Findings from a new survey released by public relations firm Burson-Marsteller this reveals which Global Fortune 100 companies are using social media. The tools they are using and how they are developing a social media strategy. The survey looked at 100 firms in the US, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America and examined how these firms are using social media.
Burson-Marsteller Social Media Survey Findings
- 79% of firms are using at least one of these social media platforms – this figure is higher in Europe (88%) and lowest in Asia-Pacific (50%) – and 20% of them are using all four
- The most popular platform is Twitter, with 65% of firms using this. Facebook and YouTube are next (54% and 50% respectively) with corporate blogs the least used (just 33% of firms surveyed)
- For companies that use Twitter the average number of accounts they are running is 4.2, with some companies (notably AT&T and Nokia) having a large number of accounts – 15 people in the case of these two firms
- For those companies who are engaging, their activity levels are mixed. 82% of those using Twitter have tweeted within the last week, whilst only 36% of those with blogs have added a new post in the last week
- 65% of Fortune Global 100 firms have a Twitter account. In Europe and the US this figure is over 70%; in Asia-Pacific only 40% of firms have an account
- Firms are tweeting and average of 25-30 times per week
- Only 38% of companies are using Twitter actively to respond to other’s comments and questions
- In general companies are being followed by many more people than follow them. Typically they have about 1,500 followers and are following about 700 people
- Facebook Fan pages are less popular that Twitter, with 54% of Fortune Global 100 firms having a page. They are significantly more popular in the US where 69% of fims have a Facebook Fan page
- Only 59% of companeis with a Fan page are actively using it with an average of only 3.8 posts per week
- The number of fans is higher than Twitter followers, with an average of 41,000 for firms with a Facebook Fan page
YouTube
- Half of all Fortune Global 100 firms have a YouTube Channel. Again firms in the US are more likely to have a Channel and those in Latin America least likely (59% and 33% respectively)
- 68% of firms with a YouTube channel are using it actively, with an average of 10 new videos each month
- Typically, firms are getting 40,000 views of their videos each month and over half of all Channels have comments
Corporate Blogs
- Whilst only a third of Fortune Global 100 firms have a corporate blog, these figures are much higher in Asia-Pacific (50%) and low in Europe (25%)
- The average number of posts per month is 7 (but again much higher in Asia-Pacific: 14), and almost three-quarters of blogs have comments
Founder of Profectio of business sites which includes 
Good consolidation/preso of stats, Dave. While the stats are interesting, I think top-line participation data misses the point entirely. How many companies or brands are using social platforms specifically to drive business performance — far less than just happen to be using them and learning as they go. More firms want a Facebook fan page or Twitter account than actually arrive at those activations to solve specific business problems. How many of these Fortune-100 firms align social initiatives to a balanced scorecard, or other performance management framework? The clients I talk to don’t even know how to pro forma ROI – let along plan a specific, tactical social experience.
You can go on AdAge and learn about retail, package goods and entertainment brands that have grown more relationships, or sold more product, online – ROI / proof of business success using social platforms. But in other verticals, like pharma or B2B – where a 15% off sale or Lady Gaga enforcement don’t mean squat, success is hard to find. In general, I’d like to see more coverage of social media success by vertical, not stats pertaining to how many companies have active social media programs. Participation is not proof of strategic alignment, stakeholder best interest, or business success.