Social Media in Cyprus – The Stats You Need to Know

Contentworks is a marketing agency that provides social media and content marketing to brands both locally and internationally. Social media in Cyprus – the stats you need to know is essential reading for business owners and marketers targeting the region.

From creating an Instagram story to posting pictures on Facebook, social platforms have completely changed the way we interact online. And with 3.2 billion people across the globe predicted to have at least one social media account by 2021, it’s clear our love for tweeting, sharing, liking and engaging with brands and peers online is growing! In this article, our expert social media team has pulled together the stats you need for social media marketing in Cyprus and what they mean for businesses.

Check out the others in our social media series like JAPAN and UK

An overview of technology usage in Cyprus

In 2017, Cyprus was coined the ‘Social Media Island’ by Foundiid researcher Paul McEvoy. This was after the Mediterranean gem was revealed to have the highest number of Facebook users (94%) in Europe, showing a clear love for the platform. And technology use remains highly prevalent amongst islanders.

Technology usage in Cyprus is also heavily associated with finance products as you can see from the 2019 Hootsuite slideshare extract below:

An interesting takeaway for businesses, is that a large percentage of the population is connected and embracing e-commerce services with 39% of both men and women making online purchases online. This is a figure that’s sure to grow in coming years as retail delivery services to the island advance and more people jump on the ‘ordering online’ trend.

So, what should you do in light of this information? Here’s a few ideas:

1. Integrating an easy checkout option is easier than ever with Shopify and Insta checkout
2. Improve your online shopping to appeal to those able to use online payment methods such as credit cards, which roughly a quarter of the population already do
3. Optimise your site for mobile usage to help increase your outreach

Now, let’s dig into some social media stats for Cyprus and look at the marketing takeaways for each.

#1 There are 1 million active social media users

There are 1 million active social media users in Cyprus which works out to 84% of the community. This means that only 0.01% of internet users don’t have a social account according to up-to-date Hootsuite data for the island published in January 2019.

Facebook has the largest advertising audience with 930,000 monthly active users. Instagram comes in second with 580,000 monthly active users and Twitter has 157.5 thousand users per month. LinkedIn also has a prominent advertising audience with 260,000 registered members.

Takeaways

As seen, social platforms are a part of island life making social media marketing for your brand essential. Priorities should include:

• Strategising for Facebook.

Is your content up-to-scratch? Are you engaging followers? Do you encourage and monitor interaction? Is your tone of voice consistent and on brand? Do people have a reason to follow you? Do you know what your competitors are doing? What campaigns are working well for you and why? There’s a lot to think about. But careful planning and setting down actionable points with attainable KPIs will help to increase outreach and improve brand awareness.

• Strategising for Instagram

As the nation’s second favourite social site, having a presence on Instagram is crucial. This is particularly true if your brand could benefit from visually impressive images. Visual stimulation helps consumers react to content, so be sure to include call to actions in each post. A great example of Instagram usage comes from Heart Cyprus. They enjoy a following of 290k, largely thanks to their beautifully clear images and emphasis on community.

Instagram is also a great place to keep people entertained with competitions, quizzes, giveaway and an abundance of fresh content complete with the relevant hashtags to ensure your updates are easy to find within the site.

Remember that Instagram is an ideal platform for influencer marketing. By connecting with high-profile site users from your industry, you could essentially catapult your brand into the spotlight.

#2 Over 77% of the Population are Active Mobile Social Media Users

That’s a huge number that simply cannot be ignored from a marketing perspective. So, what can you do, armed with this knowledge?

Takeaways:

• Ensure your website is mobile optimised and fast loading – if it’s not, you won’t be able to fully tap into a market that’s looking for on-the-go content.
• Promote your mobile services or apps so people know they can access information wherever they are!

#3 Millennials Reign Supreme on Popular Social Sites

It may not come as a surprise that millennials dominate social media usage in Cyprus across multiple sites.

For instance:
There were 894,700 Facebook users in Cyprus in February 2019. Click To Tweet
The majority of them were men (53.6%) and people aged between 25-34 were the largest user group (270,000). Similarly, there were over well almost 600,000 Instagram users in Cyprus in February. Again, the majority were men at 51.2% and the largest user group was between 25 and 34.

Facebook Messenger also echoed the above pattern. There were 708,800 Messenger users in Cyprus in February 2019, which accounted for 59.2% of its entire population. Again, most were men (53.1%) and the millennial group dominated.

Takeaways

Millennials are often referred to as ‘Digital Natives.’ This is because they’ve grown up with technology, are not afraid of new ideas and are always on the lookout for reliable services. Millennials are impatient and do not appreciate poorly maintained sites or slow download speeds. They will also happily jump ship to another brand if they offer something better. Therefore, if you are targeting millennials in Cyprus, it’s essential to.

• Ensure fast download speeds
• Keep sign-up processes and feedback forms short and to-the-point
• Not overcomplicate services
• Implement a chatbot to provide instant assistance
• Utilise Messenger to be able to improve response times
• Keep an eye on competitors to stay ahead of the game
• Use clear, concise language avoiding waffle and long paragraphs
• Embrace video content considering 80% of the world’s internet traffic will be video by the year 2021. Millennials prefer to watch content than read brochures, so this approach is ideal.

#4 Cyprus Residents Use Social Platforms to Buy and Sell

In Cyprus, there’s a huge social community online for those who want to buy and sell goods from everyday household items to houses and cars. Sites like Facebook are a great way for locals to communicate without having to go to other retail sites. While many pages are set up for nationwide interaction, others focus on particular cities such as Limassol and Paphos. Or even villages like Pyrgos, Moni and Parekklisia. Limassol Pals is a popular page where the community can ask questions and help one another.

Takeaways

• Don’t underestimate your competition. Buy and swap sites are incredibly popular.
• As with the global trend over 90% of users trust reviews over company information. Therefore it’s essential to manage your online reputation.
• Keep your brand pages up to date with key information and integrate buying apps wherever possible.

Hashtags in Cyprus

The most popular hashtags from Cyprus are about the cities, nature and obviously FOOD! Click To Tweet
#cyprus #limassol #nicosia #travel #sea #love #paphos #larnaca #ayianapa #foodporn #photography #nature #photooftheday #instagood #europe #follow #sky #beautiful #food #foody #instafood 

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