Survey Research

Social media is a hot topic at the moment – companies are realizing how the emergence of social media has empowered consumers. Companies know that the key to success is connecting with your target audience and allowing them to voice their opinions. A recent Burson-Marsteller survey analysis made an excellent point when they stated: “Social media has shifted control of the corporate message away from the organization and towards consumers and other stakeholders, and running away and hiding is no longer the safe option.”

The newest survey done by Burson-Marsteller reveals that eighty large organizations out of the top global 100 companies are engaged in social media. The Burson-Marsteller study also reveals that of these high powered companies, most have an average of 4.2 Twitter accounts, 2.1 Facebook pages and 1.6 YouTube channels.

Overall, Twitter was shown to be the social media outlet of choice - 65% of the global top 100 companies have active Twitter accounts. These companies are using the social media platforms to engage with their customers and build a relationship with them – tweeting companies are following an average of 731 people and they are responding to about 38% of people’s tweets.  Companies are also showing their social media savviness by re-tweeting 32% of user comments. This corporate interest in social media reveals to consumers that these companies value their opinions and want to connect to them; this is most definitely winning over customers.