chapter 18 gsmm-france

8/22/2019 Chapter 18 GSMM-France

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Global Social Media Marketing: France

Overview

The online population of France has grown at a steady pace in the past decade. The 40.24 millionusers in January 2012 represent 71.6% of French population aged above 11.

Source: Médiamétrie, France

Out of these, almost 77% have at least one account in a social network, which translates to more

than 30 million users directly involved in social media in France.

The top five websites for internet users in France are given as follows

1. Google.fr

2. Facebook

3. Windows L ive

4. YouTube

5. Skyrock

Out of the top 5 websites which includes the search engines there are three social media

websites, Facebook, YouTube and Skyrock. Combine this knowledge with the above stated fact

of 77% social network users from the internet population; it is no wonder that impact of socialmedia is more than just among friends. They are participants in the elections, sports, new

business arising solely out of social media, and existing business saving millions with the use of

numbers provided by the social networking websites.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

J a n - 0 3

A u g - 0 3

M a r - 0 4

O c t - 0 4

M a y - 0 5

D e c - 0 5

J u l - 0 6

F e b - 0 7

S e p - 0 7

A p r - 0 8

N o v - 0 8

J u n - 0 9

J a n - 1 0

A u g - 1 0

M a r - 1 1

O c t - 1 1

Rising Internet Population of France

No. of Internet Users (in

millions)



Social media in France has been steadily increasing and is expected to rise further as per the

report of “eMarketer” which is represented by the figure given below.

As is evident more than half of internet users, are part of social networks in France. It is alsoclaimed that almost 2/3

rdof the users of social networks log on daily, and more than 90% do so

at least once a week. (Ipsos MediaCT - Observatoire des Internautes 2011).

While the French are among the more conservative types, this surge in social media is alsoassisted by the fact that use of social networks on the mobile has been also rising continuously,

as is illustrated in the figure below.

What is noteworthy is the faster rise of % of population using mobile social networks ascompared to the rise of use of social networks in the existing mobile internet population. Thiscan be possibly attributed to the convenience that mobile brings in to social media. People may

not make an effort to sit on their desktop for exclusively social networking purposes, but a

mobile through social media applications brings in the ease which is much required to stay with

the speed of social media.

50%

54%

57%

59%

44%

46%

48%

50%

52%

54%

56%

58%

60%

2011 2012 2013 2014

Level of Social Network Use in France

% of Internet

Users

5%

10%

15%

22%

31%

3.7%

7.5%

11.5%

17.2%

24.6%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Mobile Social Network Use in France

% of Mobile Phone

Users

% of Population



Like U.K., the top three applications where users are spending most of their time are social

networking websites (46%), French social network population is also spending almost 31% of

their time in the social networking websites, where Facebook clearly leads in terms of frequency

and times spent. (Ipsos France - Ipsos MediaCT, February 2012).

It is also these social media applications for mobile users which have possibly increased thenumber of social networking websites one person is registered to, as is illustrated again by the

figure below.

In 2012, a user may be a registered on more than 3 social networking websites. In fact another

survey reveals that 82% of Internet users declare themselves members of at least one social

network which is a significant growth which was the fastest from 2008 to 2009.

Growth in number of people who are member of at least one social network

In 2010 it was commented on by Robin Goad, European Research Director at Experian Hitwisethat France spends more time on entertainment and webmail based services than the similar sized

country U.K. Social networks and forums picked up the second spot in terms of internet visit

(12.85%), 10% higher than U.K., and sports, travel, news and media, and education are the main

websites which were hit by French online population. With the growth that we have seen in thesocial networking population after 2010, it would be safe to assume that those visits must have

increased substantially.

