BUZZ NEWS

The Use Of Social Media By Companies

Posted on August 5, 2009
Faustine Henry

How has social media modified communication for brands? This is the question that the study by MarketingSherpa, along with the participation of professionals, attempts to answer. The results gathered in late 2008 show some divergences for the use of social media in commerce.

The majority of marketing professionals give social media the qualities of being able to influence the reputation of a brand, increase consumer awareness, and increase a brand’s visibility on the site.

However, social media is considered less effective when it comes to internal communications and increasing sales. 32% of marketing strategists recognize the use of consumer panels, forums and groups of bloggers. They do however admit that it is difficult to measure the real impact of these methods, and only 10% of experts recognize their precision.

Measuring the effectiveness of social media seems to be the only leg up for large companies. A third of them have created tools and written communications policies to manage the brand on social networks. By comparison, only 13% of smaller companies have implemented such measures.

There are some nuances between large companies in terms of adoption of social media. In fact, 39% of them do not have any established policy, and despite recognition of its importance, 9% do not find it necessary.

Adopting and recognizing the utility of social media is successful in cases where a brand is looking to develop proximity and trust with users. Thus, brands create dedicated blogs and Facebook profiles.

According to Lou Cuming, of the agency specializing in social networks, DEI Worldwide , it is absolutely necessary to "participate and interact with customers online". To make it even more complex, Lou Cuming insists that the rapport with the customers on the Web must be "fueled" to avoid a one-sided dialogue and disinterest from users.

About one quarter of all companies, of any size, make up those that do not take interest in social media. Even among those that are interested in social media such as forums, half of them admit not actually participating in the exchanges.

As you undoubtedly understand, there is no common use of social media. However, no matter the size of the company, it is essential to move towards the use of it. This is especially true in these times of economic turmoil, where social marketing can be a real, efficient and measurable solution.