Interesting news from the experts at Arbitron that looks at the impact that smartphones have had on the way we conduct our everyday lives. People with smartphones use them for everything- to check the weather, shop for new clothes, pay their bills- the list goes on, and app developers look to make millions this year. Arbitron’s study, titled “Goin’ Mobile,” takes a look at how and why we use our smartphones and discovered some pretty fascinating results. Did you know that second most popular app next to Facebook was the Pandora radio app? Arbitron believes that this suggests “that radio’s decades of experience as an entertainment content provider makes the industry uniquely qualified to take a spot on consumers’ smartphone ‘app’ menus.”
Some of the study’s other conclusions are:
- Of all smartphone users, iPhone and Android users tend to use apps the most.
- Smartphones actually tend to boost productivity in the workplace. For the radio industry, the main goal of smartphone apps should be to “facilitate audience and advertiser engagement.”
- Smartphone usage affects in-car radio listening. When a person is talking on their smartphone in their car, they are not actively listening to the radio. The radio industry must find a way to counteract that trend by becoming a part of “the in-car smartphone menu.”
- Finally, as previously mentioned, Facebook is the most popular app for smartphone users, and nearly every survey respondent in the study used Facebook on their smartphones. Because of this, it is imperative that the radio industry has a presence in the digital social conversation taking place through sites like Facebook.
The summary goes into even more detail on the study, which you can download below. It will be interesting to see how the radio industry adapts to these trends in the upcoming months and years.
Download "Goin’ Mobile: The Impact of Smartphones on American Life"