Whether your objective is to attract new clients, increase brand awareness, or deepen customer loyalty, social media can offer you a great solution, as 36% of the content posted is related to brands! Yet do not forget that trends and preferences for certain types of social media change across different countries. When you explore the opportunity of entering the world of social media, also pay careful attention to the selection of appropriate types of social media with respect to your business type and targeted audience.
This time we will focus on regional differences in the use of social media across Europe, discuss how easy it is to promote brands on social media, and explain what type of social media is convenient for your business type.
Social media preference by European regions
According to the study by InSites Consulting (2011), 73% of European Internet users use social network sites, which is a total of 347 million people. They join on average 1.9 networks, Facebook being the most popular site with the highest membership among Internet users, reaching 62%. The next most popular one is Twitter, with user membership of only 16%, as opposed to 50% membership in the USA. This is quite a shock, as the awareness of this social network is very high – 80%, yet not so many people use it. However, 28% of users plan to do so in the near future, and Twitter together with LinkedIn have the biggest prospects to expand. Today, Twitter is the most popular among traditionally technologically advanced countries such as Sweden and Norway, closely followed by the Netherlands, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Germany. Another surprise is the third most popular social network Vkontakte, which is an alternative to Facebook in Eastern Europe, widespread especially in Russia and Ukraine. It reaches 39% penetration in this region. LinkedIn, being a professional network, ranks very well too: 4th in terms of membership and also awareness in Europe.
Another shocking revelation: Western Europe lags behind in social network penetration that reaches only 66% (58% Facebook, 14% Twitter, 12% LinkedIn)! This contrasts the penetration of 79% in Eastern Europe (57% Facebook, 39% Vkontakte, 12% Twitter), the social media leader! Southern Europe overtakes Northern Europe with penetration of 77% (72% Facebook, 24% Twitter, 15% LinkedIn). The IT region of Northern Europe reaches the penetration of 75% (69% Facebook, 18% LinkedIn, 10% Twitter).
Branding opportunities in social media
If you thought that people were fed up with all the ads in social media, you were wrong. On the contrary, 51% of European social media users are connected to brands, following an average of 12 brands, as they want to demonstrate their inclination towards the brand, and 44% would even like to actively co-create new ideas for products and advertising their brand. Top brands that are followed are media/entertainment, fashion/luxury goods, food and retail, travel, and sport. Most people follow a brand to get a certain benefit, but 58% have not experienced it! There is a big space for interaction with your customer in social media, the potential still remains not fully exploited! Respond to your customers expectations in social media, they are mostly looking for direct interaction and discussion, promotion of products and services, events, co-creation and to give feedback. Southern Europeans take the lead this time, as 60% follow brands, on average 17! This compares to the lowest European rate of 42% in Western Europe, where users follow on average only 9 brands.
Social media selection by business model
When selecting appropriate type of social media for your company, take into consideration your business model. Facebook is convenient for all customer popular products, where end clients are individuals, not businesses. For example food products, fashion or sport items. It also gives opportunity to service based companies such as bars and restaurants; people are usually very happy to join their favourite pub on Facebook not to miss any event or promotion. The advantage of Facebook is the easy interaction with masses of people, where communication multiplies and spreads quickly across the whole network. On the other hand, if you sell your products to businesses, or you operate within public or governmental sphere, try joining professional networks such as LinkedIn, where you can connect to people from your target industry, participate in focused group discussions, and offer your products and services more effectively.
Source:
Steven Van Belleghem from InSites Consulting. 2011.
http://www.slideshare.net/stevenvanbelleghem/social-media-around-the-world-2011