20 March 2007
Social media usage on the rise, but risks remain
Melcrum's Social Media survey results reveal widespread uptake of social media tools.
Research organization and Internal Comms Hub publisher, Melcrum, has announced the preliminary findings of the first ever survey into social media adoption by large corporations worldwide. More than 2,100 internal and corporate communication executives from around the world took last month's survey about how blogs, podcasts, wikis and other collaborative technologies are being used to communicate with employees and customers.
Online video tops the charts
Much of the hype around social media so far has centered around the adoption
of blogging as a business tool for communicating with customers and
staff. The majority of respondents (55%) were already using blogs or
planning to start in the next 12 months, but even more popular was
online video (63%) through video-sharing services like YouTube.
The majority of respondents (55%) were already using blogs or planning to start in the next 12 months, but even more popular was online video (63%).
Also increasingly popular were podcasts (43%), RSS/webfeeds (51%) and social networks like LinkedIn (41%).
Robin Crumby, Melcrum’s MD and co-founder said earlier: “Big business has taken note of the popularity of sites like MySpace, YouTube and Bebo and is beginning to figure out how to integrate the same functionality and networking tools with their corporate intranets.”
Gulf between the hype and reality
The survey also highlighted major discrepancies between the
hype and the reality of social media adoption, with 73% of respondents
having no intention of implementing 3D web tools like Second
Life for their
businesses.
When internal communicators were asked about the top two perceived benefits of social media for their organizations, 71% selected “improved employee engagement”, 59% said “improved internal collaboration” and 47% chose “creating a two-way dialogue with senior executives”.
Crumby added: “The next generation of employees entering the workforce will expect to be able to have their say and network with their peers online. Corporations are preparing for this now. By encouraging staff and customers to get involved and build communities around their brands, companies know that they can get better results in terms of staff productivity and engagement, but also customer retention and acquisition.”
The next generation of employees entering the workforce will expect to be able to have their say and network with their peers online.
Risk versus return
While there's widespread enthusiasm for social media in the corporate
world, 45% of respondents agreed that employees discussing their organization
online posed a significant risk to its reputation. And yet, 70% admitted
that they had no guidelines or policies relating to blogging or other
social-media tools.
More worryingly, only 26% were sure how to monitor what was being said about their organizations, industry or products online. “Smart organizations like the BBC, Sun Microsystems and IBM are encouraging their staff to blog and participate in online forums whilst educating them about the dos and don’ts, thereby minimizing the risk of libel suits,” said Crumby.
Is the future bright for social media?
While only a third of communicators described social media as a priority
right now, 41% reported that they were committed to two-way communication
with employees/customers online, and 52% anticipated their social-media
budgets increasing over the next 12 months.
When asked about the barriers for further adoption, 23% of respondents highlighted gaining executive support as a key challenge, along with 13% reporting IT constraints and restrictions.
“It seems likely that social media is here to stay and the key challenge for corporations is likely to be how they integrate these new technologies into their existing media mix,” Crumby concluded.
For further information about the Social Media survey, please contact Daniel Gregory, Melcrum Publishing.
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