A new survey reports that across almost all age groups, the majority of those who participate in social networks view those sites as a form of entertainment. 58% of all participators surveyed view social networking sites as entertainment, but among 18-24 year olds this percentage jumps to 73%. As age increases, the percentage declines: 50% of 35-49 year olds and 43% of 50-54 year olds share this viewpoint.

So next time someone suggests “we should do a Facebook page for Brand X,” there are some questions to ask (in addition to “will DDMAC ever get/allow it”). For example:

• What is the likelihood that our intended participator audience engages with social sites primarily for entertainment purposes? How else does our participator audience engage with social sites?
• Does Brand X have a communications objective that can be (partially) achieved through entertainment or “edu-tainment” on a social site?
• How will our deployment of a social channel complement the other channels needed to embrace and engage intended participators and bring an idea to life in their world?

At their core, these are not entirely new questions because they are questions grounded in customer insight. As with the creation of liberating Brand ideas, we have to continually lead with deep customer knowledge and true insights when considering which channels to use to communicate an idea. Liberating ideas are channel-neutral, but channels themselves are not neutral. When we interrogate ideas to determine whether they are relevant to a participator audience, we have to apply that same rigor to channel selection.

There are other questions and as the number and kinds of social sites expand to create and/or meet the diverse needs of participators, there will be more.  Given that usage of social sites increased dramatically in 2009—and by 2014 nearly two-thirds of all Internet participators (or more than 164 million people) will be regular users of social networks—our questions about how and why people engage social channels will evolve as the social world evolves.