Over 4.2 million active social media participants in SL – Etisalat
View(s):Facebook is the largest social media platform in Sri Lanka, with 2.3 million users, or 11.5 per cent of the country’s total population, while over 4.2 million participate actively in social media and more than 20 per cent of all Sri Lankans have access to the Internet, says Etisalat Lanka.
In a statement which highlighted the telco’s social media initiatives, Etisalat Lanka stated that it operates four official social media channels, namely Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, to interact directly with online communities. It also added that its “success was seen in April 2015 when the company celebrated over 300,000 Likes on their Facebook page and 30,000 followers on their Twitter account page. The company also received official verification of their accounts on Facebook and twitter in 2014 and 2015 respectively, endorsing their presence and contribution to Sri Lanka’s technology sector development”.
Further, the statement also indicated that “Etisalat Lanka launched the ‘Mashable Social Media Day’ in 2012. Mashable is the largest international news site dedicated to covering digital culture, social media and technology. They globally launched Social Media Day in 2010 – to which Etisalat Lanka has been the host and driver in organising the Social Media Day in Sri Lanka, putting the country on the map amongst the global connected generation – as Sri Lanka was ranked by Mashable to be among the top five global Social Media Day events to attend this year. Known popularly with the tag ‘#SMDayCMB’, it is one of the most highly anticipated events on the social media calendar due to its credibility and comprehensive topics, which have been maintained for the fourth successive year”.
It also added that, in 2015, Social Media Day Colombo participants were “exposed to meeting an array of individuals from different industries, which adds value to their learning experience. This year’s event was twofold, catering specifically to the entrepreneur community and youth community with a conference in the morning and the highly-engaging Meet-Up event in the evening, with over 500 participants”.
Additionally noted, “Etisalat Lanka further advanced their promise to Sri Lanka’s social media community by connecting with the Sri Lanka Twitter community through the third season of the Etisalat Twitter Premier League Sri Lanka 2015. #TPLSL, the hash tag that was created for the event, is a softball cricket tournament which is the largest and most anticipated sporting event in the Sri Lankan social media calendar… Engaging with ‘Tweeps’ (users of Twitter), Etisalat has built a dynamic platform for the Sri Lankan Twitter Community to come together for a unique event experience that can also be viewed live on followers’ Twitter feeds”. (JH)