Facebook claims it added £2.2bn to UK GDP in 2011
Facebook has long prided itself on bringing individuals closer together but now the social media giant claims it has made us all richer too – to the tune of £2.2bn.
Attaching this monetary value to the fillip its operations give to the economy, Facebook’s director of policy in Europe, Richard Allan, said his firm had provided a “significant boost” to 2011 GDP.
In an interview with Media Week Allan said: "Businesses get a significant boost when they market their services on Facebook and it will enable them to communicate with loyal consumers on a daily basis and act as word of mouth marketers."
Allan based his claims on a report compiled by Deloitte which came up with the £2.2bn figure alongside claims that Facebook’s growth and that of mobile apps had supported 232,000 jobs.
Facebook recently announced an ‘Ad boost’ scheme whereby it will give away £4.2m worth of free advertising to small businesses in the EU.