SMO

Social media platforms proving popular for international companies

According to a new study by Burson-Marsteller, around 80 per cent of the largest 100 companies included in the Fortune Global 500 index regularly use social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and various blogging sites.

Burson-Marsteller commented upon this trend for social media marketing amongst large, international corporations, explaining that as these businesses are realising that social media can be used for interacting with potential customers and clients rather than for the delivery of targeted corporate messages; they are becoming a lot more comfortable with using the technology.

Further details revealed in the study were as follows:

• Twitter emerged as the most popular platform for social media marketing, followed closely by Facebook and YouTube.
• Companies based in Europe are apparently more likely to use Twitter and Facebook than the blog format
• 20 per cent of all companies reviewed were using all four social media channels

A related study by Ecoconsultancy, in conjunction with the Online Marketing Study, supports the Burson-Marsteller report, claiming that 81 per cent of US firms were budgeting for more expenditure on social media marketing for 2010.

Councils are being urged to acknowledge and use social media

What the telephone was to the 19th century is what social media is to our generation. Resisting its use is the equivalent of resisting the use the telephone in its days of inception. A recent report by a social membership organisation has published a report recently which said that IT managers should encourage councils to embrace social media.

It said that a variety of different social media platforms could help shape the public sector in its struggle against recession. In addition to this it claimed non engagement with the risks of social media and ignored comments about an organisation externally.

The insight of the study conducted by the social membership organisation was based on interviews from 57 IT managers and web specialists from the public sector. Some of the managers interviewed have revealed that public sector employees have already begun sharing much information. They share this information with their equals, experts in the industry and also researchers in the industry. Many senior managers and elected members are already using the social media to communicate amongst themselves.

The report also promptly pointed out that 32 percent of local authorities were now part of Twitter and nearly 12 percent have a Facebook page.