1.9

2.9 2.83.5

0

1

2

3

4

2009 2010 2011 2012

Membership in number of social Networks

http://www.ipsos.fr/ipsos-mediact/actualites/2012-02-27-peut-parler-declin-reseaux-sociaux






Use of Social M edia

Having spoken so much about the burst seen in social media, it would be wise to look at what

people are actually doing on social media. Ifop, in its report “Observatoire des Réseaux

Sociaux” tried to find out what people were doing on the social networks, and the following iswhat they found. They asked a question “You personally follow you on social networks news

related to ...?” It was found from the results, that it is not actors (23%) or politicians (20%) or

brands (27%) that were being the most followed, but the musicians (34%). Second in line would be the promotions for the new films (32%), which re-emphasize the statement made by Robin

Goad, European Research Director at Experian Hitwise in 2010 about French internet population

spending more time on entertainment when online, as mentioned earlier. Below is the figure

which serves as base for the above said arguments.

Another question which now arises from the last answer is why are these people being followed,

what are the most prominent reasons? Several responses were found when asked “When you

follow an artist (singer, actor, writer ...) on social networks, what are you looking first?”

and the response is as follows.

7%

8%

6%

5%

4%

3%

3%

27%

24%

21%

18%

16%

14%

13%

17%

19%

22%

21%

21%

21%

22%

49%

49%

51%

56%

59%

62%

62%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120%

Musical artists

Promoting new films

brands

Actresses / actors

Women / politicians

Facilitators / animators television ouradio

The writers / writers

The Entertainment Activity On Social Networks

regularly Occasionally rarely never



Simply put, people want to know what is happening with their favorite artists, and social media

is the perfect platform to provide them this information in real time. There are multiple uses for

social media platforms, and the prime would be to stay updated in real time which is provided bythese platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Copains d’avant, deezer and many more

which we will discuss in the following section.

Social M edia Platforms and the user demography .

What is unique in case of France is the vast difference in terms of awareness vs. participation in

the social networking websites. The top 10 websites in terms of awareness and top 10 websites in

terms of participation are given as follows (Ipsos MediaCT - Observatoire des Internautes 2011).

Awareness Participation

Rank Website Percentage Rank Website Percentage

1 Facebook 95% 1 Facebook 54%

2 YouTube 94% 2 Windows Live Messenger 46%

3 Twitter 89% 3 Copains D’avant 33%

4 Windows Live Messenger 89% 4 Deezer 25%

5 Copains D’avant 84% 5 YouTube 24%

6 Daily Motion 81% 6 Google+ 21%

7 Google+ 79% 7 Picasa 15%

8 Deezer 63% 8 Trombi 14%9 MySpace 61% 9 Twitter 12%

10 Picasa 55% 10 Viadeo 11%

Some of the things which clearly strike out are given as follows

Facebook is clearly the leader, both in terms of awareness as well as participation.

3%

5%

7%

10%

18%

57%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

To create the closeness between you and him

To share your tastes with your contacts

To learn more about his personal life

To discover other aspects of his personality

To obtain information on its projects

To keep you informed about the news



There is a vast difference between awareness of twitter vs. participation in twitter. Thiscan be partially attributed to the conservative French nature, and partly because of the

popularity of blogs in France.

Google+ is the only website which is as close to participation as it is in awareness.

What the above total shows us is the current position of the websites, while what would complete

the picture is the growth that they have experienced over the years as is demonstrated by the

figure given below.

Facebook has been consistently gaining ground in the French social network arena, and the localwebsite Copains D’avant has been losing its share. Copains D’avant which literally means

“Friends from another age” was launched in 2000, and it held almost half the market share back in 2009. The gain of Facebook has possibly come from the launch of French version of Facebook

in 2010.

Twitter even though in top 3 websites in terms of awareness, still is no. 9 when participation is

concerned. However it is gaining ground, slowly but steadily. Windows live messenger has had

its highs and lows. Ironically enough, in terms of market share in participation it is at exactly the

same level in 2012 as it was in 2009.

Some of the ways this gap between awareness and participation is highlighted by the following

figures.



Participation vs. Awareness in terms of Gender

Takeaways from the figure above

Participation of male members is a lot more than female in Copains D’avant.

Facebook is the undisputed favorite among both male (95%) and female (97%).

Participation vs. Awareness in terms of different age groups

Takeaways from the figure above

Participation of the members in the 18-24 category in Windows live messenger (74%)rivals Facebook (77%).

The lack of awareness of Copains d’avant is much more in the 65+ category (66%) ascompared to any other, closest being 18-24 category which is (82% awareness).

