Burson-Marsteller: Fortune 100 Companies Social Media Usage Report

Boyaa and VISIBLE have recently launched the 2012 Fortune 100 social media usage report. Since 2010, Boyaa has released such a report every year, comprehensively reviewing the social media usage of well-known companies in the year. This year's report selected a total of 100 companies as survey samples, including 29 in the United States, 45 in Europe, 23 in the Asia-Pacific region, and 3 in Latin America. The social media surveyed include: Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Google+, Pinterest.

The five key messages from the report are:

Well-known global companies are mentioned very frequently on social media

The 100 companies in the sample were mentioned 10,400,132 times in one month, of which 5,596,998 came from Twitter.

Video information continues to grow

79% of the 100 companies have opened a dedicated channel on YouTube, an increase of 22% compared to 2011.

Interacting with users has become second nature

Multiple accounts on the same social platform based on geography, topics and services allow these companies to target customers more accurately.

The 100 companies in the sample have an average of 10.1 Twitter accounts, 10.4 Facebook accounts, 8.1 YouTube accounts, and 2.6 Google+ accounts.

The company is very adaptable to new platforms

The survey found that 48% of the Global 100 companies have set up a corporate page on Google+, and 25% have set up a page on Pinterest. Compared to well-known social media such as Facebook and Twitter, companies are very sensitive to emerging social networks and have strong adaptability.

According to the trends reflected in the report, in 2012, the world's leading companies have paid more and more attention to social media. How to use social media for more in-depth interactive marketing will be a common concern of these companies in the future. We can also get some inspiration and enlightenment from the way these companies use social media.

The following is a partial compilation of the important contents of the report. Let’s take a look at the social media usage experience of the Fortune 100 companies in 2012.

Revelation 1: Real-time monitoring of social media information has become a necessity

People discuss well-known companies on social media more frequently than you might expect. And with the rapid increase in the number of users of Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and other social media, monitoring social media information is no longer a once-a-day task, but a job that is done anytime, anywhere.

Lesson 2: The increase in social media topics further motivates companies to participate

Data shows that Twitter is currently the most popular social platform. 82% of the 100 companies have Twitter accounts. The average number of followers per account increased by nearly 50% in 2012 compared to 2011, reaching 14,709. At the same time, the number of users followed by each official account also increased by 182% compared to 2010, reaching 2,062.

Lesson 3: Social media engagement rates of well-known companies are increasing

79% of company accounts will retweet comments or @ followers. 70% of companies will respond to fans' messages or comments on their Facebook pages.

Lesson 4: Multiple accounts on the same social platform based on region, topic and service can help companies target customers more accurately

The 100 companies in the sample have an average of 10.1 Twitter accounts, 10.4 Facebook accounts, 8.1 YouTube accounts, and 2.6 Google+ accounts. Ford uses different Twitter accounts to meet users' needs for different products and services. Wells Fargo uses different Twitter accounts to release different information such as news/services/employment.

Lesson 5: More original information appears on the company’s social platforms

93% of companies update their Facebook pages weekly, and the launch of the timeline allows companies to update personalized covers. As for YouTube, Procter & Gamble has directly posted a link to its advertising campaign on its homepage.

Lesson 6: Companies are becoming more adaptable to new platforms

Currently, nearly half (48%) of companies have a Google+ account, with Sony being an active user. 25% of companies have a Pinterest account and use it to promote product and service information.

In terms of region, Twitter is the most popular social platform in Latin America. Although lagging behind other regions, Latin American companies are increasingly using social media for marketing. In Europe, the main obstacle for companies to operate social media is to communicate with customers in multiple languages. The use of social media in the Asia-Pacific region is growing rapidly, but the preferences for social media platforms vary from country to country in the region. The three main trends in the Asia-Pacific region are: mobile networks, visual descriptions, and social enterprises.

This article comes from @SocialBeta