DMN3 Blog

According to a recent Harvard study, only 12% of 2,100 companies stated that they were using social media effectively. Are You? Let’s examine what these 12% say they are doing….

Of the 2,100 companies who participated in a review last year by Harvard Business Review Analytic Service, nearly two thirds are either currently using social media channels or are planning to do so. Yet, 12% indicate that they are using social media effectively.

It’s no secret that organizations are still struggling with how best to use social media for marketing and how to measure the results. Almost all are still looking for social media marketing “best practices” and how to effectively measure the resulting benefits.

Without access to this information, companies are having difficulty determining where to invest and target their social media activities to achieve better results to their bottom line. Only then will they be able to harness the power of social media to achieve their business objectives.

The challenge is significant. The proliferation of social media channels is mind blowing. Blogging and microblogging sites allow real time commentary, complaints, recommendations, etc. Social networking sites bring together friends, fans and detractors. Wikis and social news sites quickly spread information and links around the Internet. Review sites offer quick ratings for those planning to purchase a product or service. Multimedia sites allow anyone to post clips that either portray a product or service in a good or bad light. Add to all of this the use of smart phones and you have the recipe for good and bad to be posted in real time as the event happens

One only need look at the uprisings in Africa and the Middle East if you want to see the power of social media sites. In 2011 these sites are still growing dramatically as people recognize the potential of these sites and being connected by them. It was only in 2010 that Facebook reached 500 million members. Sometime in 2011, Facebook expects to have one billion members worldwide. Twitter and others are also setting new benchmarks regularly.

Never before have companies had the opportunity to interact with millions of consumers at relatively low costs. Businesses now recognize the opportunity of social media. They (except for a few large companies) just don’t know how to do it and measure the impact on ROI. Until they do figure it out, most organizations are content to use social media as one-way broadcast channels to get their marketing message out.

Most businesses are operating without a clear plan. Two thirds of social media users have no formal social media strategy in place. In fact only a relatively small number of companies report that they are able to integrate social media into their overall marketing strategies.

Only 12% of the 2,100 companies reviewed identify themselves as effective users of social media channels. They have moved past the awe of social media and now look at these channels as another part of an effective overall marketing strategy.

Let’s look at how those identifying themselves as effective users employ social media.

1. Plan: 63% of those describing themselves as effective users have developed and implemented a social media strategy
2. Budget: Effective users are twice as likely to have a dedicated budget for social media activities
3. Engage: Effective users are more likely to use four or more social media channels and more likely to be doing more multi-media sharing, participating in review sites, discussion forums and blogs
4. Monitor: Effective users are more likely to know where customers are talking about them on the web and prioritize their social media activities accordingly
5. Measure: Effective users are much more focused on social media measurement using social media analytics, including social sentiment analysis

Effective users of social media are also much more likely than others to:

• Promote their brand, products and services
• Institute page(s) and group(s) on a social networking site(s)
• Find ways for customers to interact with their company
• Monitor trends among their customers
• Research new product ideas
• Create online user groups for customers
• Collect and tract customer reviews
• Advertise

Expect social media in the next year or two to move from a separate marketing initiative to an important, integrated tool in marketing and communications strategies. While the expansion of social media activities is a given, organizations must determine what is to be social media best practices for their situation.

Companies must adopt and expand on the activities now used by effective users of social media. They will need to experiment with various social media and activities and will need effective social media analytics to measure the impact of these activities on their bottom line. Hopefully less costly social media analytics tools will also appear so that smaller organizations can better take advantage of this social revolution.

Companies must undertake efforts to enter into new conversations with potential customers and thereby create a new relationship with them. Those who do this best will be the real winners of tomorrow and social media will help them achieve the business success they seek.