B-m-social-media-fortune100

Social Media Use by Fortune 100 Companies

About the Burson-Marsteller Fortune 100 Social Media Study • The study examined the Fortune 100’s current use of key social media tools including Twitter, Facebook, Fanpages and Blogs. The analysis looked to tally what percentage of the Fortune 100 is now using each of these channels to engage directly with stakeholders. The Data was collected between July 2nd and July 17th and is based on content that is accessible within a reasonable effort, i.e. by Facebook or Google search for the company name or looking for a blog on a corporate site. • Twitter - The study tallied official Twitter accounts for Fortune 100 companies. This tally does not include independent subsidiary brands that do not share a name with the parent company. • Facebook - The study identified whether there was an established Facebook fan page for each company within the Fortune 100. The study examined corporate pages, but not individual brand fan pages.

• Blogs - The study tallied whether each Fortune 100 company had a branded corporate blog easily accessible from its corporate homepage.

Percentage of Fortune 100 using each Social Media Channel Twitter now platform of choice

*Active - Regular postings and evidence the company interacts and/or posts content on the page.

Fortune 100 Companies and Social Media Percent of Fortune 100 Companies active on Twitter, Facebook, and their Corporate Blog Blog 10%

None 40%

One Channel 21%

All Three Channels 17%

Two Channels 22%

Facebook 14%

Twitter 76%

Companies using just one social media channel overwhelmingly use Twitter (76%)

Blog and Twitter 64%

Companies using two channels likely to use Blog and Twitter (64%)

Facebook and Twitter 36%

Industry Analysis Within the Fortune 100 Companies on Twitter Breakdown by Industry

Number of Fortune 100 Companies

Percentage Percentage with a blog on Facebook

Percentage on Twitter

Petroleum Refining

9

11%

11%

22%

Commercial Bank

8

25%

0%

38%

Aerospace and Defense

6

33%

17%

50%

Food and Drug Stores

6

17%

33%

50%

General Merchandiser

4

50%

75%

100%

Healthcare: Insurance and Managed Care

4

0%

0%

50%

Insurance: Property and Casualty

4

0%

25%

50%

Specialty Retailers

4

50%

50%

100%

Telecommunications

4

75%

100%

100%

Computers, Office Equipment

3

67%

100%

67%

Entertainment

3

0%

0%

67%

Motor Vehicles and Parts

3

67%

67%

67%

Pharmaceuticals

3

33%

0%

33%

Wholesalers: Health Care

3

0%

0%

33%

Table limited to industries with at least three companies in Fortune 100

Fortune 100 Companies on Twitter

Fortune 100 Companies with Twitter Accounts

On Twitter 54%

Not on Twitter 46%

Some Key Findings - Fortune 100 Social Media Study • Sixty-nine percent of companies that have at least one active Twitter account post frequently (at least four times a week). • Currently the Fortune 100 are using Twitter primarily – To distribute news and updates about their company – As an extension of their customer service – To announce marketing promotions – As part of employee recruitment/human resources efforts • The technology industry is by far the most active sector on Twitter with companies including Dell, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Cisco, and HP each having a number of accounts. • In addition to the corporate accounts, there are a number of locally focused Twitter accounts that were created by local units or offices of the Fortune 100. For example, Best Buy’s Arkansas stores have an account with 536 followers. Such accounts were not examined in this study, but are a growing presence on Twitter and robust additions to a corporate account. The local presence allows for more specific direct marketing.

How Twitter is Used By the Fortune 100 94%

News/Updates/Announcements Customer Service/Direct Marketing Responses

67% 57%

Promotions/Deals/Contests

Human Resources/Job Postings

• •

• •

11%

Descriptions of Twitter Uses News/Updates/Announcements: Industry or company news, postings about updates to a company blog or website, announcements about products or events Customer Service/Direct Marketing Responses: Communication from the company account with consumers or potential consumers, responses about service or products, answers to questions about the service or product, or even suggestions or tips Promotions/Deals/Contests: Sweepstakes or contests, promotions or discounts, or sales online or in store Human Resources/Job postings: Lists open positions, posts information about hiring or Human Resources, posts resources or tips for applying for a position

How Twitter is Used By the Fortune 100 Examples of Customer Service/ Direct Marketing Response Outside of Consumer Product Sales and Communications Technology Industries Although the healthcare industry is only moderately involved on Twitter, UnitedHealth Group recently started @ConnectingCare with Vice President and medical director of telehealth Jim Woodburn tweeting updates, responses, and announcements.

