Brands should use the transmission-oriented social media landscape to disseminate content to users who are increasingly looking for interesting and entertaining content to transmit, according to an eMarketer report.
Figures suggest that social networking sites such as Facebook are seeing their audience growth taper off in developing countries as most new users come from the BRIC nations and Indonesia.
eMarketer said that though the number of Facebook users in the US is estimated to increase 13.4% this year, it is slow compared with 38.6% growth in 2010 and a whopping 90.3% rise the year before.
The rate of adult Twitter user adoption has similarly begun to plateau, dropping from 293.1% growth in 2009 to 26.3% this year and still slowing.
Meanwhile, users in more advanced countries have been shifting their behaviors after spending years on the sites, said eMarketer.
According to the GlobalWebIndex "Wave 5 Trends" report, social network usage growth has all but stopped among 16- to 24-year-olds in the US, and in a few countries usage within this already-saturated group is actually declining.
Among those who remain on Facebook, GlobalWebIndex reports, there were declines in participation in activities like messaging with friends, sending digital gifts, installing applications and joining groups between July 2009 and June 2011.
The activities on the wane are decreasing faster in the US than worldwide, and are often decreasing even further among college-educated US users under the age of 30, according to the report.
Meanwhile, on microblogs like Twitter, the heaviest users are focused on disseminating content.
The report highlights the high demand for professional content.
It says that traditional sources of news were dominant, including among microbloggers and heavy social network users. And when asked what they want from brands, consumers ask for knowledge and, among younger adults, entertainment.
