FreshNetworks Blog

The latest wave of the GlobalWebIndex report from Trendstream shows that use of social media among consumers has become mainstream. In the most active markets that they explored (Brazil and India) almost 90% of consumers are taking part in social media on at least a monthly basis. Even the least active markets they explored (Spain and the Netherlands) had more than 50% of consumers taking part in social media on a regular basis. This is the third wave of the report and is based on a panel of 51,000 users across 12 countries.

The clear message from the report is that social media is now mainstream across all of these markets, even those where consumers are least active in social media. It is also a reminder that in terms of proportion of consumers who are active in social media, the leading countries are not those that you might expect. The US comes 5th in the report and the UK 7th.

Across the board, the change in behaviour is not just uptake but also the rise of real-time social media. Micro-blogging (think Twitter), social network profiles and commenting are among the fastest growing activities and are all examples of people interacting with each other in real-time rather than contributing content that is primarily for people to find and use at a later date. They are providing real-time opinions and real-time information that others are then interacting with and using.

And whilst the growth of social media shows greatest penetration in markets like Brazil, India, it is in the UK, US and Canada that real-time interactions are strongest. This may be that Twitter and other similar tools have grown more quickly in English-speaking markets, but given the depth of involvement in markets such as Brazil, India, Russia and China it is to these markets that we should look for innovations through 2011 in the real-time social web.

You can read the latest GlobalWebIndex report below:

At FreshNetworks we work with many clients to develop and implement their European social media strategy – either for US companies who want to translate the work they do in their domestic market for their European brands, or for multinationals who are looking to develop a social media strategy that they can use across their European markets. For many brands who are developing how they are using social media this will be a common need. They want to understand where social media fits internally, how to manage it across their markets and how to measure and evaluate the success you are having. For many multinationals, these decisions might be made across markets. Or at least a series of guidelines and processes need to be defined that are then interpreted in each market.

A common mistake that multinational brands risk making is to build a European approach to social media by taking a tactic that has worked in one country and trying to implement this in other markets. For example, taking a campaign that might have been run on Facebook in Italy and trying to implement similar campaigns across all their European markets. Such approaches – socialising tactics across Europe – tend to be very difficult to make a success. For the simple reason that a tactic that works in Italy may not work in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain or other European countries. In these different markets, different consumers use social media in different ways; and different consumers want different relationships with brands. You cannot just take a tactic that works in one country and apply it across Europe. When you are developing a European social media strategy for a brand you should develop just that – a strategy, not a set of tactics that you hope to use in each market.

The ideal European social media strategy will provide a framework in which each market can operate. Ensuring that all markets are contributing towards the same overall aims, although they may do this in different ways. You should be able to measure and control each market according to the same set of metrics (although individual markets may add their own measures to these). And you should be able explain and understand why each market is doing what they are doing according to a common set of goals and direction.

A successful European social media strategy for a brand is not a set of tactics to implement across all markets. This never brings as much success as a brand might realise. Rather it is a framework and common approach. A strategy that each market can adopt and work within. Developing their own tactics and creative solutions that all contribute towards the same end goals and the same measures. You may find great insight and innovation from sharing these tactics, and you may find that some do translate between certain markets. But your strategy should not be based on these.

Over the coming fortnight we are going to be looking at a set of issues that brands face when developing a European social media strategy – from sharing best practice and the need to produce a common set of measures and reporting, to the challenges of working across languages and how to implement social media monitoring across markets.

See all our posts on developing a European social media strategy