Brussels, 14/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - Facebook and Twitter are the social networks most often used by MEPs, according to a survey carried out by FleishmanHillard consultants.
The 2015 EP Digital Trends Survey published on 16 June for the third year in a row, provides an overview of the digital habits of the Members of the European Parliament: explaining how they “consume” information and how they decide to communicate with different stakeholders. It demonstrates that, generally, social networks have gradually been catching up with traditional instruments of communication, such as face-to-face meetings.
MEPs tend to use certain platforms more than others. Facebook is going strong, with 88% of MEPs using this tool to communicate (663 MEPs out of 751 at the EP). Out of the 100 MEPs interviewed in this survey, 96% of them say that Facebook is their preferred platform for communicating. This is followed by Twitter, with 76% of users, 572 MEPs out of 751. According to the “digital” expert from FleishmanHillard, Brett Kobie, MEPs use Facebook in an effort to reach their constituents, while they use Twitter, partly to address their constituents but mainly to address a broad group of stakeholders. The most heated political debates are directly commented on Twitter, whereas Facebook is mainly used for posting information, similarly to press releases, following a particular event.
The professional social network, Linkedin, follows next. This is now used by 76% of MEPs as opposed to 34% in 2011 and 28% of them have a personal account on this social network. Linkedin is currently emerging as a different kind of communications platform for smaller groups of stakeholders where trust is paramount. Professional contacts that have already been met in face-to-face meetings are invited onto this network or in contacts identified on Twitter, explains Brett Kobie. The study also shows that 80% of the latter (602 MEPs) have set up their own websites to put forward their positions and opinions.
Overall, 95% of MEPs interviewed consider Facebook as a useful tool to communicate and 88% think the same thing about Twitter. Another interesting development involves the fact that 87% of MEPs now believe that face-to-face meetings are useful, a figure that has fallen compared to the data provided in 2011 when it stood at 95%. According to the consultancy expert, this slight change in the way we communicate is perhaps linked to the fact that the rules for more transparency compel politicians to disclose the substance of their meetings with lobbyists and that they are less inclined to meet stakeholders on a regular basis. Kobie explained: “If it's all happening out in the open on social media, it's all (the) more transparent”. (Isabelle Lamberty)