Mobile search trends: Hashtags ‘motivate users to explore online’

Over two-thirds (70%) of mobile users in the UK approve of hashtags, and over half are motivated by the prefix to explore a subject further, according to new research.

The study, from RadiumOne, found that over half (58%) respondents use hashtags and almost three quarters (71%) do so from their mobile device.
The study which examined how consumers perceive, value, and use hashtags also uncovered that these hashtag users would explore new content and share product information via hashtags if brands awarded discounts for inclusion.
Key findings from the survey, which polled the opinions of 494 participants, include:
• 58 percent of respondents utilize hashtags on a regular basis, and 71 percent of regular hashtag users do so from their mobile devices
• 43 percent of respondents think hashtags are useful and 34% use them to search/follow categories and brands of personal interest
• 51 percent of respondents would share hashtags more often if they knew advertisers awarded discounts for sharing product based hashtags
• 41 percent of respondents use hashtags to communicate personal ideas and feelings
“Unlike other forms of social sharing, hashtags implicitly reflect customer sentiment and are one of the most powerful ways consumers have to vocalize their tastes and preferences at scale in a real-time fashion,” said Kamal Kaur, vice president, mobile at RadiumOne. “We conducted this survey to help advertisers better manage their brands by responding to the needs and wants of their client base through winning hashtag campaigns.”
Hashtags have become one of the most ubiquitous symbols used in social sharing, with the five most notable Twitter hashtags generating upwards of 11.7 million mentions over the last year. Just last month, over half of all Super Bowl ads contained a hashtag reference, and many advertisers, including RadiumOne client Hyundai, implemented hashtag targeting campaigns to drive continued video views even after the commercials premiered. In Hyundai’s case, 70 percent of consumers who clicked on their ad ended up watching the full advertisement from beginning to end – further validating the influence of hashtags on viewability.
RadiumOne’s mobile hashtag survey represented the opinions of predominately female (71 percent), middle-aged (44 percent) respondents who favour using hashtags from their mobile devices. While it’s indisputable that Generation C (18-24 year olds) are the heaviest social users, comScore credits middle-aged women (45 plus), as the group most responsible for growth in social media site usage.
These findings present brands and agencies with new insight into how best to target their audience and implement future hashtag campaigns. To view the full survey, please visit RadiumOne’s Company Resources page
http://radiumone.com