PRWeek and MS & L conducted the First Annual Social Media Survey this past June and the results are in.
271 chief marketing officers, vice presidents of marketing and marketing directors were polled regarding their perceptions of social media and their company’s use of it.
Kimberly Maul breaks down some of the survey’s findings in her October article entitled Reality Check. Maul’s report is a virtual barrage of numbers and statistics, all of which are revealing and meaningful.
Much of the focus of Reality Check centers on what strategies companies are currently employing within the social media space, the obstacles to incorporating social media into marketing efforts, and the spending allocated towards investments in social media marketing.
But some of the more interesting findings had to do with answers to questions concerning two subjects that often go overlooked in examinations of social media marketing strategies— 1) ethical considerations when entering social media and 2) the issue of what is done with the information that is gathered through social media participation.
The survey asked a series of questions around ethical issues that companies must consider when venturing into social media spaces. Respondents were asked if their companies had engaged in any of the following activities:
- positioning company-generated content as consumer-generated
- changing content related to the company that others have posted in social media
- removing negative comments or content from social media
- offering gifts for company or blog reviews
- paying cash for company or product blog reviews
Only 57% of those surveyed were able to deny using any of these tactics. A surprising 21% of respondents admitted to presenting company-generated content as consumer-generated, while 13% revealed that they had changed content relating to their company that others had posted in social media.
Analysts and strategists have trumpeted social media as a conduit for genuine communication and collaboration between company and consumer. An organization’s successful navigation of social media spaces depends largely on their ability to enter with an authentic voice. If these numbers are any indication, this is proving even more difficult than skeptics had predicted.
The study revealed that nearly half of the businesses surveyed admitted to using dishonest tactics while attempting to participate within social media spaces. Other survey responses indicated that many companies are attempting to carve out a social media niche without any concrete strategies or objectives. One can’t help but call into question the intentions of these corporations.
Responses to questions concerning what becomes of the information that is gathered through social media platforms cast further doubt. When asked if their company had ever made any changes to products or strategies based on consumer feedback from social media sites, just 34% of the companies using social media indicated that they had.
So much attention is paid to finding ways to better measure the effectiveness of a company’s social media presence. Yet only a third of businesses have ever acted in response to the input they receive. Why worry about collecting information or the accuracy of it if it’s not going to be used to effect change?
Results from the First Annual Social Media Survey seem to suggest that the majority of companies have a long way to go before understanding the how and why behind social media participation. Here’s hoping that responses in the second annual survey reflect a growing appreciation for the potential inherent in utilizing social media platforms to initiate a genuine discourse with consumers as well as a willingness to learn from the time spent “socializing.”
