The population of Poland slightly exceeds 38 million. More than 30 million users already use the Internet, which means a commitment of almost 79%. In relation to the world reality (57%) this is a high score, but comparing it to data from Western Europe (94%) or Northern Europe (95%) we still have a lot to catch up with. However, it will not be easy to reach this level, as the growth rate is decreasing. Last year we saw an increase of only 1. 1% compared to 7% last year.
Looking at the demographic statistics, it can be seen that women make up 51. 7% of the population and the average age of Internet users is 41. 8 years. 18 million are actively using social media (growth of almost 6% year-on-year). On average, a digital Pole/Polish citizen used the Internet via various devices for over 6 hours a day, of which 1 hour 45 minutes was spent on social media (Hootsuite Report, We are social).
Why do we need the Internet?
According to the CSO’s annual report, the Internet is most often used to research information about products and services using search engines (almost ⅔ Poles). We also very often use e-mail (60. 7%) and social networking platforms (almost 50%). The number of users of social media is growing year on year. Even stronger data were obtained by representatives of Semper Iratus during the survey of 1000 respondents.
In the Report “Internet users’ awareness of Internet marketing mechanisms” of the end of 2019, 78% of the respondents declared that they use social networking sites and/or communicators. The other most popular activities for which we use the Internet are reading information (71. 8%), using e-mail (69. 3%), using electronic banking (68. 2%), watching movies (37. 4%), buying goods and services (23. 2%), online games (21. 8%) and online training (20. 7%).
The power of social media According to McKinsey’s study “Digital Poles – Accelerating e-revolution” the most frequently used source of information for Poles aged 15-64 is social media today. They outdid all traditional sources – radio, press and television. It is worth noting, however, that when it comes to the importance of information, the most important sources for us are radio (75%), Internet portals (68%) and news services (67%). Social media reached 65%. It’s a lot anyway. Over 18 million Poles (47%) have accounts on social networking platforms. Although we are far from the results of the USA or East Asia and their level of 70%, we are not far from Western Europe (53%) or Southern Europe (58%). Most users gathered YouTube and Facebook, overtaking Instagram more than twice. The average Internet user in our country already has 7. 3 accounts on social networking sites. 17% of Internet users use social media for business purposes.
Each platform has its own fans, rules and dedicated target groups. If you want to communicate in social media you need to know who you are writing to and which platforms to use.
Which social media platforms do we like most?
The number of social media users is growing very dynamically. The growth in 2019 was almost 6% (and the year before 13%). Poles most willingly use: YouTube (89%), Facebook (85%), Instagram (43%), Twitter (28%), Snapchat (24%), LinkedIn (20%), Pinterest (17%) to publish content and obtain information. And around the corner there is another tiger waiting – the TikTok, which in 2020 may be very confusing in the rankings
Facebook has experienced a temporary bump, which was caused by the Cambridge Analytica scandal, sharing user data on preferential terms, gaps in the mechanism for testing privacy settings, or access to a wider set of images than usual. On the wave of these events in the USA, 20-25% of the youngest users of the service have left. In Poland, the deletion of accounts did not take place on such a scale. Despite the turbulence, the platform continues to record growth among the representatives of the X generation. And what is important, Facebook is the most popular medium in Poland where brand and company profiles are followed. No other platform obtains such results and guarantees such coverage
The statistics show that on average a Facebook user makes 10 posts per month, leaves 3 comments and clicks in 11 advertisements. It is available much less often, because only 1 fast, usually on Wednesdays and Thursdays with evening maximum at 6 pm, additionally women are twice as active as men.
A service with a huge opportunity to conduct advertising activities. Closed groups focused on a given topic, industry or region have great potential for PR specialists to provide advice and opinions.
YouTube can be called the second Polish search engine after Google. We add, watch and share more and more films. What is important is that the multimedia content on YT gains the audience for months, not hours or minutes (timelessness) as in other media. For many users, YouTube is a great alternative to television and the increasingly popular VOD services. This is seen by advertisers who already spend over 20% of their online advertising budgets on YouTube. Educational materials, ‘how it works’ videos, tutorials and tool tutorials are great there. When adding a video, you must remember to describe it properly, tag it, give it a catchy title and add a transcription. It’s the only way to increase the chance of his better exposure.
YouTube also had its own stumbling blocks – mainly related to the so-called “YouTube”. brand safety. Companies whose ads appeared in violent and other dangerous or unfavourable brand content began to withdraw from YT (e. g. Procter & Gamble and Unilever). Fortunately, the platform’s swift action has mitigated the problem.
Instagram is platform number 3 in Poland. Every year it gains around 6% of new users (undoubtedly one of the reasons for its development are the Facebook stumbles described above). Especially used by the younger generations. Valuable for the brands in the so-called “brand name” segment. Photogenic, i. e. beauty, fashion, auto-moto, interior design, sports, garden architecture. . . It enables sharing photos, pictures, collages and short films with other users. Supported primarily in the mobile version. When using hashtags, be sure to tag your photos, which will allow other users to reach out more quickly to the content they are interested in.
Twitter in Poland seems to be still waiting for its peak popularity. It is mainly used by politicians, actors, athletes and journalists. It has marketing and PR potential, but not everyone has yet fully exploited it. It is the most valuable platform for establishing relations with journalists. A very concise and short form of expression (the possibility of inserting texts up to 280 characters and a link, photo or film) encourages comments and discussions. This makes the discussions look very clear. Ideal for exchanging views on current events.
LinkedIn – a platform for professionals, people looking for business knowledge, job offers or specialized solutions. Very valuable for the PR industry and people involved in brand image building and communication. When publishing content, remember about good style and correct form. However, do not duplicate messages from other platforms. The material here must be more official and businesslike.
Blogs – we add blog content less and less often. Most often we prepare entries on weekends and blog at the very beginning of the week. There are fewer and fewer blog posts online. Do social media platforms take over bloggers? Certainly still a valuable channel for content and positioning activities.
Why do we use social media
What are the reasons for using social media and why have they gained such popularity and trust among individuals in a fairly short time? What is the purpose of using social media in marketing & PR:
Since social media attracted so many users, they became an interesting target for brands. And one that can be perfectly segmented and thus reach selected user groups.
What are the advantages of social media marketing? What a PR officer can gain from his presence in social media channels:
Communication in social media
What should social media communication be like in order to interest the recipient and make him or her come back to us and recommend our content and solutions to others:
The online reputation
Social media is a place to find different information, but also to get inspiration, communicate effectively, interact and make purchasing decisions. This perspective requires that companies, by increasing their presence in social media and presenting unique content, build brand awareness for their audience. And most importantly, they encouraged him to share this good quality content with his friends. Commandments and opinions are a doubling of the power of new media. A good online reputation is the most important factor leading to increased trust in the brand.
According to Deloitte’s report, every minute more than 4 million people in the world are tweeting Facebook content, more than 1. 5 million on Instagram, and 350,000 are tweeting. For brands, this means that more and more often, someone will want to contact them through this communication channel. If they do not react quickly, are not active and do not prepare proper communication, they will unfortunately lose their chance. As a result, the user will enter into a dialogue with another brand. This can’t be allowed! And to catch all the mentions about our brand it is worth to use media monitoring tools, such as Newspoint