The number of people participating in online social networking (OSN) is booming, according to a new report from market analyst Datamonitor.
The UK has the highest social networking membership in Europe, said Datamonitor, and it is forecast to almost triple by 2012 to 27 million.
While the trend is driven by the younger age groups, many older generations are also being drawn to social media.
| Current and forecasted memberships of OSN sites in selected countries, 2007 – 12 (millions) |
| Country |
2007 |
2012 |
CAGR** 2007-2012 (%) |
| UK |
9.6 |
27.1 |
23.1 |
| France |
8.9 |
21.3 |
18.9 |
| Germany |
8.6 |
21.7 |
20.4 |
| Spain |
2.9 |
7.3 |
20.3 |
| Netherlands |
2.1 |
5.1 |
19.3 |
| Italy |
1.8 |
4.5 |
19.9 |
| Sweden |
0.9 |
2.5 |
22.7 |
| Rest of Europe |
7.2 |
17.4 |
19.2 |
| Europe overall |
41.7 |
107.4 |
20.8 |
| CAGR Compound annual growth rate |
| Source: Datamonitor analysis |
Datamonitor expects the UK to see the strongest growth in numbers in Europe over the next five years. UK consumers have been quick to embrace the new technology, and many social networks are only available in the English language when starting up.
Several important factors are behind the very strong growth seen in OSN memberships. The convenience of being able to socialize without leaving the home has proven appealing to consumers, many of whom are beginning to spend more time using the Internet than viewing traditional media such as television. Many consumers also enjoy the expressive freedom given to them by social networking sites, and user-generated content is crucial to the success of these networks.
“Consumers are creating and joining existing social communities which, if harnessed correctly, can be an important marketing tool,” said Matthew Taylor, consumer markets analyst at Datamonitor and author of the report.
The panellists at MediaTel Group’s ‘Future Of Online’ seminar held in February said that the dramatic growth experienced by social networking sites in recent times will soon settle and marketers and advertisers will have to discover the best ways to capitalise on the format (see Social Networking Growth To Settle).
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