FOI Reference: FOI/2022/3607
You asked
This is an information request relating to social media spending.
Please include the information for each of the following periods: 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22:
- The total spends by the organisation on social media advertising, including a breakdown by year and by form of social media (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.)
We said
Thank you for your request.
The table below details social media advertising spend by platform and year:
| Social Media Platform | 2019/2020 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 |
|---|---|---|---|
| TWITTER UK LTD | - | £407,869.00 | £53,995.00 |
| £29,109.00 | £944,811.00 | £180,666.00 | |
| SNAPCHAT | £10,338.00 | £514,191.00 | £146,963.00 |
Download this table
.xls .csvExpenditure detailed in this table predominately relates to advertising campaigns to support the census rehearsal in 2019 and Census 2021 campaigns to maximise the census response rate.
Population statistics underpin a vast array of analysis, from unemployment rates to health outcomes, and are vital to decisions about all public services. It was therefore important that we reached the widest possible audiences across England and Wales during the data collection operation.
Census 2021 was the first digital by default census and as social media is a widely used channel, it was an essential part of the campaign. Social media was pivotal in communicating campaign messages and was used to respond to queries from members of the public. The campaign was key in helping over 97 per cent of households respond to make sure they were counted.88.9% of household responses were completed online, which delivered significant cost savings to the taxpayer over paper questionnaires.
Read more about census statistics in our blogs:
https://blog.ons.gov.uk/2022/01/28/building-the-richest-picture-of-our-population/