Considering Copains D’avant being the oldest network this is surprising.



Participation vs. Awareness in terms of Occupation

Takeaways from the above figure

The most members of Copains D’avant come from the intermediate occupations category

(45%) and the least from the artist’s category (24%). This is possibly because the

“follow” option is not present on the Copains D’avant as compared to other socialnetworks, and artists being the most “followed” choose Facebook and YouTube to keep

in touch with their fans.

Maximum participation in all social networks comes from the managerial staff category.

Businesses can target specific platforms to reach their targeted audience. Not only are businesses

utilizing the information provided but there are businesses which have come up specifically

through social media such as TripnCo. There are various sectors such as sports, politics and

others which have been significantly influenced by social media.

Let’s look at some of the major social platforms in France and their specifics.

Facebook

As per the statistics provided by Socialbakers, 39% of the population, and 50% of the internet

population of France in 2012 was on Facebook. As of Dec. 2012 there are more than 25 million

facebook users in France, of which 1.3 million users joined in the past 6 months.

A quick look at Facebook’s performance from July 2012 to December 2012 gives us an idea of

the growth pattern.



Clearly Facebook has been continuously increasing its presence in France. From the following

users, it should be useful to see which age group is dominating the Facebook in France.

Source: Social Bakers

More than 2/3rd

of the facebook users fall in the 18-44 categories with 18-34 claiming half the

share of total French facebook population. Growth is almost at level in the age categories

between 25-54 years with 18-24 years being the leader of growth in facebook.

Facebook is one platform which leads the social media in all categories, be it in terms of age,gender, or occupation. Facebook has more women (57%) registered in it as compared to men

25-34, 26%

18-24, 24%35-44, 16%

45-54,

10%

16-17, 8%

13-15, 6%55-64, 6% 65-100, 3%

Distribution of Facebook users by

Age



(51%). It is also the most popular site among managerial staff (63%). The infographic here

presents a quick snapshot of Facebook in France.



Twitter

While the acceptance of twitter has been slow it has certainly gained ground since 2009. As far

as awareness is concerned twitter ranks among top 3 in the social networking websites in France

(89%). However the awareness has not translated to participation, where twitter still struggles at

no. 9 position (12%).

As per beevolve, there are approximately 1.76 million twitter users in France. As compared toother countries, twitter has a lot of ground to cover in France. The figure below compares

different countries in terms of gender distribution of twitter.

This gives us an idea that twitter is used more by men (15%) than women (10%) in France. Thefollowing graphs display the use of twitter among various categories.

As expected, the 18-24 category has the most twitter users and 65+ the least. When occupation isconcerned the Managerial staff has the most number of twitter users with least number among

workers.

0

5

10

15

20

25

Twitter Users

Twitter

Users02468

1012141618

Twitter Users

Twitter Users



Copains D’avant

Back in 2009, Copains D’avant was the closest competitor that Facebook had in France. This

website came into being in 2000 and was used to find and connect with old school/college

friends. The biggest dent in its performance was caused by the launch of French version of

Facebook in November 2009.

But apart from that, many consider that it was not exactly a “social networking” website as

compared to Facebook. Some of the reasons being

There was no micro blogging (such as the “wall” on facebook).

Cannot create a group/fan page.

No video/link/event sharing.

Keeping all the above factors in mind, it was always going to be difficult for Copains D’avant to

compete with facebook. The decline is evident from the figure below

Growth/Decline in membership in Social Networks

While Copains D’avant is the homebred social networking website, unless it updates itself with

new features, chances of survival are dismal. What is most surprising is that awareness of Copains D’avant is not only low in the 18-24 age category but also in the 65+ category. You

would have thought that the elderly generation would have stuck to the old school ways.



Social M edia Moni toring

Most of the world’s social media monitoring tools and companies are US giants. The following

table gives us an overview of SMM tools and services in different countries, also featuring

France with 6 SMM tools and services.

