Hitwise recently reported that MySpace.com received 74% of U.S Social Networking visits for April 2008, down from 78% in April 2007. Facebook on the other hand saw its market share rise from 11% in April 2007 to almost 15% in 2008 (a 32% gain).

Without looking, can you name the top five social networking sites in the U.S. by market share? Myyearbook.com really surprised me as it does not get much mainstream media attention, but it has quietly taking the third spot in the U.S. from Bebo.

‘Social networking websites continue to attract loyal visitors who return regularly to communicate with their friends, particularly for MySpace and Facebook, the market leaders’ said Heather Dougherty, research director at Hitwise. ‘The growing number of applications and amount of content available for social networks are driving higher average visit times for the category, providing marketers with additional opportunities to reach these active users.’

Market Share of U.S. Traffic from New and Returning Visitors for April 2008 – Ranked by Returning Visitors

Note – a returning visitor is defined as a user that has visited the site in the past 30 days from the Hitwise sample of 10 million U.S. Internet users.

In April 2008, MySpace received 95 percent of its visits from returning visitors. Among the top five social networking websites by market share, Facebook and MyYearbook.com followed with 93 and 90 percent, respectively, of traffic returning from within the previous 30 days.

These numbers are interesting as they indicate that MySpace and Facebook might have peaked in terms of visitors ad they are attracting fewer and fewer new users. This is something that will worry investors as it means that these sites will have a harder time selling advertising space. The Bebo.com numbers are inflated I believe because of its purchase of AOL and the introduction of the site to the AOL user base.

Earlier this week I looked at the demographics of blog readers which showed that the younger the user, the more likely he or she was to read or keep a blog on a weekly basis.

I focus so much on demographic data because it is important to understand who is using social networking sites before you start advertising on them. Recently I looked at some new social network user demographics which indicated that the Facebook demographic skews female and under 25, compared to other major social networks. That is important information to know if you are building a Facebook application.

One of the fastest growing U.S. demographics are baby boomers, who have the discretionary income that advertisers love. But do baby boomers use social networks? Not according to a new study from JWT BOOM/ThirdAge “Boomers, Healthcare and Interactive Media” study conducted last month. They believe that less than one-quarter of US Internet users ages 40 and over use social networking Web sites.

The JWT BOOM/Third Age figures on social networking usage by those 40 and older generally agree with a study by ExactTarget conducted last month.

Instead of using one large category of older Internet users, ExactTarget divided users who were ages 35 and older into 10-year increments, with 65 and over being the oldest cohort. Although 39% of 35 to 44 year-olds used social networks, use fell sharply with age: Only 13% of 55 to 64 year-olds were social networkers, and only 4% of those ages 65 and older. In comparison, three-quarters of Internet users ages 15 to 24 use social networking sites.

Why don’t consumers 40 and older use MySpace and similar sites in greater numbers? Respondents said their main concerns were privacy, time and just not seeing the point. Although each of these barriers can be addressed, marketers might also consider that social networks are just not yet the best way to reach boomers.

It is always interesting to hear the objectives as to why people will not use something. As people age, I can understand why they would not find a site like MySpace or Facebook useful because it is aimed at a younger demographic. The opportunity I believe for marketers is through smaller niche social sites like cater directly to the boomers generation. For example the AARP has added a social networking section to its web site. This type of site would alleviate the boomers concerns with privacy and lack of information.

From a marketing perspective, advertisers who are looking to reach baby boomers would be better suited finding smaller niche sites like AARP rather than MySpace or Facebook.

emarketer has a huge post on social networks. As I was reading through the report I was struck by the type of advertising that influences a purchase data and how many ad agencies are focused on the wrong medium!

When marketers look at what ad placements most influence consumers to make an online purchase, for example, only 1% of respondents in a DoubleClick Performics study cited ads within social network sites.

However, while social networks such as MySpace and Facebook get the majority of the media attention, they can also be seen as prime examples of what might better be termed the “social Internet.” Customer reviews on company Web sites, which influenced 10% to 18% of Performics’ respondents (depending on age), are another example of the social Internet.

Some numbers jump out of this chart. One is that customer reviews on company web sites have a greater influence on the buying decision than any other form of advertising. While social elements like customer reviews are now common across the Internet, there are a lot of companies who are reluctant to put reviews on their site in case they are negative. The data shows that these companies are missing out on sales.

