DOMESTIC PLAYER STILL LEADS THE WAY IN THE NETHERLANDS
The popularity of social networking sites continues to grow in the Netherlands, up 18% in March 2011 from March 2010 to 11.5 million users, 96% of the overall online population.
The most popular social networking site in the country is currently Hyves, a local player, rendering the Netherlands unusual amongst domestic social networking markets.
However, Hyves is losing ground to more internationally focused social networks, with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all having grown their market share by over 65% in the last year.
Moreover, more than 1 in 4 of all Dutch internet users visit LinkedIn and Twitter every month. The Netherlands rank at #1 in Internet penetration for these sites, according to research released by comScore, the digital measuring and marketing intelligence company.
Mike Read, SVP and managing director of comScore Europe, remarks that “the Netherlands, in many ways, is a nexus of global social networking behaviour.”
| Top 5 Social Networking Sites in the Netherlands March 2011 vs. March 2010 Total Netherlands, Age 15+, Home & Work Locations Source: comScore Media Metrix |
|||
| Total Unique Visitors (000) | |||
| Mar-2010 | Mar-2011 | % Change | |
| Total Internet : Total Audience | 11,927 | 11,953 | 0 |
| Social Networking | 9,742 | 11,490 | 18 |
| Hyves | 7,692 | 7,650 | -1 |
| Facebook.com | 3,717 | 6,556 | 76 |
| Twitter.com | 1,923 | 3,207 | 67 |
| Linkedin.com | 1,830 | 3,118 | 70 |
| Windows Live Profile | 2,924 | 2,769 | -5 |
"The Netherlands has the highest Internet penetration worldwide for Twitter and Linkedin."
says Read.
Communicate magazine holds its first Social Media in a Corporate Context conference in Amsterdam on May 10.
The programme can be found at www.socialmediainacorporatecontext.eu.
