Many Businesses Still Slow to Embrace Social Media Strategies

While more companies are planning to incorporate social media usage into their 2012 strategic plans, many are still far from clear on exactly what they want to accomplish with it.

At least that’s the impression I came away with after seeing the results from a recent survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management.

The study, analyzed in the report  An Examination of How Social Media Is Embedded in Business Strategy and Operations Survey Findings, was the final component of a four-part series of surveys examining various aspects of social media use in the workplace.  While the emphasis of this survey centered on the human resource aspects of social media, the findings did include some broader business implications, as well.

For example, on the plus side, more than half (55 percent) of the companies surveyed indicated that social media activities would play a greater role in their overall business strategies.  Conversely, however, less than one-third (28 percent) have developed any form of social media strategy, and only four in 10 reported having established social media policies.  Of those organizations that do have policies for social media use:

Compliance, Governance Not Keeping Pace with Social Media Growth

The legal system always has struggled to keep pace with technology.  Traffic laws followed the invention of the automobile, child labor laws proliferated in the wake of the industrial revolution, and environmental laws emerged as a result of factory-produced soil, water and air pollution.

In the same vein, the ever-changing internet landscape continues to present new challenges and issues that existing legislation does not adequately address. For example, the net neutrality debate has been raging in Congress for months. And, even on a much smaller scale, many companies now are questioning how prevailing fraud and privacy laws will stand up in the face of today’s explosive and free-wheeling world of social media.

As I have discussed before, when it comes to social media marketing and customer interaction, many companies may be diving in head first before considering how deep the pool actually is. Grant Thornton LLP’s recent survey of 141 executives proves my point, uncovering some potentially risky gaps in corporate social media strategy.

Participants in this study appear to believe in the “staying power” of social media. Nearly half (48 percent) predicted that social media would play increasingly important roles in how they marketed to and communicated with clients and customers, and more than half (53 percent) foresee a significant increase in social media usage by their companies.

However, the majority also made two particularly unsettling admissions:

(More) Internet Users Just Want to Have Fun

A decade ago, when researchers asked internet users over age 18 if they ever went online just for fun or leisure, more than 70 percent of them said “no.”

Fast forward to 2011, though, and the answer to that same question has changed dramatically.

Now, the fraction of internet users who say they don’t spend any of their downtime online has dropped to just 42 percent, a trend I suspect will continue in the foreseeable future.

These findings come from studies performed by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project both then and now.  In telephone surveys conducted in English and Spanish, more than 2,200 people were asked a series of questions about their internet usage, and regardless of age group, gender, ethnicity, education or income, the researchers saw increases across the board in the percentages of people who go online simply as a diversion from other activities.

Perhaps predictably, the 18- to 29-year old age group sported the highest percentage of those who log on for fun. In 2011, 81 percent of active internet users aged 18-29 said they go online line at least occasionally for no other reason than to pass the time.

Although the questions in this particular survey did not drill down to what specific kinds of activities respondents considered to be fun or diversionary, the rise in internet use for leisure over the past decade does correlate to a number of other factors, including:

Companies Continue to Ignore Customer Complaints on Social Media Sites

Research has shown that if retailers listen and proactively respond to complaints on social media sites, they can actually turn unhappy customers into brand advocates .

Sadly, though, according to a new study from Maritz Research, most companies still are choosing to ignore negative comments.

For the study, Maritz Research surveyed 1,298 US consumers, age 18+, who frequently use Twitter and have used Twitter to complain about a specific product, service, brand or company. The survey results showed that:

• Nearly half of those polled expected the company to read their Tweet.
• But, less than one-third (29 percent) received a response from the company about their complaint.

That’s unfortunate, because of those who received follow-up:

New Insights About Consumers’ Social, Mobile Shopping Behaviors

The marketing landscape is shifting dramatically as more consumers use social media to compare, choose and buy products online and from their mobile devices.

So, how should marketers appeal to this new breed of social/mobile shoppers?

A recent study from PowerReviews and the e-tailing group offers some valuable insights.

For example, the findings make it clear that today’s consumers spend a significant amount of time researching products before making a purchase, and they use a variety of tools to seek out the best prices. The study also provides evidence that as social media and mobile gain traction, brands and retailers would be smart to leverage these channels to drive consumer engagement.

The 2011 study is based on a survey of more than 1,000 consumers who were asked about their online shopping habits and level of engagement with brands and retailers across various online channels.

Among the highlights: