Evaluating the commercial benefits of Online Social Networking
Social networking continues to grow in popularity among Irish consumers, with penetration reaching 67% in December 2008.
The growth of this activity has brought with it an innovative and engaging way for companies to increase brand awareness, develop and maintain a relationship with their target audience, and crucially create an opportunity to generate sales. Several Irish companies have recognised the potential that online social networks offer them and have acted upon this by setting up profile pages, for example, to get the b2c conversation started.
Social networking continues to grow in popularity among Irish consumers, with penetration reaching 67% in December 2008.
The growth of this activity has brought with it an innovative and engaging way for companies to increase brand awareness, develop and maintain a relationship with their target audience, and crucially create an opportunity to generate sales. Several Irish companies have recognised the potential that online social networks offer them and have acted upon this by setting up profile pages, for example, to get the b2c conversation started.
Continuing advances in technology are helping to promote an ‘always-online’ attitude among consumers, therefore keeping the lines of communication between brands and consumers constantly open. However it will be interesting to see whether this sort of strategy will maintain dialogue or cause fatigue among Irish, and indeed global, consumers in the future.
Key themes in the report
What are the primary factors that have driven growth in the use of online social networks?
What are the main social networking sites used by Irish consumers?
How relevant is online social networking to Irish consumers and Irish businesses?
Which Irish companies utilise online social networks and how do they communicate with consumers? What are the commercial benefits of advertising on online social networks?
How mature is the online social networking market in Ireland compared to other countries?
Where does the future lie for online social networking?
Social networking has now been established in the UK for over eight years, with the first popular site, Friends Reunited, launching in July 2000. However, whilst Friends Reunited is still with us today, the market for social networking has changed from being something predominantly used by youth.
This happened with the rise of social networks like MySpace and Facebook, the latter of which now leads
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What are the primary factors that have driven growth in the use of online social networks?
