It's 2015 and MEPs use social media. Is that news? Probably not. But how do MEPs use online tools and more generally, how do they consume information and prefer to interact with stakeholders? Follow #MEPDigital and @FleishmanEU for a steady stream of insights on what these results mean for public affairs professionals.

2. Full results

3. 3rd European Parliament Digital Trends Survey
online tools

4. meetings, events and
position papers
infographics, video,
Wikipedia
stakeholder websites and
social channels.they are listening
LinkedIn (28%)
TOP 5 TAKEAWAYS

5. Traditional pan-European and national
media (67%) EU-focused media
(58%)
Twitter
search
engine and social advertising
craft
attention-grabbing content
TOP 5 TAKEAWAYS

6. WHICH ONLINE TOOLS DO MEPS USE?
Twitter accounts
6
Facebook

7. WHICH ONLINE TOOLS DO MEPS USE?
LinkedIn
personal website
7

8. WHICH ONLINE TOOLS DO MEPS USE?
8
social media adoption among MEPs is a fact
social channels have emerged as
channels of choice.

9. F L E I S H M A N H I L L A R D 9
FACEBOOK AND TWITTER BEAT OTHER ONLINE
COMMUNICATION CHANNELS
Which of the
following online
tools do you use to
communicate with
your constituents
and other relevant
stakeholders (e.g.
NGOs, industry,
think tanks)?

10. HOW USEFUL DO MEPS FIND
ONLINE TOOLS?
Facebook and Twitter
one-on-one meetings
whether it
takes place on- or offline, conversation is simply conversation.
1 0

11. 1 1
SEARCH ENGINES, NEWSPAPERS, AND EU AND
SOCIAL MEDIA ESSENTIAL TO LEGISLATIVE WORK
How frequently
do you, or your
staff on your
behalf, use the
following
online tools /
resources in
your daily
legislative
work?

12. 1 2
FACEBOOK AND TWITTER ARE AS EFFECTIVE AS
MEETINGS
Don’t know (1) Very ineffective (2) Somewhat ineffective
(3) Neither effective nor ineffective (4) Somewhat effective (5) Very effective
How effective do
you believe the
following
activities to be in
communicating
to your
constituents and
other relevant
stakeholders
(e.g. NGOs,
industry, think
tanks)?

13. 1 3
MEPS USE TWITTER TO LISTEN, LEARN AND ENGAGE
What do you view as the
greatest benefit of using
Twitter?

14. 1 4
MEPS USE LINKEDIN TO LISTEN AND BUILD THEIR
PERSONAL NETWORKS
What do you view as the
greatest benefit of using
LinkedIn?

15. F L E I S H M A N H I L L A R D 1 5
HOW DO MEPS PREFER TO COMMUNICATE WITH
STAKEHOLDERS?
meetings and position papers—continue to play
important roles in the EU policy sphere.
infographics, social media and
stakeholder websites

16. F L E I S H M A N H I L L A R D 1 6
MEPS KEEN ON POSITION PAPERS BUT OPEN TO
INFOGRAPHICS AND OTHER ONLINE CONTENT
In which of the following
ways to do you prefer to
receive information from
stakeholders?

17. F L E I S H M A N H I L L A R D 1 7
MEPS VALUE PERSONAL CONTACT
What is your preferred
means of interaction with
stakeholders (e.g. NGOs,
industry, think tanks)?

18. F L E I S H M A N H I L L A R D 1 8
MEPS COUNT ON A WIDE RANGE OF CHANNELS
WHEN FORMING OPINIONS ON POLICY
How useful are the
following types of
communication
with stakeholders
(e.g. NGOs,
industry, think
tanks) in informing
your thinking on
policy issues?

19. F L E I S H M A N H I L L A R D 1 9
BUSINESS AS USUAL IN THE EP AS
TRANSPARENCY RULES TIGHTEN, BUT USE OF
ONLINE TOOLS SET TO RISE SLIGHTLY
How do you think your
interactions with
stakeholders (e.g. NGOs,
industry, think thanks) will
change in the future in light
of stricter EU transparency
rules?

20. 2 0
IS ONLINE ADVERTISING AN EFFECTIVE MEANS
OF REACHING MEPS?
MEPs do click on online advertising – but not often.
while MEPs may not click, they do in fact notice these ads.

21. F L E I S H M A N H I L L A R D 2 1
SPONSORED ADVERTISING IS SOMETIMES
CLICKED ON
Twitter LinkedIn
What do you when you
are presented with a
paid advertisement
marked “promoted” or
“sponsored” on social
media?

22. F L E I S H M A N H I L L A R D 2 2
MEPS USE GOOGLE’S NEWS AND SEARCH RESULTS,
NOT ADS
When using
Google to
conduct
research on an
issue, where
would you click
first?

23. Sample Demographics & Methodology

24. METHODOLOGY

25. NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS
n=100
Proportion of EP
delegation surveyed

26. EP GROUP RESPONDENTS

27. GIVING BACK
2 7
For every MEP response to the 2015 EP Digital
Trends Survey, FleishmanHillard donated 10
euros to International Rescue Committee,
which responds to the world's worst
humanitarian crises and helps people to
survive and rebuild their lives.

28. MEPS USE ONLINE TOOLS. SO WHAT?

29. For more information, please contact
Brett Kobie
B r e t t . K o b i e @ f l e i s h m a n e u r o p e . c o m
FleishmanHillard Brussels
35 Square de Meeûs
1000 Brussels | Belgium
T +32 2 230 05 45
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