For marketers, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are highly valued channels of communication with potential clients. Gemius decided to investigate how popular social networking sites are among internet users between the ages of 18 and 69. The analysis included data on PC users. The following countries were taken into consideration: Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Denmark, Romania, Hungary and Belarus. The study was based on the monthly average data from the years 2013-2014.

The findings were as follows:

• Among the countries studied, Twitter, which was incidentally established nearly a decade ago (on March 21, 2006), enjoyed the most popularity in Turkey. On average, every month, it was visited by every third Internet user. However, it attracted slightly fewer visitors (32 percent) than in 2013 (34 percent). At the same time, the monthly average data shows that the popularity of Twitter increased by 40 percent in Denmark (from 8 percent in 2013 to 11 percent in 2014). On the other hand, in Ukraine, it increased by 56 percent (from 9 percent in 2013 to 13 percent in 2014).
• In 2015, Facebook was least favoured by the Internet users in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus – in countries where VKontakte, the Russian social networking site, is leading the way (same results in 2013). During the analysed period, Facebook was on average visited by three out of ten Internet users in Russia (31 percent in 2014, 30 percent in 2013) and in Ukraine (33 percent in 2014, 30 percent in 2013), and two out of ten Internet users in Belarus (18 percent in 2014, 21 percent in 2013).
• Instagram was trending in each of the countries studied, however, the monthly average data concerning the growth rate varied depending on the relevant market. In 2014, compared to the previous period, Instagram attracted more than twice as many users in Russia (13 percent in 2014, 6 percent in 2013), twice as many users in Ukraine (7 percent in 2014, 4 percent in 2013), and almost twice as many users in Poland (9 percent in 2014, 5 percent in 2013). In other countries, these differences were less significant.

Regional marketing mix

According to Krzysztof Majkowski, Gemius business advisor, the results of the study show that the image of social media varies locally and regionally, which indicates that the marketing-mix of social media should be flexible. “A campaign run on Twitter may be highly effective in Great Britain, while failing to achieve its goal in Denmark or Poland. Without any doubt, it has become a more reliable channel of communication than it used to be a couple of years ago,” adds Majkowski.

The business advisor is convinced that narrower and thus specific target groups can be reached more easily through the aforementioned less mainstream channels. “Perhaps, investing more funds into developing communication and relations through Instagram may prove to be a more effective solution,” sums up Majkowski.

About the study

The data comes from an international study carried out by Gemius in over 30 countries in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (gemiusAudience). Its aim was to determine the number and demographic profile of Internet users and the ways in which they use the Web, including web pages, audio and video content, as well as applications. The study was conducted in accordance with the International Code of ICC/ESOMAR. In Poland, it is carried out under the name of Megapanel PBI/Gemius.