Study: 60 percent of companies using social media have no plan

Does your agency have a social media strategy for your social media efforts? Most agencies have jumped on the bandwagon but appear to be shooting from the hip with no strategy or measurements in place.

Ad agencies and companies are going about social strategy backwards, by first concentrating on the tools and technologies instead of focusing on what they want to achieve.  My understanding of social media and how to monetize it was greatly expedited because my rifled focus on applying it for new business.

A survey conducted by marketing firm Digital Brand Expressions found that 78 percent of client companies responding to their survey said they use social media, but only 41 percent said they have a strategic plan in place to direct their social media efforts.

Other key findings from this survey that should be of interest:

  • Of the companies that have no plan in place, 88% agree that it is important.
  • Of those companies that work from some plan, 94% said that marketing activities are included in the plan.
  • 71% of those with a plan said their Marketing Department is the group with the primary responsibility for creating and maintaining the firm’s social media presence.
  • Of the planners, 71% indicate they use social media for public relations communications.while 55% said that they used social media for sales-related activities. A surprisingly small percentage (16%) say their HR team is using social media for recruiting, employee retention, training and development, etc. and 26% use it for customer service.
  • Social media efforts are being led primarily by Marketing (71%) and PR (29%) departments.
  • Even among those with a plan, few (29%) have written policies and communications protocols in place, leaving the organization exposed to problems arising out of employees communicating in ways that inadvertently hurt, rather than help, their company brands.

“It’s fairly well established that social media is a channel that businesses must participate in, leaving CEOs with the new challenge of planning and implementing brand aligned initiatives enterprise-wide,” said Veronica Fielding, president and CEO of Digital Brand Expressions.

Click on the link to download a PDF copy of: Corporate Social Media Report

Your purpose should dictate strategy and the tactics used for reaching desired goals.

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Filed Under: Agency Leadership, Social Media Tagged With: , , , ,
About Michael Gass

Michael is an international new business consultant to advertising, digital, media and PR agencies. Since 2007, he has led in the use of social media and content marketing strategies to make agency new business EASIER.