Six out of ten companies are present on Facebook

Not only consumers find their way onto the popular social network sites, an increasing number of companies also use it. 61% of companies use Facebook, 39% have a Twitter account, 29% are present on LinkedIn and 24% use YouTube. In the US about 80% of companies is present onf Facebook, 45% have a Twitter account and 48% are present on LinkedIn. This proves that American companies have evolved further in their social media usage in comparison to companies in Europe.

High usage but low integration of social media

The survey showed that companies find it very important to be present on social network sites. However this does not always mean their method is well thought-out. A mere 12% of the companies are integrating their social media approach into their overall corporate strategy. 15% are mid integration. 44% are currently experimenting or taking their first steps on the social web. 29% of the companies are not even doing anything on social media. These numbers are very comparable in the US and in Europe. As for social media integration, the Netherlands are even ahead.

A huge number of companies feel the external pressure to be present on social media. Unfortunately this only too frequently results in corporate pages where nothing is really happening. So they create enthusiasm in their customers which in the end turns into disappointment.

40% listen to conversations between consumers on social media

Four out of ten companies listen to what consumers say about them on social network sites. Social media make conversations between consumers very transparent. It is the first time that a company can quite easily discover what people are saying about its products and services. An increasingly growing group is strongly interested (with good reason) in this real-time feedback from the market.
Answering questions via social media is very successful. 69% of the companies indicate always dealing with questions or complaints sent to them via social media. Only 26% of the companies in this survey also talk to consumers. This is where the American companies are clearly way ahead of their European counterparts.

A digital gap is emerging in the corporate world

Chances are that there will soon be a digital gap in the corporate world. This survey has shown that companies which are already investing a lot in new media will do so even more in the future. Companies which are not investing much yet are not intending to do so. Even though there is a clear digital evolution among clients, there are still companies that are not convinced that they too have to go with the evolution. The risk for these companies is that, in a rather short term, they will miss out on an important target group.
These conclusions come from a survey organised by InSites Consulting, together with sample and data collection partner SSI and the translation agency No Problem!. A total of 1,222 top managers were interviewed from companies (+20fte) in the US, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France.

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