ECCO international, the global network of independent PR agencies, that On Board PR is a member of which, has compiled an extensive overview of the social media market and trends in 22 countries including the major European economies, the USA, India, Mexico and South America. ECCO’s country social media reports are the first global insight to be made available for free and represent a ‘must read’ for international communications professionals or multinational companies with an interest in addressing social media.

Why use social media networks? The most widespread use of social networks is for connecting friends or downloading images and/or photographs but the reports also indicate other reasons for getting connected. Says Sara Render, Chairman of ECCO International: “The new country reports out today show that ECCO International members have embraced social media as part of their communications services portfolio.  It’s also important for every international communications professional to understand that – just like culture, media landscape and PR practice – social media behaviour differs country by country.  One size really does not fit all – and to ignore local differences and social media nuances could result in wasted investment and ill-informed social media PR programmes.”

The research was conducted in: Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Venezuela, UK, USA and UAE.

See the reports: http://eccosocialmedia.wordpress.com