Social media guide for Latvia
Latvia is one of the Baltic states along with Lithuania and Estonia. Being a small country most of the activities are concentrated in the capital and social media is also concentrated in Riga and the internet is very popular. The rate of internet penetration was about 73% in 2011 according to the statistics Standard Eurobarometer 76 ‘Media use in European Union’ Report, issued in March 2012. That means that more then 1.5 million people are using the internet in Latvia.
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are popular in Latvia and a lot of companies are using them for promoting their businesses and maintaining contact with their customers.
There are over 1 million active users of social media networks in Latvia and the growth rate is high. In accordance with the aforementioned report, the use of social media in Latvia is high (55%), placing the country in second place among European countries after Netherlands (56%).
At the same time, the internet is the second most popular information source in Latvia after television. Even though penetration and usage rates are already at a high level, significant growth is still happening, especially in the business and education fields.
The most popular and useful social media network in Latvia is Draugiem. This local network was created in 2004 and currently has about 2.6 million registered users. It is used in daily communications with business contacts, family and friends and for some it has replaced email.
The top three pages and brands present in social media from Latvia, according to Analytics PRO, are Vanilla Travel, Samsung Latvia and Riga Spirits & Wine Outlet.
The Latvian government has also decided to use social media in its communication strategy with citizens.
Access
Active social media users form more than half of the population with home usage having the largest (86%) proportion. It is also noted that families with children tend to be more active online, suggesting that the younger generations tend to be accessing the internet and engaging with the online networks more regularly. On the other hand, internet access from the workplace is only about 34%, suggesting that the majority of businesses are yet to maximise their use of the internet for business development.
The youth age group seems to dominate internet usage with the vast majority of 15 to 19 year olds regularly accessing the internet. However, the ‘silver surfers’ are catching up and the highest growth rate is attributed to users in their 50’s. Those users in their 60’s tend to be only marginally represented and only about 12% of these are engaged on social media, which seems to be a common characteristic of Eastern European countries.
The mobile internet has reached only about 44% of total internet users and it is dominated by people in the 20 to 29 age range, despite 91% penetration of mobile phones. Only 26% of youngsters aged 15 to 19 have used WAP services on their phones.
Women are very active on social media networks, who tend to have adopted Draugiem.lv as a replacement for Facebook. Other social media networks frequently used by women include mamman.lv, which is used a a forum to discuss topics related to children and motherhood; and Calis.lv, Latvia’s oldest and largest forum dominated by female contributors (more than 70%).
Popular Latvian blogs/forums:
- www.onkulis.com – Blog detailing Latvian events and news.
- www.krizdabz.lv – Technology Blog (Internet, Social media, Apple, Google, hardware and software)
- www.laacz.lv – Lifestyle Blog (Music, Games, Technology)
- www.pods.lv – Technology (visited by IT specialists)
- www.notepad.lv – IT forum about new advances in telecommunication, hardware and software, Internet, and other technical issues.
Organizational use
Large numbers of companies have setup Facebook pages and created profiles on other social media networks to get in touch with their customers and advertise their business. Travelling, studying and working in Europe is considered a means of connecting Latvia with other countries. For Latvians who live abroad and for foreigners that are interested in Latvia, various website, portals and blogs were created to showcase Latvia and provide access to opportunities. Latvians Online is the biggest global site for information about Latvia. As with many other European countries, Latvian government is investing heavily in digital literacy skills, aiming to contribute to the Digital Agenda in Europe. See for more details: http://www.latviansonline.com/
Search and Social Media Marketing for International Business
Learn how to use social media for business from one of Salford Business School’s latest business management courses. The course was jointly researched by the Passport to Trade 2.0 project team and prepared in collaboration with some of the leading digital marketing agencies in the UK.
This Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) can help businesses and individuals to make the best use of search and social media platforms. The course is called Search and Social Media Marketing for International Business and is applicable to students looking for placements abroad as well as businesses thinking about new trade links; it comprises the following twelve topics:
Before you start the course please complete this short MOOC entrance survey.
How to develop a personal brand online (1/12)
|
How to use Twitter (2/12)
|
How to use Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) (3/12)
|
How to use social media for international business development (4/12)
|
How to use Facebook (5/12)
|
How to use YouTube (6/12)
|
How to use LinkedIn (7/12)
|
How to use Google+ (8/12)
|
How to use copywriting online (9/12)
|
How to stay legal on social media (10/12)
|
How to use monitoring and reporting (11/12)
|
How to blog (12/12)
|
Please complete the MOOC exit survey.