So how important are Social Networks to women? According to 36% of women who participated in a recent research study; they would give up chocolate, their Pradas, or their Mother-in-Law before they gave up their Social Networks. We’re not so sure what that says about their Mother-in-Laws but brand managers for Prada and chocolate companies should pay attention! ShesConnected Multimedia, a Social Media Advertising Agency who also own and operate www.shesconnected.com a Social Network for women just released a comprehensive research report on how women in the United States and Canada are using Social Networks.

Toronto, Canada (PRWEB) July 30, 2009 — So how important are Social Networks to women? According to 36% of women who participated in a recent research study; they would give up chocolate, their Pradas, or their Mother-in-Law before they gave up their Social Networks. We’re not so sure what that says about their Mother-in-Laws but brand managers for Prada and chocolate companies should pay attention!

ShesConnected Multimedia, a Social Media Advertising Agency who also own and operate www.sheconnected.com a Social Network for women just released a comprehensive research report on how women in the United States and Canada are using Social Networks.

The research report details the kind of women that use Social Networks, why they are using them, which networks they belong to, and what they use them for. They found that women are one of the fastest growing segments on Social Networks. Not surprisingly they found that the three most popular sites are, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Over two-thirds (67%) of women who participated in the research reported belonging to 3 Social Networks; half belong to 4 or more. Based on previous focus groups conducted by ShesConnected, the predominant reason given by women for joining multiple sites was “no one site meets all of my needs or interests”.

“One thing that did surprise us a bit was the number of women who are using Social Networks and Social media to promote their business”, said Mark Grindeland, co-founder and CEO of ShesConnected. “There is a significant segment of women who either work from home or own small businesses. They are using Social Networks to drive sales and marketing, find employees for open jobs, and network with other women. We found these women to be highly engaged on Social Networks and very sophisticated about the use of Social Media in general”.

Not only are they joining multiple Social Networking sites, they are also joining and creating their own groups or communities on these sites. 56% of the women who participated in the research have started at least one group and have joined an average of 2 to 5 groups. 29% reported belonging to 10 or more groups.

As the classic slogan for Oldsmobile goes, “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile”, the juxtaposition for today is, “this is not your teenager’s Social Network”. 53% of online women use Social Networks at least weekly and the rate of Social Network adoption in the past year has been especially strong among older women. So what are the implications for advertisers, marketers, and social networks? In a word; OPPORTUNITY! Women are one of the most important demographics to advertisers.

“Advertisers know that in order to be successful, you have to follow the money. And the money is in the purses of the women who are spending their time on Social Networks. Women control up to 85% of all household expenditures. They outnumber men online, and are spending a significant mount of time on Social Networks” says Mark Grindeland, co-founder and CEO of ShesConnected Multimedia.

The implications for Advertisers are profound; women using Social Networks are finding such high utility in these sites that they are becoming a central component of their lives online. Marketers need to focus on how best to provide value to the community. A deeper look into Social Network behaviors and attitudes will help guide decisions related to the development and placement of specific marketing tactics.

This has challenged marketers on many levels but there are many potential approaches to consider:

Regardless of the approach used, Advertisers need to make sure they design marketing campaigns that incorporate the context of what women are doing on Social Networks. That is the beauty of Social Networks, they give the Advertiser the ability to tailor their marketing to what is important to the individual or groups.

About ShesConnected Multimedia Corp.
ShesConnected Multimedia is a social media agency designed to leverage the power of Social Networking and social media to engage women in meaningful and relevant ways. ShesConnected combines agency expertise with an online community of women to deliver gender-smart marketing for leading Advertisers.

For more information, please visit http://shesconnectedmultimedia.com/ or http://www.shesconnected.com

Press Contact:
ShesConnected Multimedia Corp
Corporate Communications