Interesting survey - how Global Fortune 100 is using Social Media
Posted by: Alex Erasmus
I recently came across this survey by PR agency Burson-Masteller on London-based Social Media agency, Fresh Networks blog.
In my opinion, many of the best examples of Social Media leverage are by small to medium businesses. Perhaps this is due to their nimble nature and the entrepreneurial skills of the staff or it could be they are more likely to look for cost-effective marketing tools. Whatever the reason, this survey shows it is pretty rare for Global Fortune 100 companies not to be using Social Media. A whopping 88% of the European companies surveyed are using one, if not more, of the following: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and corporate blogs. However, in the Asia-Pacific region, this figure is just 50%.
Interestingly, half of the companies have a YouTube channel, which is another indicator of the growing power of online video integration.
Probably the most surprising stat for me is that only a third of companies surveyed have corporate blogs. While it’s always tricky to get ongoing input from time-poor Senior Management teams, corporate blogs are a much under-used tool. Social Media isn’t just about reaching the maximum number of people with your message. It can also be about providing a platform for journalists and investors, as well as other influencer and interest groups.
I’m not sure why, but the Asia-Pacific region seems to be more switched on to the benefits of corporate blogs, with 50% of the Global Fortune 100 participating.
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‘I’m not sure why, but the Asia-Pacific region seems to be more switched on to the benefits of corporate blogs, with 50% of the Global Fortune 100 participating.’
1. Would be interesting to see the specific delineation of countries in the Asia-Pacific region who have corporate blogs. And those who actively use them to generate dialogue with their customers and the wider public, would be another story altogether. I believe you’ll see a great variation in corporate blogging attitudes and practices within these AP countries (eg. China vs Philipines; or Malaysia vs New Zealand).
2. I also suspect that some of these countries may have more corporate blogs due to the country’s economic structure (services-oriented, SME makeup) and government support (esp ICT usage). For instance, I’m sure you wouldn’t see many corporate blogs in Vietnam vs. New Zealand.
3. Being a corporate blogs researcher myself, I wouldn’t immediately place a lot of trust in the numbers re:high posting behaviour in AP, and that 3/4 of blogs receive comments. Quantitative studies are usually biased, esp when dealing with classification of countries. High corp blogs activity in 1 particular AP country sample set may bias the general population numbers, thus skewing the overall report findings.
Just my 2 cents worth. Nevertheless, such a study is always novel as an attempt to study social media adoption stats on a global scale. But I would caution that the findings be taken with a reasonable dose of scrutiny.
Thanks for your input Adeline - always good to hear extra layers to the conversation! In particular, you make a good point about the average economic structure in most Asian countries.
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