An article published in The Australian today entitled ‘Big brands are failing social networking test’ (30/11/2009), explores the approach taken by Australian companies to social networking.
The article reports on recent research released by public relations agency Burson-Marsteller on Australia’s top 20 brands, which ‘suggests that a large number of companies have dipped a toe in the social media arena without following through’.
The research results published by Burson-Marsteller indicate that of the top 20 brands surveyed, 40% have at least one Twitter account, however 44 per cent of these Twitter accounts are inactive and not updated frequently. Similarly, 50% of the companies surveyed have established an official presence on Facebook, however, 15 per cent of their pages are inactive.
The results of the study appear to indicate that although companies are interested in engaging in social networking and have made some initial steps to join this new trend, they tend to lack a coherent social media strategy and/or a proper understanding of the medium to create and follow through with a successful social media strategy.
This research is another good reminder to make sure that you have a considered and well-developed corporate social networking strategy before attempting to engage your clients in this new media.
The Vue Post 