Facebook benefits UK economy to tune of £2.2bn

Post by Tom Blackburn on 26th January 2012
 in E-commerce, Social media

Facebook is worth £2.2billion to the British economy, and directly supports more than 35,000 jobs, according to recent figures.

The social media network has released the stats as part of its efforts to promote a programme which will see it give away more than £4million worth of advertising to small and growing British businesses.

Up to 50,000 businesses across the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain will be able to claim a free leg-up for their online advertising campaigns as part of a scheme called Ad Boost.

Firms will be able to claim free advertising credits which can be exchanged for up to £80-worth of display and PPC ads.

At the same time as the incentive was announced, Facebook also revealed the level of its contributions to Europe's biggest economies. The UK and Germany both get about £2.4billion of economic benefits from Facebook, with Italy the next biggest beneficiary, at just over £2.3billion.

By contrast, Spain's 'Facebook economy' is worth just a fraction over half those of the top two, according to a report by leading business analysts Deloitte. The figures were released at a leading international digital business conference in Munich.

Facebook’s chief operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told the gathering: “The impact of social media is a bright spot in challenging times, but growth won’t happen on its own. We need to make sure that we invest in the right education, training, technology and networks so that social media can continue to drive innovation and economic growth.”