The second interesting point is that ads within social networks do not influence buying decisions. This is not new to anyone who has advertised on MySpace or Facebook. I think that this type of data shows that traditionally banner ads on social networks do not grab users attention, because they are not looking to buy something when they are on these types of sites. Instead advertisers should look for way that they can engage and converse with social network users instead of just hitting them over the head with ads.

I came across a fascinating report on the demographics of social network users. Rapleaf ooked at user profiles and demographcs for the major social networking sites (MySpace, LinkedIn, Friendster, Plaxo, and Hi5 ) as well as for Facebook. The data is fascinating.

Summary Numbers

• The greatest overlap between OpenSocial container sites exists between MySpace and Hi5, in which 43% of Hi5 users also use MySpace.
• Facebook users are 63% female and 36% male whereas the sites integrated with the OpenSocial platform are 61% female and 38% male
• 52% of Facebook users are 18-25, whereas 40% of the users are 18-25 for the five container sites on the OpenSocial platform
• Facebook users tend to use 2.9 major social networking sites on average whereas users of OpenSocial container sites tend to use 2.7 major social networking sites

Interesting that this data shows that Facebook demographic skews female and under 25, compared to other major social networks. That is important information to know if you are building a Facebook application.

Social Network Specific Data

Facebook Users

• 2.6 million users identified in Rapleaf
• 63% female, 36% male
• 17% <18 yrs, 52% 18-25 yrs, 21% 26-35 yrs, 5% 36-45 yrs, 5% >45 yrs
• 2.9 major social networking sites used on average
• 62% are on MySpace, 5% are on LinkedIn, 9% are on Friendster, 10% are on Plaxo, 22% are on Hi5

MySpace Users

• 11.3 million users identified in Rapleaf
• 63% female, 36% male
• 20% <18 yrs, 40% 18-25 yrs, 27% 26-35 yrs, 7% 36-45 yrs, 6% >45 yrs
• 2.4 major social networking sites used on average
• 15% are on Facebook, 2% are on LinkedIn, 9% are on Friendster, 6% are on Plaxo, 17% are on Hi5

LinkedIn Users

• 0.8 million users identified in Rapleaf
• 38% female, 61% male
• 2% <18 yrs, 9% 18-25 yrs, 49% 26-35 yrs, 24% 36-45 yrs, 16% >45 yrs
• 3.2 major social networking sites used on average
• 16% are on Facebook, 25% are on MySpace, 12% are on Friendster, 16% are on Plaxo, 8% are on Hi5

Friendster Users

• 2.3 million users identified in Rapleaf
• 58% female, 41% male
• 12% <18 yrs, 39% 18-25 yrs, 36% 26-35 yrs, 7% 36-45 yrs, 5% >45 yrs
• 3.0 major social networking sites used on average
• 10% are on Facebook, 44% are on MySpace, 5% are on LinkedIn, 5% are on Plaxo, 26% are on Hi5

Plaxo Users

• 1.3 million users identified in Rapleaf
• 62% female, 37% male
• 16% <18 yrs, 39% 18-25 yrs, 24% 26-35 yrs, 10% 36-45 yrs, 11% >45 yrs
• 3.6 major social networking sites used on average
• 20% are on Facebook, 53% are on MySpace, 11% are on LinkedIn, 9% are on Friendster, 15% are on Hi5

Hi5 Users

• 4.5 million users identified in Rapleaf
• 60% female, 39% male
• 21% <18 yrs, 44% 18-25 yrs, 23% 26-35 yrs, 6% 36-45 yrs, 6% >45 yrs
• 2.8 major social networking sites used on average
• 13% are on Facebook, 43% are on MySpace, 2% are on LinkedIn, 13% are on Friendster, 2% are on Plaxo

What I am amazed at is the number of people from the other social networks that use Hi5 (http://www.hi5.com). This is a social network that rarely gets any press, but for marketers it might be cheaper and easier to market on Hi5.com compared to Facebook or MySpace and still reach a lot of the same people.

Interesting report from Hitwise UK last week about rural towns in the UK have higher broadband penetration than urban areas and as a result, more rural area users are visiting social networks than urban viewers.

The map above from Hitwise illustrates the representation of visitors to sites in Hitwise’s Social Networking and Forums category relative to the online population. Interestingly London is the most under-represented region, while Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland are all over-represented. The data indicates that Facebook, MySpace, Bebo et al are certainly not just a metropolitan media obsession, but do attract visitors from all over the country. This is an important point as it shows that broadband access is the “Tipping Point” for social network participation and as broadband access continues to grow (Wi-Fi, Mobile, Cable, DSL) that usage of social networks will continue to grow also.