Social Media Stats Ireland - Communications Hub

As we March on through 2022 (get it?!) we’re slowly starting to emerge from the Covid cloud into our new normality. Most businesses are now back operating, albeit in a more hybrid-model for many, and there is a sense of ‘back to business’ in general.

We can’t however underestimate the impact of covid, not just on life, of course, but also on business and marketing. There have been some huge shifts in the approach to sales, communications and connectivity, over the last two years, the impact of which will surely be carried forward for both business and customer.

So, just what is the outlook of social media usage in Ireland in 2022?

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Facebook is still the number one social media platform, not just in Ireland, but around the world. Almost 76% of Irish people aged between 16 – 65 years old are now Facebook users.

Next up is another of the Meta family – Instagram! Instagram continues to enjoy steady growth in popularity year on year, with almost 65% of Irish people now having accounts.

FYI Meta now own the top 4 social channels in Ireland, including WhatsApp (84.6% of population are users) and Facebook Messenger (65.9% of population are users). Now that’s what you call a Metaverse!

Here’s how use of the remaining social media platforms stands in Ireland as of January 2022. No major changes from the previous 12 months, except a significant growth in TikTok users – as predicted!

Whatever your social media platform of choice may be, one thing is certain – having both a presence and an understanding of social media is vital for business in 2022.

The impact of covid has forced both businesses and customers online in huge numbers over the last two years. A recent KPMG study found that 68% of Irish consumers do more online shopping now, than before the pandemic. The research also found that consumers are increasingly demanding a multi-channel approach from businesses, whatever their size.

So, if you’re running any type of organisation in 2022, there is an expectation to not only be online, but to have a presence on multiple platforms. Having professional and well thought out social media platforms, which are regularly updated, are now essential for reaching your customer. Time to get posting, reeling, tiktoking – or maybe just contacting us for some social media training!!

For more information on how you can make your social media marketing stand out, contact Communications Hub

www.communicationshub.ie

Ipsos MRBI recently released their most up-to-date social media stats for Ireland and there were very few surprises.

Instagram has continued its enormous growth with 41% of the Irish population now having accounts – an increase of 4% since December 2018. Of those who have accounts, 65% use it daily, bringing it neck in neck with Facebook in terms of daily usage.

Facebook has remained at a steady 62% in relation to account ownership in Ireland. This is the same percentage as back in December. We mustn’t forget that Facebook ownership is probably at a saturated level, so it’s no big surprise that it generally doesn’t see any significant changes. Of those who have accounts, 65% use it daily, a 1% decrease since the last statistics.

LinkedIn fell by 2% bringing it in line with Twitter account ownership, which saw a 1% growth in users. Twitter experienced an enormous growth in daily usership of 5% over the same period, bringing it up to 40%.

A new arrival on the on the Ipsos MRBI Irish social media stats is TikTok which has been measured at only 2% account ownership, however those who have accounts are very active with 33% using it daily.

In terms of social media messaging services, WhatsApp remains the most popular choice of download, closely followed by Facebook Messenger which saw a 3% growth in users over the last 6 months.

The losers of the world of social media messaging continue to be Viber, down 3% since December, and Tinder and Snapchat, which have remained stagnant over the six month period.

All in all, the trends of the last twelve months seem to be continuing among social media users in Ireland. Facebook remains the most popular and most used social media platform, while Instagram is the fastest growing social media platform in the country and is sure to catch up to Facebook in terms of account ownership figures in the near future.

The future is social – make sure your business is!

Karen Twomey of COMMUNICATIONS HUB specialises in Digital Marketing Training, Social Media Training and Online Management for Business. For more information contact her on karen@communicationshub.ie