a comparative analysis of the disqus user …...disqus audience study, october 2013 * research...

*

A Comparative Analysis of the Disqus User Audience October 2013

* Disqus Audience Study, October 2013

Research Overview Online survey research was conducted in September 2013 to better understand the attitudes, behaviors and demographic profile of the Disqus user audience. A split-sample method enabled us to compare Disqus audience (n=1136) with commenters from the general Internet population (n=440) and the U.S. Internet population at large (n=614). The findings presented in this report provide a detailed and statistically reliable look at how Disqus users compare to these other groups.


They go deep and wide online Spend more time online, seeking more news, information and social content across all areas of the Web - the smaller organic sites as well as the popular sites that most people go to daily

Producers as well as consumers of social content Engage in social media more, sharing more types of social content – on more types of social platforms – more frequently.

True geeks – in the best sense Devoted to their passions (past, present and future), always striving to engage, learn and share more

Eager (and qualified) to be part of the story Influence and educate, often pointing-out the things that have been overlooked or misunderstood

Natural brand evangelists Talking about brands/products in more ways and places online than regular Internet users

What did we learn about the Disqus audience? Key Findings

*

Disqus users go deep online


7.45

7.26

6.93

6.5

6.7

6.9

7.1

7.3

7.5

Disqus Audience General Contributors Gen Pop

Average Time per Weekday Spent Online

Q  About how many hours, in a typical weekday, are you online, that is, using the Internet?

Disqus Audience, n=1136 General Contributors, n=440

Gen Pop, n=614 Base: All respondents

They spend more time online – over 7 hours (on average) per weekday

Hours Spent Online in Average Weekday

Dashed circle indicates difference between Disqus figure and one or both other groups is statistically significant at 95% confidence level


6% 9% 9%7%

10% 9%15%

17% 16%

15%14% 13%

19%

24% 28%

19%

12% 11%

20% 15% 14%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%


SocialNewsEmailLooking for infoLeisureShopping-relatedPlaying games online

Allocation of Time Online

Q  About how many hours, in a typical weekday, are you online, that is, using the Internet?



They are heavy seekers of online information, consuming all kinds of news and contributing to social media

Allocation of Time Online Social

News

Info



3% 6%13%

17%

27%26%

26%

25%23%

18%

17%15%14%

14% 11%21%

12% 11%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%


12+ reg sites10 to 127 to 95 to 63 to 41 or 2 reg sites

No. of Websites Visited Daily

Q  About how many websites do you visit on a daily basis (every day)?



Every day, they are visiting more sites than the average Internet user

Avg. No. of Sites

Used Daily 8.3 7.0 6.5

Over 1 in 3 use 10+

websites on a daily basis

No. of Websites Visited on Daily Basis



13%23%

31%

20%

26%26%

33%

32%27%

15%

12% 10%19%7% 6%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%


50 or more add'l sites20 to 4910 to 205 to 91 to 4 add'l sites

No. of Additional Websites Visited Daily

Q  About how many additional websites do you visit in a typical month, aside from the ones you visit daily?



Disqus users visit many other sites (on top of the ones they visit daily)

Avg. No. of Additional Sites Used Monthly* 22.6 14.6 13.1

Over 1 in 3 Disqus

users visit 20+

additional sites

monthly

No. of Additional Websites Visited Monthly


*In addition to sites used on a daily basis


73% 73%68%

54%

47%

27%

12% 12%7%

4%

29%

74%

53%

26% 24%

16%

9% 11%5% 7%

20%

69%

45%

20% 19%

12%7% 8%

4% 5%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Disqus AudienceGeneral ContributorsGen Pop

Use of Social Media

Q  Which of the following types of social sites or sharing services have you visited in the last 30 days?



They are more likely to engage in blogs, commenting communities, video and photo sharing sites Percent Who Use Engage in Types of Social Media in Last 30 Days



90%

78%

98%

24%

63%

15%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Have Read Comments Have Posted Comments


Commenting Online

Q  Here is an example of a comments area on an newspaper website. In the last month, have you taken any time to read comments online (in areas like these) and/or to post comments of your own?


