PBNJ Marketing Blog

Seems like social media is not for the rock band, small business or celebrity anymore.A recent study by Burson-Marsteller showed that the 100 largest Fortune 500 companies are jumping into social media by using one or two social avenues while a smaller group is jumping in with all social media options. Companies seem to be settling in with some social channels more than others, even though there is still a learning curve on how to get the most out of them. Twitter is the leader of the pack with 54%, Facebook 29% and corporate blogs 32%. 20% of those 100 Fortune 500 companies are using all of the social media options mentioned.

This is still unchartered territory as many companies don’t know how to measure these channels or are not clear on what exactly they are getting from it. Many Fortune 500 companies are seeing positive results from their Facebook Fan Page and Twitter strategies. Corporate blogs are still around providing fresh content but are being updated 7 or 8 times a month on average.

So, after all those statistics, what have Fortune 500 companies learned about social media? Social media is becoming the “gauge of the people”, a real time suggestion box where the consumer will be heard using a plethora of social media options. You don’t have to wait anymore to see how well your product did or how your latest ad campaign is doing; just ask the masses, they are only a post away.

The million dollar question is: Is there a downside to this real time communication? Could social media become a niche for a specific size of company? So far, small and medium companies are benefiting from the unlimited resources of free advertising using creativity and out of the box thinking. Also, traditional media is financially acquired (Fortune 500 companies with their multi million dollar Ad budgets) while social media is dominated by content. (Free, free and free) That means that the smallest contender can become a giant among the masses and take some of the limelight away from these massive ad campaigns with some savvy content and a fresh point of view.

By no means am I saying that Fortune 500 companies are doomed when it comes to social media but the rules of the game are changing. Can these companies adjust, learn and succeed at the rate of change? Stay tuned…

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