PlusOne - Musings of a marketer

It seems that Instant Messaging is becoming increasingly popular, at least among AOL users in America.

In a survey of 4510 users, AOL says that 90% of teens use IM (I know my daughter is always on MSN’s version) and that it is becoming increasingly used in the mainstream communications environment, including on mobile phones and PDAs.

The use on mobile phones and PDAs indicates an interesting preference to email on mobiles - the instant nature of IM and the ability to see if people are ‘online’ allows just the sort of communication/visibility demanded by today’s communicators.

While SMS text messaging still dominates in the mobile messaging arena, 32 percent of all mobile messengers now use an instant messaging service on their mobile device instead of, or in addition to, sending SMS text messages. Men are slightly more likely than women to use mobile instant messaging (38 percent vs. 28 percent).

This trend is set to increase with the low cost of data and the availability of free IM software for phones. How it will compete with SMS is yet to be seen, but the advantage with IM is that live, group interactions can also take place.

As long as IM is used for what it is designed for - rapid, brief interactions, its use will increase. Unfortunately, I often have prospects wanting to embark on long QA sessions. At times like these it is best to pick up the phone, or get them to put there series of questions in an email.

And IM is not just for youth either. The survey says the over 55s are using IM on computers for photo sharing according to the survey (why is not stated when email is probably just as good).

Other results include:

• Seven out of ten 22 - 34 year-olds and 55 percent of adults aged 35 - 54 use IM at home, at work or on any number of mobile devices.
• At-work use is gaining momentum with 27 percent of all IM users saying they use IM in the workplace - a 71 percent increase over last year. Fully 43 percent of employed IM users say they use desktop IM to communicate quickly in the workplace. (Ed - This is an important statistic - are you using IM for improved communication with your clients/customers?)
• More than 61 percent of those surveyed said they use more than one instant messaging application
• Twenty-nine percent say that they send as many - if not more - IMs than they do e-mails
• Nearly three out of four (71 percent) at-work IM users feel that instant messaging has had a positive impact on their work lives
• The majority sends instant messages while at work to communicate with colleagues (70 percent), while 63 percent say they send IMs to get answers and make business decisions and 34 percent say they use instant messaging to interact with clients or customers. More than one in ten (11 percent) say they have used IM at work to avoid a potentially difficult in-person conversation

The full article can be read at America Online | Press Center