Twitter, YouTube, blogging and Facebook: The world's 100 largest companies continued to strengthen their social media activities in the past year. A recent study by Burson Marsteller shows that large companies have improved on social networks not only in terms of numbers but often also in terms of quality. Europe is lagging behind, particularly when it comes to interaction.
Fortune Global 100 Companies have continued to increase their activities on social media in the past year. Twitter in particular was very popular, according to a new study by Burson Marsteller yielded. Not only has the number of Global 100 active on Twitter increased, but also the average number of accounts per company. This suggests a diversification of activities.
The way Twitter is used actually varies greatly: From classic news to sales promotion to customer support on technical issues, there is a wide variety of usage types. Practically all companies examined actively interact with their contacts. With success: The 100 companies surveyed increased their number of followers on Twitter by an average of 241 percent last year.
More than half of the Fortune Global 100 operate one or more ducts at the video giant YouTube. No wonder: More and more users are looking for answers to their questions in video form, making YouTube the second-largest search engine in the world. “How-to” demos can be found on YouTube as well as classic corporate movies, commercials or branded entertainment formats.
Blogs to engage with stakeholders
Blogging is only stagnating at first glance among the Global 100: Although the number of companies running blogs has not increased significantly, the platforms are being used more intensively. For companies such as IBM With over 80 blogs, this is an informal way for employees from all parts of the company to communicate with their stakeholders.
Communication via Facebook remains very popular: The number of companies active on Facebook rose by 13 percent, meaning that almost two out of three companies now operate one or more Facebook pages. The content offered on Facebook also improved: More and more companies operate several pages, leading the way HP Equal to 51, and the timeliness of the content also improved.
Interaction with users is also making progress on the Fortune Global 100 Facebook pages: Three quarters of the company pages examined now allow user entries. Companies are finding it a bit more difficult to answer inquiries or criticism: Only 57 percent of the pages also contain answers to posts, compared to just 51 percent of European companies.
Half-hearted commitment is, at best, ignored
And this is where the wheat separates from the chaff: Being present on social media is a “must,” but it must not be organized as a compulsory exercise. Social media require, first and foremost, a serious commitment from the company to engage with its users. Across all levels of the hierarchy, top down and bottom up. At best, half-hearted commitments are ignored. In the worst case scenario, however, they trigger strong reactions from the user base, with potentially serious consequences for reputation.
The realisation that it is not enough to simply build a fancy Facebook page and post a bunch of company news on it has not yet reached many European communications departments in particular. For example, anyone who sees the wall posts on the airline's Facebook presence, which is highly acclaimed in the trade press Swiss looks, quickly realizes that there is generally no response to customer inquiries and even existing criticism.
Many smaller companies, such as the ski resort, show that there is another way Laax or the sportswear manufacturer mammoth: Varied, attractive content, a personal approach and quick and individual response to user messages are not rocket science. They show that a company takes its customers seriously and is interested in them. The wall posts from these two companies show that serious interaction is highly appreciated by users.
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