighbors, etc. For a preferred list of Business Networking sites, please check out the Networking page on this site. Or, for a complete list all the major social networking websites you can review Wikipedia’s top 100 most notable social networking sites.
It’s never too late to start making more friends. Happy connecting!
