US social networking on-the-go

The study also provided new insights into how mobile users interact with social media, finding that more than half read a post from an organisation, brand or event while on their mobile device.

"Social media is one of the most popular and fastest growing mobile activities, reaching nearly one third of all US mobile users," said Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice president for mobile. "This behaviour is even more prevalent among smartphone owners with three in five accessing social media each month, highlighting the importance of apps and the enhanced functionality of smartphones to social media usage on mobile devices."

More than half of mobile social networkers access sites on a near daily basis

In August 2011, more than 72.2 million people accessed social networking sites or blogs on their mobile device, an increase of 37% from the previous year. Nearly 40 million US mobile users, more than half of the mobile social media audience, access these sites almost every day, demonstrating the importance of this activity to people's daily routines.

Research also indicated that although more people accessed these sites via their mobile browser, the social networking app audience grew five times faster in the past year. While the mobile browsing social networking audience grew 24% to 42.3 million users in the past year, the mobile social networking app audience surged 126% to 38.5 million.

Facebook mobile audience approaches 60 million users

A look at selected social networking brands, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, revealed that each grew their mobile audiences by at least 50% in the past year. Facebook was home to the largest mobile audience among the three destinations with more than 57 million mobile users in August, up 50% from the previous year. Twitter saw its mobile audience jump 75% to 13.4 million people, while LinkedIn's mobile audience climbed 69% to 5.5 million users.

*Includes mobile browser and app access.

70% of mobile social networkers posted a status update while on their mobile device

Understanding how mobile users interact with social media is important for brands looking to engage with on-the-go consumers. comScore recently released new social media metrics through its MobiLens service, offering deeper insights into mobile consumers' social media activities. Of those accessing social networking sites or blogs on their mobile device in August 2011, 80.3% read posts from people known personally, while 69.5% posted status updates while on their mobile device.

Mobile social networkers also were likely to interact with brands on these sites with more than half (52.9%) reading posts from organisations/brands/events. One in three mobile social networkers received a coupon/offer/deal, with one in four (27.7%) clicking on an ad while on a social networking site.

Donovan added, "Advertisers and marketers should take note - mobile users are not only engaging with their friends through social networking, but a majority are also interacting with brands in these social media environments. Knowing that fans and followers engage with branded content on mobile devices opens the door to a world of opportunity for location-based services."