Privacy and Security

Bank of America launched a customer service Twitter account @BofA_Help. They include this security warning to ensure that customers do not divulge passwords or other personal information via Twitter.

Bank of America will never ask you to disclose your social security number, financial account information, passwords, or PINs via Twitter. Twitter is a third party site unaffiliated with Bank of America, and Bank of America is not responsible for the privacy or security policies or practices on Twitter. You should review the privacy and security practices of Twitter. You can review Bank of America privacy and security practices by visiting bankofamerica.com We are not soliciting ideas. If you send us ideas, we own them, and you will not receive compensation.

How Twitter is Used By the Fortune 100 Cont. Examples of Promotions/Deals/Contests

Walgreens promotes certain products and specials. State Farm Insurance promotes an online contest through their Twitter account @StateFarmIns.

How Twitter is Used By the Fortune 100 Cont. Examples of Human Resources/Job Postings

Here, UPS posts a range of positions available in all of its different offices on @UPSjobs.

Fortune 100 Twitter Account Followers • Of all the Fortune 100 Twitter Accounts, the average number of followers is 5,234, yet the median is 674 followers. The discrepancy is due to outliers at the end of the range. When examining the ten Twitter accounts with the most followers… • Over the past three months, the number of followers on these accounts has steadily increased. Eight of the ten accounts have more than doubled the number of followers than it had three months ago.

• The following chart marks the growth of the largest ten accounts over the past month. The dramatic increases suggest the growing popularity of Twitter as a means of communication with stakeholders.

Percentage Increase of Followers over the Past Month of the Ten Twitter Accounts with the Most Followers

* Chart uses change in number of followers from June 15 th to July 15th. Data collected from twittercounter.com ** There was a sharp increase in Microsoft account followers because the company just began posting on July 1st. On June 30th, Microsoft had 980 followers. On July 15th, they had 11,081.

Fortune 100 Companies on Facebook

Fortune 100 Companies with Facebook Pages

Active 29% No Page 43%

Inactive 28%

Inactive - A page with little to no activity, few if any postings, and/or no indication that the page was begun or managed by the company. Active - Regular postings and evidence the company interacts and/or posts content on the page.

Facebook Fan Pages • The pages are overwhelmingly consumer focused offering – Promotions and product information. – Some firms also promote their philanthropy and community. – Some companies are using the discussion boards and the “Wall” to engage consumers and – Some use page to answer questions and others are not yet at that stage but being transparent. (Below examples from AT&T and TIAA CREF)

Facebook Pages Continued • Twenty-nine percent of Fortune 100 companies are actively communicating via a Facebook Fan page compared with the fifty-four percent that are using Twitter accounts • Twenty-five of the Fortune 100 Companies have both Twitter accounts and active Facebook pages. • Many companies have a groups on Facebook, but do not have a Facebook page. Others have inactive or unofficial fan pages that do not communicate any corporate information.

Fortune 100 Companies with Corporate Blogs

Fortune 100 Companies with Corporate Blogs

No Blog 68%

Blog 32%

Blog Analysis • Fortune 100 blog content typically includes current projects, external initiatives, and corporation’s community involvement/corporate social responsibility initiatives. • Many of the corporate blogs are written by executives in order to personally communicate company initiatives and convey sense of accessibility to management • Like its participation in Twitter, the technology and telecommunications industries also have high involvement in blogs, with companies including Dell, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Cisco, and HP maintaining a number of blogs specific to products or services, as well as employee blogs from all divisions and levels of the corporation. They often use blog rolls to aggregate all the blog content to one source.

Key Findings – Fortune 100 Blogs • Many companies have avoided maintaining a blog and have instead gone straight to Twitter • All companies that have at least one blog remain active and post consistently (regular time intervals of weekly or monthly.) • Industries least active in the blogosphere are the Healthcare and Food industries. Food Companies tend to be more active at brand level. Media companies tend not to have a corporate blog, but their subsidiaries maintain many blogs. • The companies that do not have blogs do provide other ways to relay news and information in more traditional ways, most commonly a news roll or press release media section. • Many companies often link to or incorporate external individual blogs from stakeholders encouraging them to share their own experiences with the company’s products.