Millions of companies have passed the first threshold with social media. They are in the game by having Facebook, Twitter, and other social media accounts; and many operate their own blogs.
However, lots of companies have not successfully passed the second threshold with social media. They are not active enough with their accounts and sometimes disappoint people with their slow or non-respsonse to online comments/requests. And these companies are missing out on big opportunities!
Consider these observations from eMarketer:
“Social media has become a critical channel for brands looking to connect with consumers, but it looks like many followers aren’t getting the attention they expect, according to data released in December 2013 by Sprout Social. Between Q3 2012 and Q3 2013, Twitter grew its Monthly Active User (MAU) base from 151 million to 218 million—a 44% year-over-year increase. Facebook saw a 17% rise in MAUs, from 955 million to 1.15 billion. Collectively, the two sites grew 20% to hit 1.42 billion MAUs.”
“However, user engagement, such as messages that required a response or attention, was growing nine times as fast as Twitter and Facebook combined. How are brands keeping up? Results indicated they were not: Average brand response rates for both Twitter and Facebook dipped below 20% year over year.”
Click the chart to read more.
How soon until every major company has it’s own social media department? I know that both Facebook and Twitter will fade out of popularity, but the companies that are the first to be active on the next big site(s) will have massive gains if they are prepared.
Yes. Due to the data, social media is definitely a huge opportunity for companies to do marketing. I think social media will be a better way for a company to communicate with their customers. Solving problem by responding may be slower but a higher precision, which probably will give their customers a better impression of their service.
Everyone is using social media these days. Users expect a response to their comment as quickly as it takes them to post it. Companies are missing out on a lot of potential business by properly maintaining their online accounts.
It is so crucial for companies to be active on social networking sites. People no longer call the customer service numbers of companies to make complaints/compliments, now they just tweet at those companies or post something to them on Facebook. Because this social media has replaced phone calls and letters, it is necessary for companies to respond to their customers via social media. The companies that keep up with the popular social media sites are the companies that are going to thrive.
I think that the companies haven’t been keeping up with the social media because the people responsible for advertising are older and aren’t aware that they have another place to advertise. I am glad that they haven’t been keeping up with social media because I already see too many ads every day.
I love the ability to “follow” or “like” my favorite brands and companies! I cant remember a time I needed a prompt reply from one of them via social media but as a consumer I can sympathize with the desire for promptness. This does, however, speak to today’s culture of needing things instantly. I also recently interned with an organization in a social media position! As someone searching for internship positions I can attest the ever growing social media sector of opportunities so I believe that companies are working to fix this issue.