Menu
Summer is over. A special summer with perhaps some different vacation destinations than usual, fewer festivals and finally also relaxations in the COVID-19 measures. Has that caused any shifts in social media market share in the Netherlands and Europe?
The short answer: yes.
And you'll find the long answer below:
Netherlands
| Netherlands | June 2021 | September 2021 |
| 71,23% | 68,22% | |
| 8,33% | 10,17% | |
| 13,88% | 11,29% | |
| 2,70% | 3,48% | |
| Youtube | 1,70% | 3,16% |
| 0,94% | 1,28% |
The differences from the previous quarter remained relatively small in terms of social media market share in the Netherlands. Facebook had been on the rise again since the beginning of 2021, but that upward trend is now declining again.
Twitter is also losing some ground after a few good months, while Pinterest seems to be recovering slightly from its free fall earlier this year. Furthermore, companies now seem to be structurally investing more in ads on Instagram and Youtube's market share is also growing significantly.
It may well be that due to the measures or negative travel advisories, we decided not to go on vacation and spend our vacation money on redecorating the house - or updating the wardrobe.
As a result, we get more ideas via Pinterest, check DIY videos on Youtube or scroll through Instagram looking for new that one new pair of shoes. Then again, there's no way to say for sure, of course.
Germany
| Germany | June 2021 | September 2021 |
| 63,95% | 59,73% | |
| 7,81% | 8,64% | |
| 7,76% | 7,74% | |
| 3,87% | 5,22% | |
| Youtube | 4,49% | 4,19% |
| 0,42% | 0,65% |
Of Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, the social media market share in Germany drops a little bit, while Pinterest, LinkedIn and especially Instagram make some gains.
Certainly the losses of Twitter (0.02%) and Youtube (0.30%) are marginal. As are the gains of Pinterest (0.83%) and LinkedIn (0.23%). The biggest winner among our eastern neighbors is Instagram, which has now almost quintupled its market share in one year.
Could it finally be delivering on its promise as the next best thing?
Belgium
| Belgium | June 2021 | September 2021 |
| 63,87% | 65,77% | |
| 17,86% | 16,19% | |
| 8,41% | 7,34% | |
| 3,69% | 3,76% | |
| Youtube | 2,77% | 2,39% |
| 0,53% | 0,68% |
In Belgium, the market share of social media channels is shifting slightly differently than in the Netherlands and Germany.
Here Facebook makes some gains and Pinterest, on the other hand, loses some. And although Instagram's share is rising, that increase is not yet as high as in other countries. Remarkable. Especially when you consider that compared to a month earlier (August) it has even decreased.
Beyond that, again, there is not much to say about it. It seems that Belgians are somewhat more creatures of habit when it comes to social media than the Dutch and Germans.
Europe
| Europe | June 2021 | September 2021 |
| 77,56% | 78,61% | |
| 5,47% | 5,57% | |
| 8,20% | 6,21% | |
| 3,30% | 3,89% | |
| Youtube | 2,38% | 2,13% |
| 0,37% | 0,40% |
So what about in Europe? Well, there we are practically breaking even.
Apart from Twitter's loss, the differences compared to 3 months earlier are very small. Within one percentage point even.
So why is Twitter losing anyway? Probably because it is mainly used as a news medium and the summer is often a cucumber time anyway when less newsworthy events take place.
And less usage also makes it less interesting for advertisers.
UK
| Europe | June 2021 | September 2021 |
| 52,27% | 64,17% | |
| 7,26% | 7,00% | |
| 27,75% | 15,17% | |
| 6,68% | 8,07% | |
| Youtube | 3,06% | 2,53% |
| 0,87% | 0,77% |
Last but not least: the distribution of social media market share in the UK. And what a wrap-up that turned out to be, say.
It is clear that the UK has split from the European Union, because they clearly no longer follow the trends there. Indeed, they are vehemently opposed to them.
Indeed, what is striking is the huge increase in the share of Facebook and Twitter which is losing almost half of its market share as a result.
The reason for this remains to be seen. It may have to do with the European Football Championship in which England reached the final, but also with new laws and regulations that apply to the UK and not to EU countries.
Either way, it is something to keep an eye on!
Conclusion
Throwing all the data together, we can conclude one thing: Instagram seems to be slowly but surely gaining popularity among advertisers. The social media channel's market share is increasing everywhere. And structurally, too, when we zoom in on all the months separately.
That's the only certainty at the moment. The social media market share of the other channels has fluctuated so much in recent months that it is difficult to predict where it is going - and where to bet on as an advertiser. Especially with more and more countries going off lock and key and life as we used to is slowly getting back on track.
On the other hand, that does promise new shifts in the coming months and that is exactly what makes this series so interesting.
So we look forward to seeing you again after Q4!
Source: gs.statcounter.com
Written by: Daniel Kuipers
Daniel is the founder of Online Marketing Agency. He constantly scours the Internet for the latest gadgets and tactics and blogs about them in understandable language. Well, sometimes.