Irish firms big social media users: CSO
An up-to-date snapshot by the CSO of the use of social media for sales and marketing shows small and large firms are among the most proficient in Europe.
The survey is upbeat and shows that the use by Irish firms of social media is the second highest in Europe after Malta, the CSO said.
Almost 70% of firms here use some sort of social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, to get their marketing messages out, compared with an average of only 47% across the EU.
The number of firms using social media has increased over each of the last two years and “Irish enterprises maintained a relatively stable use of blogs or microblogs such as Twitter”, according to the CSO.
The survey gives a more optimistic picture of the use of e-commerce by Irish firms than many surveys by industry groups.
As expected, the survey suggests that smaller firms use social media for marketing and rely on proprietary platforms like eBay to conduct transactions, while large firms have their own sales platforms. The findings of the survey include:
- 12% of firms share information electronically for their supply chains;
- Over half of large firms have e-commerce platforms;
- Manufacturing and services lead in e-commerce purchases, while the construction industry accounts for the lowest share of e-commerce transactions.
In the EU, 69% of Ireland’s firms use some sort of social media, the highest share after Malta on 74%.
In the UK, 63% of firms use social media, while, at 27%, Poland has the lowest score.