Gen Pop, n=489 Base: Who did not say visited “Comments areas online”

The vast majority of Disqus users both read and post comments online

Percent Who Have Read/Posted Comments in Last 30 Days


Respondents were shown a screen shot to define “comments areas”


0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

Disqus Audience General Contributors

Allocation of Time Spent Posting vs. Reading Comments

Q  How many different websites with comments areas have you spent time in, in total, in the last 30 days?

Q  Thinking of all the time you spend in comments areas in a typical months as 100%, approximately what percent of time do you spend reading other people’s posts versus posting comments of your own?

They visit more discussion areas, spending nearly one-third of the time posting (two-thirds of the time reading)


Base: Used comment/areas in last 30 days

6.0 No. of Sites with Comments Areas

31%

17%

69% 83%

Percent of Time Spent

Posting Comments

3.8

Percent of Time Spent

Reading Comments

Allocation of Time Spent Posting Comments vs. Reading Comments



95%

70%66%

64%59% 57% 56%

46%

30% 30%26%

86%

56%

64%

43% 41%

56%

46%

23% 22%

28% 28%

76%

50%

60%

36% 36%

55%

39%

20% 18%

25% 24%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%


Types of Content Read or Watched

Q  What kinds of things have you viewed in the last 30 days?


Gen Pop, n=554 Base: Visited social site or content

sharing services in the last 30 days

They’re consuming more comments, tweets, videos, reviews, podcasts Mean No. of Content

Types Read/Watched 6.1 5.1 4.7

Percent Who Have Read/Watched Type of Content in Last 30 Days



87%

53%50% 48%

42%37% 35%

32%

21%

15%

9%

55%

39%

27%

36%

20%17%

21% 22%20% 18%

9%

48%

36%

23%

34%

16%14%

17% 19% 18%15%

7%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%


Q  What kinds of things have you posted in the last 30 days?


Gen Pop, n=554 Base: Visited social site or content sharing

services in the last 30 days

Types of Content Posted

They’re also producing more comments, tweets, videos, reviews, podcasts

Mean No. of Content Types Shared/Posted 4.4 3.6 3.4

Percent Who Have Posted Type of Content in Last 30 Days


*

They explore their passion points


63%70% 71%

37%30% 29%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%


Smaller/Niche Sites versus Popular Sites

Q  Think about all the time you spend online as 100%. Approximately what percent of time do you spend on these popular sites compare to smaller sites?

Disqus users spend more time on smaller/organic sites


Gen Pop, n=612 Base: Use at least one popular site

Percent of Time Spent on Organic

Sites

Percent of Time Spent on Popular

Sites

Allocation of Time Online Between Smaller/Organic Sites and Larger/Popular Sites


“Popular sites” were defined as the Top 30 websites based on

Alexa Internet Archive data


14.7

9.8 9.4

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16


Sites Visited Related to Their Passions

Q  Have you visited any websites related to each of these topics in the last 30 days? If so, how many?


Gen Pop, n=366 Base: Have at least one passion area

They visit 15 sites to geek-out at – more of which are smaller/organic sites

Average No. of Sites Visited in Last 30 Days Related to Specific Passion

24% are organic

sites 10% are organic

sites

12% are organic

sites


*

True geeks in the best sense


24%

23%

28%

42%

48%

51%

53%

25%

24%

29%

42%

49%

52%

52%

29%

33%

43%

53%

59%

62%

64%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Some of my closest friends share this hobby with me

I feel that this hobby makes me part of a bigger “tribe” or community

Others come to me for advice or information about this

I am always trying to improve my skills/expertise

I am always trying to learn more about it

I’ve spent many years enjoying this hobby

It is something I know I will still be engaged in many years from now


Attitudes Towards Their Passions

Q  How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements about ?

Disqus Audience, n =922 General Contributors, n=304

Gen Pop, n=390 Base: Have one thing they are “most expert in”

They are ultra-passionate about their passions – expressing a greater interest in engaging, learning and sharing more

*Top Box rating on 7-point “agree” scale

Percent Who “Strongly Agree” with Statement*

They’ve spent years developing their passion…

… and expect to be engaged in it for years to come

It makes me part of a bigger “tribe” or community


Always trying to improve their skills/

expertise


17%

20%

28%

54%

28%

31%

18%

22%

30%

54%

29%

32%

14%

18%

32%

33%

33%

33%

0% 20% 40% 60%

To boost reputation

To serve career/business interests

To ask questions

To stay in touch with friends/family

To find like-minded people

To express myself more openlythan I do in my regular/offline life


37%

35%

33%

23%

27%

36%

39%

36%

35%

24%

29%

38%

37%

38%

40%

41%

51%

58%

0% 20% 40% 60%

To get information/recommendations

To be entertained

To learn more from other people

To influence opinions

I like to point-out things that tendto get overlooked or misunderstood

To share knowledge/expertise

Why They Post

Q  Why do you post or share your opinions online?


