US Consumers Snub Social Networks When Looking For Local Info

The nature of social networks in connecting users with their friends, often those who live nearby, has led to many commentators suggesting that such networks are an important source of local information, and thus a good place for local internet marketing.

However, a new study from the US based Pew Internet & American Life Foundation would suggest that, in the US, at least, this is not the case. The web itself, and search engines specifically, are very important sources of information on local shops and services, but social media not so.

The survey spoke to around 1,000 US adults and found that over just a quarter of them relied on the internet for information "about local restaurants, bars, and clubs". Thirty-eight per cent of these users go to search engines, 17 per cent to specialty websites (likely to be local directories) and just three per cent rely on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. For other types of business, around 30 per cent of all users used the internet, with a third of them relying on search engines, with just one per cent relying on social networks. Additionally, almost half of the respondents used their mobile phones to get local news and information, the mobile nature of these devices leading to their use whilst users are out and about, perhaps for a restaurant recommendation on an evening out.

Whilst the day of social networks as a mine of useful local information may well come, it would appear to be some way off yet; search engines very much rule the roost for this type of information right now.