The Internet has brought about significant changes to the Albanian media ecosystem too. The number of communication and information actors and platforms in the country has multiplied. The ways in which information is produced, consumed and disseminated have also changed. Besides traditional media, social media are assuming an increasingly greater role in the process of informing the public. For traditional media, these new media are being formed as new channels of connecting to audiences and distributing content. Yet, social media appears also as an important channel for the dissemination of content produced by users and the broader public.

After an initial hesitation, during the last 5 years, Albanian professional media have appreciated and have engaged to increase their presence on social media. To that end, they have created their own institutional pages or fan pages on social networks and other social media in order to be closer to their audiences and to have more online communication channels with them. The main social media on which Albanian media outlets have opened their pages are Facebook, Twitter, Google +, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest. Among these, the most used by Albanian media and by social media users in Albania are Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The increase of access to social media has been accompanied by an increasing use of them by different society actors, including politics, business, marketing, media, etc. Numerous pieces of information from different fields of social activity are initially published on social media or re-disseminated through their channels. This has generated increased attention of reporters and their increased use of social media as a source of information.

Social media as the new medium is widely used in the Marketing field. Businesses and marketing professionals have inserted this new medium in their marketing communication strategies. Different authors and also evidence from the Albanian market research confirm that the reason why companies use social media is the interactivity of social media and the opportunity to receive quick feedback. Quick feedback is important to understand the customers’ requirements, in order to satisfy the customers and to increase their earnings. Another reason is cost where in social media with a minimum budget the company advertisements, products information can be speeded very quickly to many customers and potential ones. Regarding Albania context it is seen that the companies’ social media usage is present. All the companies have created their profiles on social platforms. If we refer to the monitoring statistics we see that the companies, banks or universities which have more likes, shares, comments are the ones with more satisfied customers. If we have a look over the marketing budget left to social media compared to traditional media it is in the lever of 5-10 %. This number seems to be small and it is, if we compare to traditional marketing however this number can be small also due to the cost which is very low compared to printing materials, outdoor advertisement or traditional media buying cost.