The information on this page was current at the time it was published. Regulations, trends, statistics, and other information are constantly changing. While we strive to update our Knowledge Base, we strongly suggest you use these pages as a general guide and be sure to verify any regulations, statistics, guidelines, or other information that are important to your efforts.

Social Media Marketing In Germany

More than 75% of all Germans over 14 years of age use the Internet.  Of these, over 85% are active social media users. For most people, especially the younger generation, social media is one of the most popular ways to spend time online and over 90% of 14 to 29 year olds are registered on at least one social media platform. 

Generally speaking, younger people are more frequently active on a regular basis than older, but only the 55+ group doesn't report that the most common frequency for regular access is several times per day. The most popular social media platforms in Germany are YouTube, WhatsApp, and Facebook.

The reasons for using social networks range from staying in touch and engaging with friends and family, the ability to find old friends, to being reminded about birthdays and anniversaries. In Germany, platforms such as Facebook are used more for family and close friends than for far-flung acquaintances and B2C marketing.

Germany hasn’t had the same level of explosive growth on social media as in other countries and posting on Facebook has actually been declining for the past 3 years. Some suggested reasons for this are that the country on average is older, Germans are cautious by nature and don’t want to state opinions that could get them in trouble or lose respect, and they are concerned about data privacy.  There are still 40 million people who use social sites so it’s still a very viable marketing channel.

To get a better understanding of what resonates culturally in Germany in social media, pay close attention to well known Facebook pages, Twitter feeds from influencers you can find in the Globig Connect section, popular YouTube videos from Germans and highly regarded companies, and other social media content and campaigns that are successful. Explore social media platforms like Xing (professional networking), Wer-Kennt-Wen (dating), Yappy (short video creation), KWICK! (hyperlocal networking), and Lokalisten.de (community news) to understand how German users interact on these platforms and what content resonates with them.

According to eValue ™ Analytics, in 2015, some of the top German social media brands were:

1. Stiftung Warentest

2. Deutsche Bahn

3. Böhmermann Satire

4. Özil vs. Rassismus

5. Frag Mutti

6. NIVEA

7. BMW

8. Allianz 

9. Fressnapf

10. Gronkh

The automobile brands have been very successful on social media and social media overall continues to be growing in influence as a medium that works for marketers.

Many of the most successful social media campaigns typically include some sort of travel, adventure, fun sweepstakes, inspiration, aspirational content, or other relevant engagement with people.

Overall, from small to large organizations, both consumer facing and business sites for B2B, social media is an important component of the marketing mix to reach German prospects.

Resources:

https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/scoreboard/germany

How to use Xing

http://www.entrepreneurial-insights.com/using-xing-de-business-purposes/