Facebook is quite popular among Dutch architects, as 43% indicated that they professionally use this social media site. In Germany and France the use of Facebook, and social media in general, is considerably lower and this is not a medium that is professionally used. In these two countries Google+ is a more used social media site. However there is another social medium that is heavily used by Dutch architects and that is LinkedIn. A stunning 79% of the architects mentioned that they professionally use LinkedIn, which is considerably higher than any other social media site in other European countries. When using LinkedIn a majority of architects can be reached in the Netherlands, but also in the UK. Online networks become more important in all countries, although the social media usage is not as heavy everywhere as you can see that only half of German architects already professionally use social media. The increasing usage of social media makes it a more interesting way for manufacturers to reach the architects, but social media can also be a tool for architects to use it as a portfolio and for reaching their own clients.
So in general the manufacturer can reach the European architect through different social media sites. In all countries but Italy the professional usage of social media has grown significantly compared to two years ago. The best way to reach the architect on social media is to be active on LinkedIn and Google+, but also Facebook plays an important role in almost every country.
These and many other results and trends of the developments of the European construction market can be found in the European Architectural Barometer, an international market research conducted among 1,600 architects in Europe. This study is conducted in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium and Poland by Arch-Vision four times a year. The research covers the developments of architectural turnover, order volumes and the impact of the crisis. Besides these economic statistics, a specific topic is highlighted each quarter. The topic in Q1 2016 was “Decision Making Unit (DMU), orientation and media orientation”. Architects can be used not only as a reliable source for future building volumes information, but their role is very important as they have great influence on how projects are built and which materials are used.