"While some in the luxury industry are still debating e-commerce, search and banner ads, the majority of their customers have leaped into the online dialogue. Luxury needs to catch up quickly." | – | Milton Pedraza CEO of the Luxury Institute |
According to The Luxury Institute's latest WealthSurvey, "The Wealthy and Web 2.0", wealthy online consumers ( average income $287K and net worth just over $2 million) are flocking to social networks. Their participation in online social sites increased to 60% in 2008, from 27% in 2007. The most active group is the over-55, wealthy Silver Surfers - their participation increased fivefold, to 49%. Wealthy consumers belong to about 3 networks and have on average 110 connections. One caveat for marketers keen to interact with wealthy consumers online is that they wil not tolerate opt-out techniques on member's private purchase information. Nearly two-thirds of wealthy consumers say that giving out personal data without permission will cause them to disconnect; 63% have an interest in "do not track" lists. Wealthy participation in the top social networking sites is: - 16% for MySpace
- 13% for LinkedIn
- 11% for Facebook
"Membership in social networks is one of the factors driving the growth in Internet usage among the affluent," said Paul Verna, senior analyst at eMarketer. If you want to reach these affluent consumers online social media training for your marketing and PR team could be the best investment you make this year. | 