Gen Pop, n=400 Base: Posted/shared social content online

It’s about participating in a topic they know and care about – not about building a reputation or benefiting personally

*Top 2 Box rating on 7-point scale

Percent Who Say “Major Reason” with Statement*


To share expertise

To influence opinions

To point-out what’s been overlooked


48%

48%

22%

76%

54%

80%

74%

49%

50%

22%

73%

54%

81%

75%

43%

52%

57%

61%

68%

74%

75%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Spouse/partner/significant other

Co-workers/colleagues

People I do not know at all

Relatives

General acquaintances

Close friends

Regular friends


Q  About how many friends/followers do you have across all the social sites and content areas you use? Q  Who are your friends/followers?


Gen Pop, n=390 Base: Have at least some friends/followers


People see them as go-to resources, influencers who have a large number of followers

Mean No. of Friends 345 232 232


Percent Who Say Type of People are in Social Network

Have more general acquaintances as friends/followers

Have more friends/followers among people they do not

even know

*

They are your future brand advocates


20%

16%

17%

24%

33%

23%

28%

25%

21%

22%

30%

40%

30%

36%

33%

33%

33%

40%

46%

50%

51%

0% 20% 40% 60%

Endorsed it

Reviewed it

Shared a link about it

Watched its videosposted by others

Looked at its picturesposted by others

Learned about it inarticle, blog post, etc.

Read review of itposted by others

8%

9%

12%

11%

10%

17%

13%

11%

12%

14%

14%

13%

21%

17%

11%

20%

21%

23%

24%

28%

31%

0% 20% 40% 60%

Instant messaged (IM) about it

“Followed” it on Twitter

Posted status messageabout it on my own page

Posted comments about it on someone’s page

Posted link to newsarticles/promotions for it

Emailed/sent a message about it

Posted a comment on its page


Brand-Related Activities

Q  Which, if any, of these brand or product-related activities have you done on social sites in the last month?


Gen Pop, n=390 Base: Have at least some friends/followers

They are more likely to do all brand/product-related actions Mean No. of Brand/Product

Activities 5.9 4.1 3.8


Brand/Product-Related Activities in Last 30 Days

Post a comment about a product/

brand

Review a brand/product

Share a link about a brand/

product

Endorse a brand/product

Post link to news articles

about a product/brand


87%

53%50% 48%

42%37% 35%

32%

21%

15%

9%

55%

39%

27%

36%

20%17%

21% 22%20% 18%

9%

48%

36%

23%

34%

16%14%

17% 19% 18%15%

7%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%


Q  What kinds of things have you posted in the last 30 days?


Gen Pop, n=554 Base: Visited social site or content sharing

services in the last 30 days


Plus they produce more comments, tweets, videos, reviews, podcasts

Mean No. of Content Types Shared/Posted 4.4 3.6 3.4

Percent Who Have Posted Type of Content in Last 30 Days


*

The Disqus audience is, in many Ways, the Internet audience


Demographics

The Disqus audience is an attractive target for advertisers


Age

18 to 34 36% 39% 35%

35 to 49 24% 31% 30%

50+ 40% 30% 35%

Gender Male 68% 52% 48%

Education College+ 64% 52% 49%

Income Avg. Income $63.5K $64.0K $61.6K

Family Member No Children 75% 59% 63% Disqus Audience, n=1136

General Contributors, n=440 Gen Pop, n=614

Base: All respondents Dashed circle indicates difference between Disqus figure and one or both other groups is statistically significant at 95% confidence level

Better educated

More disposable income

One-third age 18-34


Questions?

Disqus Project Manager: Steve Roy VP of Marketing [email protected]

Research Partner: Netpop Research, LLC www.netpopresearch.com [email protected]

a comparative analysis of the disqus user …...disqus audience study, october 2013 * research...

Documents