HQ Country

Number of SMM

Tools and Services HQ Country

Number of SMM

Tools and Services

United States 146 Argentina 2

United Kingdom 22 Switzerland 2

Canada 15 Belgium 1

Germany 10 Japan 1

Spain 7 South Africa 1

France 6 India 1

Russia 6 Chile 1

Sweden 4 Finland 1 Netherlands 4 Ukraine 1

Israel 4 Belgium 1

Singapore 3 United Arab Emirates 1

China 3 Norway 1

Australia 2 Austria 1

Italy 2 Brazil 1

Social Media Monitoring Tools and Services Report 2012 by Ideya Market Report, 3rd Edition July 2012

Some of the companies actively involved in SMM services in France are

Company Tool Platforms Ecairn All

Synthesio All

Twenty feet All

AT Internet BuzzWatcher All

Semiocast Semioboard All

Needium Needium Twitter

Media Monitors All

With 58% of the world’s SMM services coming from US, France and Russia together accountfor only 2% of the world’s share. However, considering the huge number of free tools available

everywhere, there is opportunity for marketers to gain an initial perspective of the French social

market.



Tips for Social M arketers

While Social media is making its impact in France, there are certain things a marketer should

take into consideration before making a move into social media platforms.

There is a big gap in awareness versus participation in social networks. For example,while some reports show that twitter is huge n France, they are actually pointing out the

awareness section.

While there are local social networking platforms available, one must keep an eye on thegrowth/decline patterns. While even now Copains D’avant holds the third position in

social networking platforms, its decline has been steady. Similarly while windows live

messenger is the second most popular social network in France, recent announcementshave been made by Microsoft about taking it off from the market. Therefore current

trends matter more than current numbers in France

By political decree from 1990 has been re-implemented in France. This prohibits anyFrench program from promoting any social networking websites, asking people to participate in them. While the French media has found ways to deal with situation, openly

promoting is not as prominent as in other countries.

Rise in mobile social network users means that the companies will now have to ensurethat their promotion methods are compatible with the mobile versions of the social

networking websites.

The following figures provide a quick snapshot of the social network user demography in

France, and the top social networking websites.

Participation by Gender

Participation by Age

51%

45%

34%

29%

25%

0% 20% 40% 60%

Facebook

Windows Live…

Copains d’avant YouTube

Deezer

Membership in Social Networks

Males

57%

47%

32%25%

19%

0% 20% 40% 60%

Facebook

Windows…

Copains… Deezer

YouTube


Females

77%

74%

51%

44%

23%

0% 50% 100%

Facebook

Windows live…

youtube

deezer

google+


18-24

33%

29%

23%

23%

21%

0% 20% 40%

Facebook

Windows live…

Copains d'avant

google+

Picasa


65+



Participation by Occupation

References

Ipsos MediaCT - Observatoire des Internautes 2011

http://www.ipsos.fr/sites/default/files/attachments/observatoire_des_internautes_2011.pdf

European Travel Commission, New Media Trend Watch,

http://www.newmediatrendwatch.com/markets-by-country/10-europe/52-france?start=2

Why social media will reveal French election winner, By Alice Antheaume, Special for CNN

April 19, 2012, http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/19/opinion/france-election-social/index.html

Social networks: the most experienced and vigilant user by Ipsos Media CT,http://www.ipsos.fr/ipsos-mediact/actualites/2012-02-27-peut-parler-declin-reseaux-sociaux

Observatoire des Réseaux Sociaux by Ifop, Nov. 2012. http://www.ifop.com/media/poll/2050-1-

study_file.pdf

An Exhaustive Study of Twitter Users Across the World, http://www.beevolve.com/twitter-

statistics/

France Facebook Statistics by Social Bakers, http://www.socialbakers.com/facebook-

statistics/france

63%

47%

38%

36%

35%

0% 50% 100%

Facebook

Windows…

deezer

copains…

viadeo


managerial staff

53%

43%

32%

23%

22%

0% 20% 40% 60%

Facebook

Windows live…

Copains d'avant

youtube

deezer


workers





http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/19/opinion/france-election-social/index.html





http://www.ifop.com/media/poll/2050-1-study_file.pdf




http://www.beevolve.com/twitter-statistics/




http://www.socialbakers.com/facebook-statistics/france














chapter 18 gsmm-france

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